The electronic structure of curium metal has been investigated by valence-band and 4f core-level photoemission spectroscopy using a high purity 248Cm sample. The experimental spectra are dominated by poorly-screened features and indicate full localization of the 5f electrons, in strong contrast to the lighter actinides, including Pu and Am. The results obtained are in good agreement with the Cm photoemission obtained by atomic multi-electronic calculations for a 5f7 configuration and with the total 5f density of states calculated ab initio within a correlated band theory model based on the self-consistent local density matrix approximation to the dynamical mean field theory. ; JRC.E.6-Actinides research