Cinema, by its very nature, exists within a rectangle.

A screen, a shot, a specific point of view. But what happens when a story refuses to stay confined within that frame?

With Lucrezia Mind Palace, we worked precisely on this boundary: taking the language of cinema off the screen and transforming it into an experience where images, space, sound, and atmosphere coexist within the same narrative.

Conceived and directed by Nicolò Novek, and developed in collaboration with the American company ItaliaPass, Lucrezia Mind Palace transforms the Borgia Dungeons, in the heart of Rome, into an immersive journey through history, contemporary art, installations, and sound design.

Not just an exhibition and not just a film: a narrative environment where the audience physically steps into the story.

A project that draws on history but doesn't remain stuck in the past

Telling the story of Lucrezia Borgia means engaging with a figure who, even today, is subject to a multitude of interpretations.

The daughter of one of the most powerful families of the Italian Renaissance, she has been portrayed over the centuries through intrigues, politics, and legends that are often difficult to separate from historical reality. It is precisely this multi-layered image that became the starting point for the project.

With Lucrezia Mind Palace, we didn’t want to create a simple historical reconstruction, but rather to play with the character and the imagery surrounding her. To take a figure from the fifteenth century and bring her into a contemporary language, one made up of irony, rhythm, and pop influences.

Because even after five hundred years, Lucrezia Borgia still has something to say. And perhaps even something to complain about.

The short film as the heart of the experience

As part of the immersive experience, 15th Century Bachelorette, a short film written and directed by Nicolò Novek - comes to life.

Set in the gallery’s own underground chambers, the film portrays Lucrezia Borgia in a completely new light: comical, ironic, and unconventional. It’s a reinterpretation that plays on the contrast between the rigor of the Renaissance era and a contemporary visual language.

Jenny De Nucci takes on the lead role, portraying an elegant, determined Lucrezia with a decidedly unique personality.

The result is a historical figure who ceases to be a distant presence and becomes a protagonist with whom the audience can have fun, identify, and be surprised.

Because the best way to engage with an ancient story isn’t always to make it more serious. Sometimes, it’s exactly the opposite.

When the set becomes part of the story

Producing a short film designed for an immersive experience means changing your perspective.

In a traditional film production, the location is just one element of the film. In a project like Lucrezia Mind Palace, however, the space becomes an integral part of the narrative.

The Borgia Dungeons aren’t simply the place where we filmed - they’re an active element of the story. Their atmosphere, history, and structure influenced our aesthetic choices, cinematography, and the very way we constructed the scenes.

The production challenge was to create content that could function on two levels: as a standalone short film and, at the same time, as a piece of a broader experience.

Every image had to interact with what would happen before and after watching the film.

From the Renaissance to a contemporary language

One of the most interesting aspects of the project was exploring the relationship between history and contemporary forms of expression.

Telling the story of Lucrezia Borgia to an international audience means striking a balance between the historical context and the need to create an immediate connection with the viewer.

That’s why 15th Century Bachelorette doesn’t seek to imitate the past, but rather reinterprets it through contemporary rhythm, aesthetics, and sensibilities.

The result is a convergence of different eras: the Italian Renaissance and today’s visual codes, history and entertainment, cultural heritage and cinematic storytelling.

It is precisely from this fusion that the most interesting stories emerge.

What we take home

With Lucrezia Mind Palace, we’ve explored a realm that feels very close to our hearts: one where cinema, technology, and physical space cease to be separate elements.

The future of audiovisual media isn’t just about how we tell a story, but also about the place and context in which the audience encounters it.

A story can come to life on a screen, but also within an environment, a journey, or a shared experience.

The challenge, every time, is to figure out the right format to bring a story to life. In this case, we discovered that even the basement of a Roman building can become the perfect setting for a Lucrezia Borgia with a much greater sense of humor than one might expect.