In the photograph by Pasquale De Antonis a scene from The Mistress of the Inn by Carlo Goldoni, Teatro Eliseo, Rome 1952, directed by Luchino Visconti. Among the materials preserved in the MBA, a place of honor goes to photography. In fact, the archive contains about 69,000 documents, including positives and negatives, made by some of the most important Italian and foreign photographic establishments, from the origins of photography to the contemporary. This rich heritage stands out not only for its quantity but also for its quality. In fact, it is not difficult to come across famous signatures starting from Nadar, Disderi, Sarony, Alinari, NunesVais and Bragaglia. There are photographs of theatrical subjects in almost all archive funds, starting with the oldest, among which stand out the nineteenth-century ones by Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906), Ernesto Rossi (1827-1896) and Tommaso Salvini (1829-1915) up to those of more recent acquisition. Images of theatrical subjects, posed portraits or stage photos, are present, in fact, among the personal papers, among others, by the artists Elsa Albani (1921-2004), Ferruccio De Ceresa (1922-1993), Lilla Brignone (1913- 1984), Giorgio De Lullo (1921-1981), Romolo Valli (1925-1980), Alessandro Fersen (1911-2001), Gilberto Govi (1885-1966), Alberto Lionello (1930-1994), Sabatino Lopez (1867-1951), Virgilio Marchi (1895-1960), Ruggero Ruggeri (1871-1953), Guido Salvini (1893-1965), Sergio Tofano (1886-1973), Ermete Zacconi (1857-1948). Furthermore, the fonds of two photographers are preserved: Gastone Bosio (1909-1987) and Pasquale De Antonis (1908-2001), acquired respectively in 1978 and 1998. In the Bosio collection there are 56,850 negatives and relative specimens, which document the roman theatrical scene from the Second World War. The photographs are arranged in chronological order and grouped into four types: Current affairs, Magazine theater, Cinema and Prose theater. The 2,373 photographs from the De Antonis collection, donated to the Museum by the Province of Genoa and the Politeama Genovese, make up the theatrical part of the photographer's entire archive. They are images relating to shows staged in the most important Roman theaters between 1946 and 1965 and portray some of the most famous actors of the time as well as the main productions of Luchino Visconti's directions.

The statue reproduces the giant gorilla King Kong, protagonist of the second remake,
directed by Peter Jackson, of the film released in 1933 (the first adaptation dates back
to 1976, directed by John Guillermin). The 2005 movie was shot in New Zealand
with a budget of 207 million dollars, a record at the time. It grossed over 550 million.
The film was very well received by public and critics: such that it wins three Oscars
(best sound editing, best sound mixing and best special effects).

Curiosity: At the time of “King Kong” filming Bryan Singer, the director of “The
Usual Suspects”, was in Australia for the shooting of “Superman Returns”. As a
friend of Peter Jackson, he decided to spend a weekend on the set of King Kong.
Singer, as a personal favour to his friend, decided to direct the fight sequence
between King Kong and the V-Rex. Jackson later thanked him in the credits.

In the photograph, a page from the letter written by Gabriele D'Annunzio to Guido Salvini in 1936. The letter is kept in the MBA archive which now has over seventy collections largely notified by the Liguria Archives Superintendency as being of particular historical interest. There are more than 72,000 autographs, 69,000 photographs, 1,300 scripts, 4,000 drawings, including stage sketches, figurines and caricatures, about 62,000 press cuttings, administrative and other documentation. The archive documents the history of Italian theater starting from the nineteenth-century sources of Adelaide Ristori, Tommaso Salvini and Ernesto Rossi up to the days. The list of funds can be consulted on the page of the institutional website https://www.museoattore.it/attivita/ archive.

The specialized library has over 45,000 volumes, mostly dedicated to the history of theater, cinema and entertainment in its all forms, 10,000 theater programs and 1360 titles from Italian and foreign sector magazines. Over the years, the personal libraries of Tommaso Salvini, Cesare Vico Lodovici, Sabatino Lopez, Silvio d'Amico, Paolo Stoppa, Alba Maria Setaccioli, Lilla Brignone, Corrado Pavolini, Roberto Chiti, Guido Ceronetti, Elsa de 'Giorgi, Alessandro Fersen, the Salvini family and many other personalities have joined the MBA. All the bibliographic material is catalogued on SBN (National Library System) and can be searched online on opac.sbn.it.

Painted on canvas, by Alessandro Duse, 1888. Eleonora Duse, nicknamed the divine, is considered the greatest theater actress of her time and one of the greatest of all time. The painting that belonged to Orio Vergani was donated by his sons, Guido and Leonardo, in 1991 to the Theater Museum and Library. On the back of the canvas is written "A. Duse made 88”.

