There is a precise moment, upon entering Biblioteca Salaborsa, when everything stops.

Your gaze rises almost by chance, drawn to something that is not just graphic design, not just memory. It is living painting.

Twelve Italian vintage film posters, hanging along the first floor balcony, carry the mind and heart back in time.

They don’t look like simple posters.They look like paintings.

This truly happened during the 39th edition of the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival.

One visitor, then another, then dozens of people looking up

Enchanted gazes, pointing fingers, someone whispering:

“But… they didn’t look like this. You remember them differently too, right?”

They were right. Because these posters are not mass-produced prints, but restored digital works carefully brought back to life and printed on canvas upon request, using materials chosen to enhance the grain of the color, the brushstroke, the light.

The posters were provided by SacWebphoto, which, together with the Cineteca di Bologna, is carrying out a project to restore value and visibility to the great Italian school of film poster painters.

Posters as Works of Art

The exhibition will remain on view in Salaborsa until December 15, 2025.

Each poster selected for the Salaborsa exhibition tells a chapter of Italian cinema history: from from Riso Amaro to La ragazza con la pistola, from Breakfast at Tiffany’s to Guardie e ladri.In this context, printing on canvas brings back not only the image but the living material of the original illustration—the brushstroke, the chiaroscuro, the texture of the ink.

In the suspended atmosphere of the library, the colors come to life, natural light enhances faces and details.There is no need for digital effects only the quality of the work, the power of the painting, and the collective memory.

A Project with the Cineteca di Bologna to Preserve the Italian School of Film Poster Artists

This initiative stems from the collaboration between SacWebphoto and the Cineteca di Bologna, with the goal of preserving and promoting the legacy of Italian film poster painters the undisputed masters of visual communication for cinema between the 1940s and 1970s.

Through meticulous high-definition digitization, professional color restoration, and printing on canvas or photographic paper, SacWebphoto contributes to creating a unique digital archive: tens of thousands of vintage lobby cards, film posters, and billboards, available to collectors, enthusiasts, and industry professionals.

To decorate, collect, and relive the great cinema

The canvas prints provided by SacWebphoto are not meant only for exhibitions: they are also available on order for private or professional use. Each piece is unique ideal for decorating cultural spaces, creative studios, screening rooms, or private homes.

For those who love classic cinema, Italian design, and film graphics as an art form, our collection offers an opportunity to collect emotions, preserve visual memory, and bring into your home the timeless beauty of restored posters.

Beneath the poster… a painting. Beneath the painting… a memory.