"This is the town, the small world of a small world, planted in Northern Italy somewhere. There on that fertile and flat strip of land between the River Po and the Apennines"
Giovannino Guareschi
Shooting for the film took place in the province of Reggio Emilia, mainly in the municipalities of Brescello and Boretto.
The film opens on a political rally in Piazza Matteotti, in Brescello. The piazza is home to the town hall and the Church of Santa Maria Nascente, Brescello’s main place of worship and the parish church of Don Camillo. Today two statues by sculptor Andrea Zangani stand there in celebration of the two main characters of the film.
The church is clearly visible behind Don Camillo as he carries the crucifix during the procession: in the next scene, the priest meets Peppone and his men, although this was actually shot in Boretto. Hereinafter everyone heads towards the River Po.
Peppone stands on the balcony of his house in Via Carducci to show the locals his newborn son.
The protagonists often walk down Via Giglioli. Here you can still see ‘Peppone’s Bell’, featured in one of the films in the Don Camillo series.
The propery known as the ‘Bruciata’ is actually the Corte San Giorgio (the Favagrossa estate), in the neighbourhood of Lentigione in Brescello.
The Casa del Popolo, built on the orders of Peppone, is actually the former San Benedetto Cultural Centre convent. Today it houses the Museo di Peppone e Don Camillo.
Don Camillo departs from the Brescello-Viadana railway station.
One fun fact is that the second station, where the protagonist meets Peppone and his friends, is actually that of Gualtieri, near Suzzara, or rather in the opposite direction to the Parmense mountains where Don Camillo should have been heading for disciplinary proceedings.
"This is the town, the small world of a small world, planted in Northern Italy somewhere. There on that fertile and flat strip of land between the River Po and the Apennines"
Giovannino Guareschi
Shooting for the film took place in the province of Reggio Emilia, mainly in the municipalities of Brescello and Boretto.
The film opens on a political rally in Piazza Matteotti, in Brescello. The piazza is home to the town hall and the Church of Santa Maria Nascente, Brescello’s main place of worship and the parish church of Don Camillo. Today two statues by sculptor Andrea Zangani stand there in celebration of the two main characters of the film.
The church is clearly visible behind Don Camillo as he carries the crucifix during the procession: in the next scene, the priest meets Peppone and his men, although this was actually shot in Boretto. Hereinafter everyone heads towards the River Po.
Peppone stands on the balcony of his house in Via Carducci to show the locals his newborn son.
The protagonists often walk down Via Giglioli. Here you can still see ‘Peppone’s Bell’, featured in one of the films in the Don Camillo series.
The propery known as the ‘Bruciata’ is actually the Corte San Giorgio (the Favagrossa estate), in the neighbourhood of Lentigione in Brescello.
The Casa del Popolo, built on the orders of Peppone, is actually the former San Benedetto Cultural Centre convent. Today it houses the Museo di Peppone e Don Camillo.
Don Camillo departs from the Brescello-Viadana railway station.
One fun fact is that the second station, where the protagonist meets Peppone and his friends, is actually that of Gualtieri, near Suzzara, or rather in the opposite direction to the Parmense mountains where Don Camillo should have been heading for disciplinary proceedings.
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Cineriz
Don Camillo, the parish priest of Brescello, who is impulsive and exuberant, clashes often, sometimes even coming to blows, with Peppone, the newly-elected Communist mayor of the town, his friend and eternal rival.
