Considered one of the most beautiful movie theatres in the country, Cine-Teatro de Alcobaça was inaugurated on December 18, 1944, owned then by the company Almeida Monteiro & Leitão and still regarded as one of the most relevant architectural works in the career of Swiss architect Ernesto Korrodi and his son Camilo Korrodi.
Working and living since 1890 in Leiria, Ernesto Korrodi didnt have the opportunity to attend the inauguration of the space: he died months earlier, on February 3, 1944, establishing himself in the history of architecture as one of the names that mostly contributed to the heritage and history of Portugal (besides the fact of being seen as an exponent of Art Nouveau in Portugal and also responsible for the recovery of Leiria’s Castle, that received several awards, including Valmor Prize).
If the architectural style of the building harmoniously combines various styles and periods, that also dues to the influence of his son Camilo Korrodi that combined the new currents of that time, including the Art Deco and Modernism, with the Art Nouveau style cultivated by his father.
Initially, this new hall had the capacity for 732 spectators and film screenings used to take place on Thursdays and Sundays, having also the presentation of plays, concerts and musicals, initiatives that turned this buildign into the main focus of social and cultural life of Alcobaça and its county.
In the late 1980s, Cine-Teatro de Alcobaça is owned by Lusomundo company, until the growing signs of degradation leads to Municipality of Alcobaca to acquire the building in 1998 in order to effect its recovery.
In 2002, the recovering works begin and on November 12, 2004 it occurs the reopening to public, maintaining the original lines of architect Ernesto Korrodi.
