MOLE ANTONELLIANA, Elevator

I'm going to tell you a secret: inside its huge structure, the Mole hides the first panoramic elevator that was officially designed for tourists. Truly cutting edge for the times.

It was built in 1953 during the restoration works of the broken spire I mentioned in the previous file, and commenced operation for the celebrations of the centenary of the Unification of Italy. Both its mechanism and route have been renovated and refurbished many times, and for about 20 years now it has reached as high as the so-called "Tempietto", the structure with two levels of balconies that sits above the dome.

Fate had pretty much decided that the Mole was destined to have an elevator: during the General Italian Exposition of 1884, when the Mole's work had not yet ended, the expectations for an elevator were already so high that one of the organized attractions was an exciting ride in a small hot-air balloon that took off from the nearby Vittorio Square and went to the top of the yard so the works could be seen more closely....