Cinema Ariston

The Cinema Ariston occupies an entire city block in a trapezoidal plan, its bulk defining the streets around it. At its heart is the main hall, eight metres high, with a ten-metre stage pressed against the eastern frontage. Beneath the stage, sunk into a basement level, sit the orchestra pit, dressing rooms, and technical spaces, the unseen machinery of performance.

The southern wing, triangular, gathers the public realm: entrance atrium, foyer, access to the stalls, and the stair to the gallery with its attendant facilities. A separate stair serves the basement and stage walkway. Above, an apartment and storage sit alongside the gallery itself.

The northern zone, hard against Via Larino, houses a secondary entrance with lavatories and emergency exits for both hall and gallery, plus service stairs. Above lives the custodian’s flat, a terrace, and gallery toilets. On the second floor, the southern and northern wings become roof terraces; on the third, the auditorium and stage rise to their full height, with the projection booth commanding the western end. It is a building of careful, functional hierarchies, public spectacle, technical necessity, domestic life, stacked within a single, assertive form.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.