The statue reproduces the green superhero from Louis Leterrier's 2008 film of the
same name which is inspired by the famous comic book character from Marvel
Comics. It is a remake of the 2003 film signed by Ang Lee. Edward Norton plays the
role of the green giant and also contributed to the script writing. In this version of the
movie, Bruce Banner doesn’t become Hulk, due to the accidental hit of gamma rays,
as per Marvel tradition, but he undergoes an experiment at his own will. However,
Hulk always remains the good giant who just wants to be left alone.

Curiosity: Norton was also supposed to play Bruce Banner in The Avengers (2012)
and various sequels but was replaced by Mark Ruffalo. In an interview for the New
York Times, Norton explained that the reason for this change is due to different point
of views on the character. Norton wanted to give life to a cursed and introspective
Hulk, like Christopher Nolan's Batman, but the top management of Marvel Studios
wanted a lighter and entertaining character, and he gave up.

Stage sketch by Enrico Prampolini for Il colorificio del cielo first synthesis of Vulcani, eight chained syntheses, by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Staged by the "Compagnia del Teatro d’Arte" directed by Luigi Pirandello on March 31 and April 1, 1926 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, with two performances at the Teatro dei Filodrammatici in Milan and one at the Politeama Chiarella in Turin. Music by Franco Casavola. This is how Marinetti describes the scene in the text published by the Vecchi Publishing House in Milan in 1927: "The scene is dominated by the smoking profile of Etna. The clearing of a lemon grove closed by a wall of lava stones. In the background, on the left, the laboratory-house of the pyrotechnician Porpora. The facade is covered in cardboard overloaded with figures and painted with mysterious red yellow green signs. At the bottom on the right the farmhouse of the poet Serena. On the right, a low wall of lava stones looks in the distance at a large piece of very intense blue sea. On the left, a low wall of lava stones and cactus oppressed by a mass of tall gorse, clouds of dazzling fluid gold. A small door in this wall ".

In the photograph, the first panel of Mr. Bonaventura, published in "Il Corriere dei Piccoli" on October 28, 1917. It was October 28, 1917 when Mr. Bonaventura, with his red overcoat and trusty dachshund, made his first appearance in the Corriere dei Piccoli, clumsily swooping down on an unlucky thief and on the stolen goods, thus obtaining as a prize a medal that will soon become the famous millione. Since then, adults and children have joyfully followed the daring adventures of this nice and lucky character for about fifty years, born from the pencil of Sergio Tòfano, aka STO. The rhyming couplet lines that caption the drawings are more than just nursery rhymes. An entire generation has memorized the texts that invariably began with: "Here begins the adventure / mishap/ misfortune of Mr. Bonaventura ...". In 1927 Mr. Bonaventura  climbed onto the stage from the panels of the Corriere dei Piccoli. The character becomes the protagonist of six comedies written and interpreted by Tòfano himself: Qui comincia la sventura del signor Bonaventura (1927), La regina in berlina con Bonaventura staffetta dell’Ambasciatore (1928), Una losca congiura ovvero Barbariccia contro Bonaventura (1929), L’isola dei pappagalli con Bonaventura prigioniero degli antropofagi (1936), Bonaventura veterinario per forza (1948), Bonaventura precettore a corte (1953). The volumes of the Tòfano collection are precious: Qui comincia la sventura del signor Bonaventura, published in Milan by the Madella publishing house in 1927; the first collection of Il Teatro di Bonaventura for the Edizioni Alpes in 1930, which brings together the first three plays written between 1927 and 1929, which were followed, over the years, by other illustrated editions.

Consisting of a nineteenth-century puppet theater, it is preserved complete with the proscenium, a set of scenarios (38 scenes complete with backdrops and wings), furniture and props, 91 puppets (about 40 cm tall), a rich tailoring (costumes, footwear, hats), around 30 scripts. Due to the characteristics of the puppets, including lead hands and feet, their origin has been traced back to the area of Veneto, Friuli, Venezia Giulia, while numerous scenes recall the painters-scenographers who worked for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

The setting up of Gilberto Govi's Studio (1885-1966) at the Theater Museum and Library pays a dutiful homage to the great Genoese actor known throughout Italy, who also conquered the stages of Paris and South America, achieving huge success. The studio preserves all the original furnishings: Issel's desk and two pieces of furniture, Umberto Mastroianni's bronze sculptures, posters, photos, paintings including the famous one known as "The mask and the face" by Anton Mario Canepa, some portraits of Rina, the trunks and the "gipponetto" (the waistcoat) who became famous in I manezzi.