Marcello Mastroianni’s house in Fontana Liri
Marcello Mastroianni was born in the small village of Fontana Liri in Ciociaria, on September 28, 1924. His father, originally from Arpino, was the brother of the internationally renowned sculptor Umberto Mastroianni. Thanks to Marcello and Umberto, Fontana Liri has gained the title of “The Town of Cinema and Sculpture”.
Mastroianni and Troisi in “Splendor” by Ettore Scola – Facebook @ProLocoArpino1970
After sixty years of absence, Mastroianni returned to Arpino, in Ciociaria, to play the role of Jordan in the film “Splendor” by Ettore Scola. Together with Massimo Troisi, he describes the nostalgia of the cinema as it was in the late 80s, a bygone era, when the “Splendor”, the movie theatre in Arpino, was still shining. Jordan, the owner of the theatre, hires the beautiful Chantal to work at the ticket office. She successfully seduces Luigi (Massimo Troisi) in the hope not to shut down the “Splendor”, but her plan doesn’t work.
Commemorative plaque on Marcello Mastroianni’s house in Fontana Liri
On this occasion, Marcello paid a visit to Fontana Liri, and enjoyed a few conversations with the journalists about folklore, gastronomy and wines. On his native house, a commemorative plaque is affixed.
Mural by Umberto Cufrini portraying Marcello Mastroianni in Fontana Liri – Facebook @umberto.cufrini
Walking in Fontana Liri, we come across the mural portraying Marcello Mastroianni by the Ciociaro sculptor Umberto Cufrini, a huge monochrome bas-relief created with the word work technique.
Installation by Poteca on Marcello Mastroianni in Fontana Liri
The artistic installation entitled “Vieni”, by the Fontanese architect Bianchi-Poteca, overlooks the regional road. It displays several portraits of the great actor, which invite the drivers and passers-by to visit Fontana Liri.
“I soliti ignoti” by Monicelli with Mastroianni, Gassmann and Totò
In the 50s, his talent exploded, and he acted in forty movies. In 1950, he married Flora Carabella and his daughter Barbara was born to him. In 1958, he played the role of Tiberio in “I soliti ignoti” by Mario Monicelli. The character gets involved in a theft by a tragicomic gang, where he gets to know the extraordinary Vittorio Gassman and Totò. The robbery will be carried out in the fictional setting of Via delle Madonne in Rome, near Piazza Venezia. The movie is among the “100 Italian films worth to be saved”.
Sophia’s striptease for Marcello in “Ieri, oggi e domani”
Mastroianni’s collaboration with Vittorio De Sica and Sophia Loren has been extremely successful, as proved by the twelve movies in which he acted within forty years alongside the phenomenal actress. Unforgettable remains Sophia’s striptease for Marcello in “Mara”, one of the three episodes of “Ieri, oggi e domani”. Entirely shot in Rome in 1963, the motion picture deserved the Academy Award for the best foreign film in 1965.
The Loren – Mastroianni couple wins over the audience once again in 1977, with “Un giorno particolare”, directed by Ettore Scola, awarded with several prizes and a Golden Globe. The movie is set in the complex of the “Palazzi Federici” council houses in Viale XXI Aprile, in a Fascist Rome, where the actor plays the part of a troubled homosexual anti-fascist.
Mastroianni, Vitti and Giannini in “Dramma della gelosia”
Mastroianni has been engaged in all kinds of roles, from the intellectual to the pregnant man, the protagonist of the movie from 1973 “Niente di grave, suo marito è incinto”, directed by Jacques Demy. Unforgettable is the mad bricklayer in “Dramma della Gelosia – tutti i particolari in cronaca”, a work by Ettore Scola from 1970, in an explosive trio with Monica Vitti and Giancarlo Giannini.
“A wonderful adventure, the most exhilarating experience in my life and career, in an absolute sense.”
This is how Mastroianni defined his collaboration with Federico Fellini in the Oscar-winning “La dolce vita” (1960), in the role of the cynical journalist Marcello Rubini. The worldwide success of this masterpiece portraying the Roman life between the 50s and 60s, earned him the Nastro d’Argento.
Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Eckberg in “La dolce vita”
“Marcello, come here. Hurry up!”
This invitation by Anita Ekberg made Marcello Mastroianni immortal, so much that, when he died, the Trevi Fountain was closed for mourning for a day, an exceptional event.
Marcello Mastroianni in “8 1/2” by Fellini
Marcello is an international star, a histrionic and versatile icon of the post-war Italian Cinema. In “8 1/2” (1963), he plays Guido, a director in crisis, alter ego of Fellini. The film set is the town of Chianciano Terme, but the footage was taken mainly in the Cinecittà Studios in Rome. With its two Academy Awards, “8 1/2” is ranked 51st among the “500 Best Films in History” by the “Empire” magazine and included in the list of the “100 Italian Films to be saved”. “Mi ricordo, sì, io mi ricordo”, directed by Anna Maria Tatò, is his last work, a posthumous self-deprecating, autobiographical documentary.
His last theatrical show was “Le ultime lune” by Furio Bordon, a moving story about a lonely eighty-year-old professor. It has been performed until 1996, the year in which Marcello died in Paris on December 19.
What can we give you, Marcello, as a present for your 100th birthday? Maybe you would like to experience the emotion of going to the movies once again. But not the final “Ciak … Action!”; this time you will sit comfortably as a spectator. “Marcello Mio” is going to start! You will surely appreciate this movie starred by your daughter Chiara to celebrate your 100th birthday. She plays your part and talks about herself. Christophe Honoré shot this splendid movie in the towns of Paris, Rome, Latina and Formia, and the cast also includes Catherine Deneuve, Chiara’s mother.
Enjoy the show and…
… Happy 100th Birthday Marcello!