The core of the museum is the personal collection gathered by Catalan filmmaker Tomàs Mallol over the course of 40 years.
The collection includes a rare 'Ombromanía' shadow-play set from the late 19th century.
The museum building formerly functioned as the Casa de les Aigües, a 19th-century water distribution facility.
It holds one of the most comprehensive European collections of magic lanterns, some dating back to the 1700s.
Interactive displays allow visitors to operate simplified replicas of early optical toys like the zoetrope.
The museum archive includes thousands of original film posters and early cinema technical manuals.
The facility was inaugurated in 1998, six years after Tomàs Mallol donated his collection to the city of Girona.
The Museu del Cinema in Girona houses the private collection of Tomàs Mallol, featuring over 20,000 objects related to the history of the moving image. Spanning three floors, the exhibits trace the evolution of visual entertainment from shadow plays and magic lanterns to the birth of cinematography. The collection includes rare 18th and 19th-century optical devices, including phantasmagoria lanterns and praxinoscopes. Visitors walk through a chronological narrative that showcases the transition from pre-cinema mechanics to modern film technology. The permanent exhibition features restored projectors and a library dedicated to specialized film studies. Housed in a former hospital, the building integrates historical architecture with modern museum displays. The center serves as a significant research hub for European film history. It is situated in the historic core of Girona, providing an interactive look at the precursors to modern media.
The central staircase area and the vintage poster displays on the mezzanine levels.
Engage with the interactive stations early in the tour to better understand the mechanics of early optical illusions.
Check the official website for temporary exhibitions, which often feature rotating selections from the museum's large reserve collection.
Spend time in the specialized library if you are interested in technical film history, but check access requirements beforehand.
Do not rush through the lower floors, as the early optical devices provide essential context for the later cinema history upstairs.
Closed on Mondays throughout the year.
