One of the greatest female interpreters in the history of Italian cinema, Anna Magnani was an emblematic figure of our neorealism. Together with Alberto Sordi and Aldo Fabrizi, she was one of the greatest actresses of Cinecitta. She skilfully portrayed the character of the passionate and foul-mouthed commoner who she also knows is sensitive and generous, bringing the genuine values ​​of a minor Italy to the big screen. She starred, among many others, in “Rome city open”, “Bellissima”, “Mamma Roma” and “La rosa tatuata”, which earned her an Oscar as best actress in 1956. Great was her human charge, so great to result in manifestations of affection and anger, reminding us what a strong and sensitive woman she was. Daughter of Rome
Anna was born on 7 March 1908. Although some sources indicate that she was born in Alexandria in Egypt, Magnani has always said she was born in Rome, from which she inherited her great strength of mind and unparalleled passion. She grows up with her maternal grandmother in the eternal city, in conditions of great poverty. She soon starts singing in cabarets and night clubs. Meanwhile, she studies at the Academy of Dramatic Art, which leads her to work between 1929 and 1932 in the theater company directed by the great Dario Niccodemi. Soon Magnani was in great demand in the Italian light theater. READ ALSO: The life and cinema of Anna Magnani on show in Rome The consecration
Work with Vittorio De Sica, with Toto. In 1941 he achieved a certain fame playing Maddalena Prima in Vittorio De Sica’s “Teresa Venerdi”, but he reached his definitive consecration in 1945 by reciting in the masterpiece of neorealism: “Roma città open” by Roberto Rossellini, with whom he had an intense and stormy relationship amorous. She then takes part in several light comedies, such as “Campo de ‘Fiori”, “The last wheelchair” and “Crazy Quartet”. You then work with Luigi Zampa, again with Rossellini, with Luchino Visconti. In 1955, after several silver ribbons, the Oscar winner arrives for the interpretation of her in the film by Daniel Mann, “The tattooed rose”, based on the novel of the same name by Tennessee Williams. She then works with Toto in “Laughter of joy”, with Pasolini in “Mamma Roma”. The television
After returning to the theater for a short time, Anna Magnani arrives on television, for which she interprets “La sciantosa”, “1943: a meeting”, “The automobile” and “… the year of grace 1870 ran”, four beautiful films written and directed by Alfredo Riannetti. She appears last in the cinema in 1972, in Fellini’s “Roma”, in which she plays herself. She died of cancer the following year, on September 26, 1973, at the age of sixty-five, accompanied until the last of her by her beloved son Luca. The cinema
An actress capable of giving timeless emotions, an immortal icon of our Italian cinema, who has given us unforgettable interpretations. A solar, powerful, passionate ” Romanism ”, this is how we remember Anna Magnani: a fire of energy, a strong, talented woman. Her films have become real Must-haves of world cinema. Here we recall 5 films that you cannot fail to see. Rome, open city, directed by Roberto Rossellini (1945)
During the nine months of the Nazi occupation of Rome, the German police are on the trail of the engineer Manfredi who is at the head of a branch of the Resistance. The man, who escaped the search in his apartment in time, finds refuge in the home of Don Pietro, a suburban parish priest active in the fight against the oppressor. Following the denunciation of an actress who had an affair with Manfredi, the engineer and the parish priest are arrested. Subjected to torture to force them to reveal the names of their companions, the two resist heroically and, while the young man loses his life under torture, the priest, against whom the bestial anger of the policemen is uselessly vented, is sentenced to be shot. Beautiful, by Luchino Visconti (1951)
Maddalena Cecconi, wife of a master builder, has only one daughter, Maria, an eight-year-old girl, whom she adores. Magdalene would like a splendid future for her and when the Stella Film announces a contest between the girls of Rome for the casting of a new film in Cinecitta, Maddalena decides to let her Maria participate in the contest and sacrifices time and money to prepare it worthily. Mamma Roma, by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1962)
Mamma Roma is a prostitute who suspends her business following the marriage of the patron Carmine with a peasant woman. The woman calls near her son Ettore who, in the surly psychology of a teenager, considers her mother a stranger and who soon has the first sexual experiences with a shrewd girl. Mamma Roma, for her part, has a well-established resale in the local market and she wants a better future for Ettore, therefore she hires a prostitute to win the favors of her son and organizes a blackmail to get Ettore a job. But Carmine pushes the woman back onto the sidewalk with the threat of revealing the whole truth about her to the boy. Second film by Pier Paolo Pasolini,La rosa tatuata, directed by Daniel Mann (1955)
Serafina Delle Rose, a Sicilian who emigrated to America, lives in Florida with her husband Rosario, a truck driver, and their daughter Rosa. When her husband dies in a car accident, her life seems to have lost all meaning, even when he discovers that Rosario had been having an affair with another woman for some years. For her daughter Rosa, her existence becomes more and more unbearable, until she meets a sailor, Jack, and she falls in love with him. Serafina will have to learn to live again and her encounter with Alvaro, a rude truck driver of hers, changes her profoundly. The Honorable Angelina, directed by Luigi Zampa (1947)
Anna Magnani plays the role of Angelina Bianchi, wife and mother of five children. In the Roman village of Pietralata, she finds herself with the other women to “baccaglia” against Commendator Garrone, owner of the dilapidated houses, built on land at risk of flooding. She thus becomes the champion of those poor people. She opposes the black market speculators, managing to obtain the distribution of pasta, the supply of water and the relocation of the bus terminal in the neighborhood. But political warfare is tough and can seriously hurt. In the film also a young Franco Zeffirelli, in the role of the Commendatore’s son.
Stella Grillo

Previous articleWhat do nocturnal ejaculations depend on?
Next articleWhere to go on a honeymoon in June