Venice 27 May 1866. Countess Livia Serpieri is at La Fenice theatre for a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore. It is here that she first meets Austrian army lieutenant Franz Mahler.
Worried about the fate of her cousin, pro-Italian nobleman Roberto Ussoni, who is arrested by the Austrians after a quarrel with Mahler, Livia asks her husband to intervene, but the latter makes it clear that he intends to do no such thing. The Serpieri live in Palazzo Muti Baglioni, a private 17th century building tucked away in Venice's winding streets.
The future lovers meet again at the Austrian army headquarters when Livia goes to see Roberto, who has been exiled. Despite her initial hesitation, she ends up spending the entire night with lieutenant Mahler, strolling through Venice's streets, which are deserted as a result of the curfew in place. Dawn happens upon the couple on the Fondamenta di Cannaregio, which leads to Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, a small island in the district of Cannaregio which may be accessed via three bridges, and where the Venetian ghetto once was. In front of one of the three wells in the centre of the square, Mahler and the Countess stop again to talk before saying goodbye.
It's the beginning of a passionate affair that lasts right up until Mahler's disappearance, an event that throws Livia into a state of despair, as she looks for him in Campo dell'Arsenale, along the Fondamenta Arsenale. Now the property of the State, the Arsenal is located in the district of Castello, to the east of St. Mark's Square.
The outbreak of war takes Livia and her husband away to their villa in Aldeno: the villa we see in the film is actually Villa Godi Malinverni, in Lugo di Vicenza (VI): designed by Andrea Palladio, who started work on it in 1537, today the villa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The interiors of the villa were used for a number of scenes in the middle of the film: the "Sala di Venere" and the "Sala dell'Olimpo" were transformed into Livia's bedroom and boudoir respectively, the "Sala dei Cesari" and "Sala delle Muse" were used to film the scene in which the Countess gives money to lieutenant Mahler, and the central hall is used ad the Serpieris' parlour.
As the Battle of Custoza raged on – the battle scenes were filmed in Valeggio sul Mincio (VR), Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio (VR), San Giorgio in Salici (in Sona, VR) – Livia decides to pack her bags and go to her lover in Verona, where she discovers just how despicable he is. She arrives in Verona on the evening of the defeat of the Italian troops at the hands of the Austrians. The closing scenes if the film were actually filmed in the Roman district of Trastevere: the entrance to Verona is Porta Settimiana at the end of Via della Lungara, on the right bank of the Tiber. There scenes were shot in Via Alicia, Via Garibaldi (where the Countess reports Mahler's desertion), Vicolo del Leopardo and Via dell'Arco de' Tolomei.
The shooting takes place at Castel Sant'Angelo.
Last but not least, some of the interior shop in the film were taken at Scalera Studios in Venice and Titanus Studios in Rome.
Venice 27 May 1866. Countess Livia Serpieri is at La Fenice theatre for a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore. It is here that she first meets Austrian army lieutenant Franz Mahler.
Worried about the fate of her cousin, pro-Italian nobleman Roberto Ussoni, who is arrested by the Austrians after a quarrel with Mahler, Livia asks her husband to intervene, but the latter makes it clear that he intends to do no such thing. The Serpieri live in Palazzo Muti Baglioni, a private 17th century building tucked away in Venice's winding streets.
The future lovers meet again at the Austrian army headquarters when Livia goes to see Roberto, who has been exiled. Despite her initial hesitation, she ends up spending the entire night with lieutenant Mahler, strolling through Venice's streets, which are deserted as a result of the curfew in place. Dawn happens upon the couple on the Fondamenta di Cannaregio, which leads to Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, a small island in the district of Cannaregio which may be accessed via three bridges, and where the Venetian ghetto once was. In front of one of the three wells in the centre of the square, Mahler and the Countess stop again to talk before saying goodbye.
It's the beginning of a passionate affair that lasts right up until Mahler's disappearance, an event that throws Livia into a state of despair, as she looks for him in Campo dell'Arsenale, along the Fondamenta Arsenale. Now the property of the State, the Arsenal is located in the district of Castello, to the east of St. Mark's Square.
The outbreak of war takes Livia and her husband away to their villa in Aldeno: the villa we see in the film is actually Villa Godi Malinverni, in Lugo di Vicenza (VI): designed by Andrea Palladio, who started work on it in 1537, today the villa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The interiors of the villa were used for a number of scenes in the middle of the film: the "Sala di Venere" and the "Sala dell'Olimpo" were transformed into Livia's bedroom and boudoir respectively, the "Sala dei Cesari" and "Sala delle Muse" were used to film the scene in which the Countess gives money to lieutenant Mahler, and the central hall is used ad the Serpieris' parlour.
As the Battle of Custoza raged on – the battle scenes were filmed in Valeggio sul Mincio (VR), Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio (VR), San Giorgio in Salici (in Sona, VR) – Livia decides to pack her bags and go to her lover in Verona, where she discovers just how despicable he is. She arrives in Verona on the evening of the defeat of the Italian troops at the hands of the Austrians. The closing scenes if the film were actually filmed in the Roman district of Trastevere: the entrance to Verona is Porta Settimiana at the end of Via della Lungara, on the right bank of the Tiber. There scenes were shot in Via Alicia, Via Garibaldi (where the Countess reports Mahler's desertion), Vicolo del Leopardo and Via dell'Arco de' Tolomei.
The shooting takes place at Castel Sant'Angelo.
Last but not least, some of the interior shop in the film were taken at Scalera Studios in Venice and Titanus Studios in Rome.
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
La Fenice theatre, Venice
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
La Fenice theatre, Venice
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Arsenal, Venice
Copyright: Cristaldi Film
Copyright: Cristaldi Film
Lux Film
Based on the novella of the same name by Camillo Boito. In Venice, on the eve of the Battle of Custoza, the Countess Livia Serpieri, the wife of a pro-Austrian aristocrat, falls in love with young Austrian official Franz Mahler. Franz is a shady individual who pretends to love Livia, but is actually just using her for her money so that he can bribe a doctor into exempting him from military service.
