In 1941, at the behest of Maria Adriana Prolo, a place dedicated to the preservation of documents of the film industry in Turin was planned: the National Cinema Museum. In 1958, it was transferred to Palazzo Chiablese and, in July 2000, its new location was in the Mole Antonelliana.

It houses a vast patrimony of unique material: photographs, posters, advertising, equipment and artistic artefacts, including a collection of artefacts from the archaeology of cinema considered to be among the most valuable internationally. There is no lack of costumes, props and memorabilia.

The Film Library is stocked with both silent and sound films. In addition, it boasts an inimitable collection of Italian silent films. These are complemented by a video library and a sound library. The Archive also contains the fonds of the largest production companies of Italian silent films. Thanks to its size and variety, the Bibliomediateca is one of the most respected documentation centres in Europe for some of the subjects it deals with, such as film and photography.