Museo del Precinema

The Museum of Precinema in Padua is unique, not only amongst Italian museums but throughout the world. Founded by Laura Minici Zotti in 1998 in collaboration with the Comune di Padova and Department of Culture and Tourism with the consultation of the Arch. Gianfranco Martinoni. Now the director of the museum is Carlo Alberto Zotti Minici, the son of the founder, professor at the University of Padua (History of cinema, History and technique of photography). This “Cabinet of Wonders” is an interesting and unusual project that combines public and private interest.

In order to understand the quest for knowledge that led to the birth and worldwide diffusion the “visionary man”, and later to the creation of cinema, we must begin with the invention of projected motion pictures by the Lumière brothers and work backwards through the centuries. As we go back in time, we focus our attention on the history of machines for vision, as well as on another history – one that is more extensive and more difficult to define. This other history is of popular entertainment and optical spectacles, which, over the centuries, finally led to the invention of what we call the Cinematograph.

                                Prato della Valle. Fotografia di Antonio Cesaro ©

The Museum of Precinema is based in the monumental Palazzo Angeli, a 15th Century building in Prato della Valle, in the centre of the historic city of Padua. This beautiful building is certainly the most appropriate place in which to preserve and display the optical instruments and original hand-painted magic lantern slides, which date back to the 18th and 19th Centuries. At the Museum of Precinema you can admire optical views, the “mondo niovo” (a peepshow), a collection of optical instruments and toys. They all testify in a manifold way the need felt in the 19th Century, and particularly the Victorian Age, to escape from the monotony of the fixed and one-dimensional image. Continue reading “The Museum”

Magic Lantern Slide, photo coloured by hand, England c.1890

In December 2007, Laura Minici Zotti was awarded the Seal of the City of Padua, and in 2008 she received the prestigious international Jean Mitry prize at the Silent Film Festival of Pordenone for her constant cultural service and dissemination of the knowledge of Precinema. In 2010 she recived the Premio Donna Eccelente for culture and the Premio Vittorio De Sica from the hands of the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. Continue reading “Shows”

The Museum of Precinema – The Minici Zotti Collection is situated in Prato della Valle 1/A in Padua on the top floor of the Palazzo Angeli. To enter, ring the doorbell and go upstairs to the third floor. You will see shadowy silhouettes of people lining the stairwell as you go up towards the Collection. There is an elevator, but as the Palazzo Angeli dates from the end of the 16^th Century the building can cause some mobility obstacles. If you have reduced mobility and require assistance please contact the Museum.

NOTICE OF SUMMER CLOSURE
The museum will be closed from 1st to 31st August.

OPENING TIME
10:00AM – 4:00PM (to 2:00AM in AUGUST, last admission recommended before 15:15) 
Closing days: TUESDAY, January 1, Easter, April 25, May 1, Dicember 24,25,26 and 31

TICKET PRICE
Full: € 6,00
Reduced: € 4,00 (students, under 18, over 65, Padova Card, FAI, Touring Club, tourist guides
Free: under 6, ICOM, MIBACT, journalists, disabled visitors (assistant included)

GUIDED TOURS
Small groups (4-10 people) : €10, reduced €8 (per person)
Large groups (10-25 people): €8, reduced 6€ (per person)
Guided tours must be booked by writing an email to info@minicizotti.it or by calling 0498763838

Reservation is obligatory for groups, even if a guided tour is not required.

The Museum of Precinema is a special place that allows you to be hands-on with the exhibits, helping you to understand the origins of the visual language that led to the birth of Cinema. Fundamentally, it is an educational mediator, which, with the collaboration of the teacher, means that students are active participators rather than passive spectators. The Museum adjusts to serve to the demands of each individual class.
Unfortunately, the museum does not have enough available space for workshops; therefore a publication entitled “The Visual Language Exercise Book” has been created for school groups. The publication is complementary and will be given  to the teacher during the guided tour of the museum.