Cinema all’aperto — open-air cinema — is as integral to Italian summer as a frosty cup of granita. There are few better ways to pass the time on a balmy evening than by joining friends, family and neighbors to watch a blockbuster or cult classic under the stars in the local piazza.
In the early 2000s, my uncle ran his own independent mobile cinema company, delivering a glimpse of Hollywood to villages across the province of Lecce (Puglia). Each evening, his large white van would roll into a town square carrying a Milan-made Cinemeccanica “Victoria IV E” projector, film reels, a giant collapsible screen, dozens of plastic chairs and even a retro popcorn machine.
