Corso Cinema and "Piccionaia"

Rino Tami with Carlo Tami and Peppo Brivio, 1952-56

Designed together with the mixed-use building "La Piccionaia," built next to one of Lugano's rare examples of Renaissance civil architecture, the Cinema Corso is one of the most beautiful movie theaters in Switzerland, thanks to the elegance, rigor, and coherence of its design: from the foyer characterized by triangular glass display cases, set against the wall opposite the entrance to the theater and separated by sofas, designed to display objects and fashion items from nearby shops, to the magnificent theater filled with large black and white triangles, symbolizing the abandonment of black and white in filmmaking in favor of color. In terms of technical equipment, this was a state-of-the-art cinema in the region when it opened in 1956, and today, along with the building that houses it, it is a protected asset of cantonal interest.