Valloni Palace — Fulgor Cinema — Fellini Museum
The Fellini Museum in Rimini is a multi-site institution dedicated to the life and work of Federico Fellini, the Oscar-winning director born in the city in 1920. Inaugurated on 19 August 2021, it occupies three historic locations in Rimini’s town centre: the medieval Castel Sismondo, the restored Fulgor Cinema housed in Valloni Palace, and the Piazza Malatesta outside the castle. Together they form one of Italy’s most innovative filmmaker museums.
At a glance
- Type
- Filmmaker museum (multi-site)
- Period
- Castel Sismondo 15th century; Valloni Palace / Fulgor Cinema built 1914–1915; museum inaugurated 2021
- Style
- Historic buildings with contemporary museum fit-out; cinema in early 20th-century Liberty style
- Location
- Rimini historic centre, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- Coordinates
- 44.0614° N, 12.5657° E
Overview
The Fellini Museum spreads across three interconnected venues in Rimini’s historic centre, each addressing a different dimension of the director’s work and legacy. The Fulgor Cinema inside Valloni Palace was the actual cinema that the young Fellini frequented as a child and that he immortalised in Amarcord (1973). The museum combines archival material, immersive installations, and the historic spaces themselves to trace Fellini’s trajectory from Rimini to Rome and to international acclaim.
History
The Fulgor Cinema opened in 1914–1915 in the Valloni Palace and became one of Rimini’s premier picture houses during the silent-film era. Federico Fellini was a regular visitor throughout his childhood in the 1920s and 1930s, and the cinema became a formative presence in his imagination. The cinema closed and fell into disrepair in the late 20th century before the municipality of Rimini committed to a major restoration project. The Fellini Museum project was conceived to mark the centenary of the director’s birth and was inaugurated on 19 August 2021.
What you see
Inside Valloni Palace the restored Fulgor Cinema presents screenings and permanent installations exploring Fellini’s creative process. Castel Sismondo houses large-scale immersive environments that plunge visitors into the dreamlike imagery of his films. Archival documents, original drawings, film props, and personal objects are distributed across the three sites, building a cumulative portrait of the director’s world.
Cultural significance
The Fellini Museum is one of Italy’s most ambitious cultural projects of the 2020s, placing Rimini firmly on the map of international cinephile tourism. It honours a filmmaker whose influence on world cinema — from La Dolce Vita to 8.5 — is universally recognised, and restores to Rimini a piece of its own urban memory.
Practical information
Valloni Palace / Fulgor Cinema: Via Gambalunga 27, 47921 Rimini. Check the official Fellini Museum website for current opening hours and admission prices. Combined tickets for all three sites are available. Advance booking is recommended during summer months.
Getting there
Rimini is served by frequent Trenitalia services from Bologna (approx. 1 hour) and from Milan (approx. 2.5 hours). From Rimini train station the museum sites are reachable on foot in 10–15 minutes. The A14 motorway has exits at Rimini Nord and Rimini Sud. Rimini Federico Fellini International Airport (RMI) offers seasonal European connections.