After a long illness Monica Vitti died. The Roman actress was 90 years old. To give the news Walter Veltroni with this message on social media: “Roberto Russo, her partner of these years, asks me to communicate that Monica Vitti is no longer there. I do it with great pain, affection, regret “. The Roman actress had been absent from the scene since 2001, when she was received at the Quirinale for the David di Donatello.
Roberto Russo, her partner of all these years, asks me to communicate that Monica Vitti is no longer there. I do it with pain, affection, regret.
– walter veltroni (@VeltroniWalter) February 2, 2022 Monica Vitti
Pseudonym of Maria Luisa Ceciarelli, Monica Vitti was born in Rome on November 3, 1931. Her characteristic hoarse voice and innate verve accompanied her for almost forty years of film career, from her dramatic interpretations in the “tetralogy of incommunicability” by Michelangelo Antonioni (The Adventure, The Night, The Eclipse and Red Desert) who gave her international fame, to those in brilliant roles (from The girl with the gun to I know you know I know) who made her consider the only “protagonist” of the Italian comedy, keeping an excellent head with fellow men Alberto Sordi, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi and Marcello Mastroianni. Among the various films we remember “The orange duck”, 1975 film directed by Luciano Salce which tells the story of a failed marriage in which Monica vitti plays alongside Ugo Tognazzi. Her interpretations of her with Alberto Sordi are famous: her experience alongside the Roman actor in the films she interpreted with him under the latter’s direction will be the one that will bring her closest to the general public, in the most national-popular sense. of the term.
“Farewell to Monica Vitti, farewell to the queen of Italian cinema. Today is a really sad day, a great artist and a great Italian disappeared ”. Thus the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, pays tribute to the actress who died today. She has had three long and important love affairs. The first, with director Michelangelo Antonioni; then, with the director of photography Carlo Di Palma, who also directed it in three films in the mid-1970s; finally, with the still photographer and director Roberto Russo, whom she married on September 28, 2000, in the Capitol, after 27 years of engagement. Awards and acknowledgments
She has obtained numerous awards, including five David di Donatello as best actress (plus four other special awards), three Silver Ribbons, twelve Golden Globes (two of which for Lifetime Achievement), a Golden Ciak for Lifetime Achievement, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Venice, a Silver Bear at the Berlinale, a Concha de Plata in San Sebastian and a BAFTA Award nomination. The most representative films of her in her career “L’avventura”, 1960
During a stop on the deserted islet of Lisca Bianca on the occasion of a boat trip to the Aeolian Islands, Anna, a young woman who had repeatedly shown signs of impatience, disappears into thin air. Her partner, the architect Sandro and one of her friends, Claudia, set out in search of her, following fleeting clues and scarcely reliable reports. With the passing of the days and the lack of results, the concern for the fate of the loved one tends to vanish and the mutual attraction takes over, which the two are able to freely express in those places so full of charm and at the same time inhospitable. When the two reunite with friends in Taormina, their adventure seems to come to an end to transform into a relationship recognized in the eyes of others. “The Eclipse”, 1962
Rome, 1961. On a July morning, the restless Vittoria leaves her companion Riccardo, an architect, whom she no longer loves. Their farewell was as cold, painless as their relationship had been. She alone, disheartened, marked by the fatigue of living, she “seeks in others a warmth of life, a faculty to be passionate of which she herself is now emptied.” One evening she visits her friend Anita of hers, with whom she however does not feel so confident that she can talk about herself and open up. Vittoria also tries to recover a serious relationship with her mother, whom she only manages to meet at the Rome Stock Exchange, the place where her mother goes daily. During one of these visits she meets Piero, a young and cynical stockbroker. “Red Desert”, 1964
Giuliana, wife of Ugo, an industrial manager, is depressed and tormented; her sense of dissatisfaction and inadequacy, which pushed her to the brink of suicide, shows no sign of abating, thanks to the absence of her husband and the alienation of a modernity devoid of authentic meaning. The engineer Corrado Zeller, friend and colleague of Ugo, seems to be the only one able to penetrate the mystery and isolation in which Giuliana finds herself, who did not benefit from her temporary stay in a psychiatric clinic after the attempt. suicide. An outing with a group of friends of the couple becomes an opportunity to highlight the distance between Giuliana and a context that does not belong to her, because it is too mean and senseless. “The girl with the gun”, 1968
Assunta Patane, a young Sicilian, in love with fellow villager Vincenzo Macaluso, is kidnapped by some of her friends and taken to a farm but the man aspired to another sicche falls back on the girl. The next day she wakes up alone because the man has fled to the UK to avoid marriage. Fallen from grace, Assunta is forced to leave to track him down and personally kill him in order to repay the shame. Arriving in Scotland and learning of her arrival, Vincenzo runs away from her causing her to lose track of her, the first of a series of escapes to Great Britain. Working and aided by occasional friendships, Assunta will be able to track him down while promptly managing to escape her. “Stardust”, 1973
Mimmo Adami and Dea Dani are husband and wife; Mimmo and manager and Dea soubrette. Together they direct the company great shows Dani Adami and try to make ends meet in occupied Rome in 1943. The company, after a long lean period, accepts the only job offer available and refused by others: to set up a tour in Abruzzo, a devastated region. from bombings that take place on the day in which Mimmo accepts the writing. From this moment on, the shabby company has to face a series of unexpected events; forced to feed on castagnaccio and sleep on trains, they stage their show in modest provincial theaters for a few spectators, inevitably ending up being laughed at.
Photocredits: Elena Torre from Viareggio – Monica Vitti
