CTRL + Cinema

From September 27th to October 19th 2025

Held in the wonderful Villa Santa Lucia on the Ceresio lake shores

It's not simply a computer exhibition, it is a journey inside movies: you can see objects, meet who worked at, relive cult scenes and celebrate unforgettable anniversaries.....

The exhibition isn't just a vintage computer showm it's a portal towards the future we imagined.
Free entry.

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The exhibition

Computer that dreamed for us

Once upon a time, computers were huge. They didn't fit in your pocket, they weren't invisible. They were mysterious, noisy, luminous machines. In science fiction films, they became the brains of spaceships, oracles of the future, silent monsters, or faithful friends. They were much more than circuits: they were materialized imagination. They taught us to fear and love technology; they made us laugh, tremble, hope. Today, those computers—the ones we saw on the big screen in cult films and unforgettable series—come back to speak to us. Not as relics, but as mirrors of our dreams. Because science fiction has never been just entertainment: it has been a compass of the future. Looking at those machines, we recognize ourselves: generations who dreamed of tomorrow through the cinema screen. This exhibition is not just a return to the past. It is a journey into the future we imagined. A bridge between those who remember with nostalgia and those who discover for the first time. A place where cinema, technology, and wonder meet.

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The Location

Villa Santa Lucia, on the banks of Lake Ceresio, in the municipality of Valmara (TI), Switzerland.

The splendid Villa Santa Lucia is located right on the shores of Lugano's Lake, in the Melano district of Val Mara. It has a large free parking lot and is easily accessible from the A2 motorway, exit at Melide-Bissone if coming from Bellinzona/Lugano or Mendrisio if coming from Como/Varese/Chiasso. By train, use the Melano-Maroggia station, less than 2 km away and about a 20-minute walk.
Address: Villa Santa Lucia - Via Santa Lucia 22 (Zona Lido) - Melano - Switzerland

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What to expect

Preserving cultural memory

Preserving the legacy of computer science and science fiction, which has shaped entire generations of engineers, artists, and dreamers.

Dialogue between generations

Parents can tell their children, "I saw this at the cinema," and young people can discover that the retro-futuristic aesthetics that are now so popular on TikTok and in fashion were born there.

Reconnecting with wonder

In an age where real computers are everywhere, small and invisible, seeing the "giant and noisy" ones from the movies restores a sense of technological magic.

Mirror of the present

Looking at how cinema imagined computer science, we realize how science fiction has often predicted (or inspired) current events: AI, virtual reality, global networks.

Side Events and Conferences

Sci-Fi panels, cultural talks, anniversaries to celebrate. Guests to meet...

Guided tours

Schools and groups can request a guided tour, with the works and their history told by the European Society for Computer Preservation.

Come see the computers that made history on the big screen.

Come and meet the dreams that made us who we are.

September 27, 2025 – October 19, 2025, Every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (except September 27, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm). Weekday visits by request. Computers have never been so alive.

Free Entry