Cinema Dumont, Art Nouveau movie theater in Milan, Italy
Cinema Dumont is an Art Nouveau building in Milan with a rectangular form, floral ornaments on its facade, and decorative columns framing the entrance on Via Frisi. The structure displays typical characteristics of this architectural period, with refined details reflecting its role as one of the city's earliest dedicated cinema venues.
The Dumont was built from 1908 in Art Nouveau style to designs by Ferdinando Tettamanzi and Giovanni Mainetti, as a cinema for Giuseppe Galli (1876–1930) and his brother Alfredo. It was one of Italy's first buildings purpose-built as a cinema. In 1994 the auditorium became a private multi-storey garage despite residents' campaign to save it.
The name Dumont is a common French surname, picked by Giuseppe and Alfredo Galli to give their cinema an exotic, avant-garde air rather than to honour a person. The choice matched the Art Nouveau fashion of 1908 Milan, when French floral motifs were current in architecture and design.
The building stands at Via Frisi 2, where the 2015 redesign of the street furniture followed the creation of the Via Melzo environmental island. Only the original facade remains from 1908; the former cinema hall behind it has been a private multi-storey garage since 1994, so it is not open to visitors.
The cinema hall was converted in 1994 into a private multi-storey car park, designed by architect Demetrio Costantino, despite a long campaign by neighbourhood residents who wanted to save it. Only the original Art Nouveau facade with French floral influences survives, and it now houses a municipal library.
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