Rome, Open City, the neorealist masterpiece by Roberto Rossellini with Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero and a young Vito Annichiarico, was the first film in Italy to be shot mostly outdoors.
Set during the Nazi occupation after the armistice of September 8, 1943, it portrays a Rome that has been battered but never tamed. Rome is a city that fosters rebellion against adversity, populated by ordinary people with pride and great moral strength, like commoner Pina, the unforgettable character played by Anna Magnani, a symbol of the woman who wants and needs to protest all forms of violence and injustice, and Don Pietro (Aldo Fabrizi), who offers help to anyone who asks and is ready to sacrifice his life rather than betray his family.
The city of the film is a Rome that shows her wounds, with buildings gutted by bombing and people who attack bakeries for a crust of bread. A city with welcoming magnificence, that demonstrates the deep, community spirit at its heart.
Filming began just after the war ended, with makeshift means, on January 18, 1945, as a plaque placed next to a building in via degli Avignonesi 31 recalls.
The centre of Rome is the protagonist of the very first frames, when a truck carrying Nazi soldiers drives by the “barcaccia” fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps. Immediately afterwards, Nazi soldiers knock on the door of a guesthouse looking for a man, engineer Manfredi, who has, in the meantime, escaped from a terrace overlooking piazza di Spagna.
As the frames scroll by, the characters emerge: Pina lives in social housing at number 17, via Raimondo Montecuccoli. One of the most realistic and heart-breaking scenes in Italian cinema was shot on this street in the Prenestino-Labicano neighbourhood: following a Nazi raid, Pina desperately chases the van that is taking away the man she was supposed to marry that day, screaming out his name – Francesco, and is shot to death in a burst of machine gun fire. In the following scene, her son Marcello cradles her on the pavement as she cries in despair. The character of Pina is a tribute to Teresa Gullace, shot dead by a Nazi soldier while trying to talk to her imprisoned husband.
Other scenes take place a few hundred metres from Pina's house, between the Casilina and Pigneto neighbourhoods, including the one when she confides in Don Pietro.
The Church of Sant'Elena, via Casilina 205, provided the exteriors for the church of the priest played by Aldo Fabrizi, a symbol of all the parish priests who "resisted". His character was probably inspired by Don Pietro Pappagallo, killed in 1944 in the Fosse Ardeatine massacre, and Don Giuseppe Morosini, shot in '44 at Forte Bravetta. Supported by their unshakable faith, both men perished for their commitment to providing aid to those persecuted by Nazi-fascism. The stretch of via Tiburtina where Don Pietro meets a partisan courier to deliver him some money is just kilometres away.
The interiors of Don Pietro's church are actually in Trastevere, the Church of Santa Maria dell'Orto, a Baroque jewel in via Anicia.
The scene of the Partisan ambush and the liberation of the prisoners takes place in Ostiense. The unmistakable outline of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, or Colosseo Quadrato, is clearly seen from the bridge on via delle Tre Fontane where the Partisans are stationed.
The film ends with the heart-breaking scene of the children sadly returning home after witnessing the shooting of Don Pietro (location: Arnaldo Ulivelli Barracks, in forte Trionfale). In the background is the dome of St. Peter's, and at their feet a Rome that, shortly thereafter, will slowly rediscover its “spring” after the long years of war.
The Nazi occupation of Rome lasted 9 very long months. It began on September 10, 1943. During that time, Rome was declared an “open city”, meaning it would renounce any type of armed defence or belligerent action. This would not stop the Resistance.
Rome, Open City, the neorealist masterpiece by Roberto Rossellini with Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero and a young Vito Annichiarico, was the first film in Italy to be shot mostly outdoors.
Set during the Nazi occupation after the armistice of September 8, 1943, it portrays a Rome that has been battered but never tamed. Rome is a city that fosters rebellion against adversity, populated by ordinary people with pride and great moral strength, like commoner Pina, the unforgettable character played by Anna Magnani, a symbol of the woman who wants and needs to protest all forms of violence and injustice, and Don Pietro (Aldo Fabrizi), who offers help to anyone who asks and is ready to sacrifice his life rather than betray his family.
The city of the film is a Rome that shows her wounds, with buildings gutted by bombing and people who attack bakeries for a crust of bread. A city with welcoming magnificence, that demonstrates the deep, community spirit at its heart.
Filming began just after the war ended, with makeshift means, on January 18, 1945, as a plaque placed next to a building in via degli Avignonesi 31 recalls.
The centre of Rome is the protagonist of the very first frames, when a truck carrying Nazi soldiers drives by the “barcaccia” fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps. Immediately afterwards, Nazi soldiers knock on the door of a guesthouse looking for a man, engineer Manfredi, who has, in the meantime, escaped from a terrace overlooking piazza di Spagna.
As the frames scroll by, the characters emerge: Pina lives in social housing at number 17, via Raimondo Montecuccoli. One of the most realistic and heart-breaking scenes in Italian cinema was shot on this street in the Prenestino-Labicano neighbourhood: following a Nazi raid, Pina desperately chases the van that is taking away the man she was supposed to marry that day, screaming out his name – Francesco, and is shot to death in a burst of machine gun fire. In the following scene, her son Marcello cradles her on the pavement as she cries in despair. The character of Pina is a tribute to Teresa Gullace, shot dead by a Nazi soldier while trying to talk to her imprisoned husband.
Other scenes take place a few hundred metres from Pina's house, between the Casilina and Pigneto neighbourhoods, including the one when she confides in Don Pietro.
The Church of Sant'Elena, via Casilina 205, provided the exteriors for the church of the priest played by Aldo Fabrizi, a symbol of all the parish priests who "resisted". His character was probably inspired by Don Pietro Pappagallo, killed in 1944 in the Fosse Ardeatine massacre, and Don Giuseppe Morosini, shot in '44 at Forte Bravetta. Supported by their unshakable faith, both men perished for their commitment to providing aid to those persecuted by Nazi-fascism. The stretch of via Tiburtina where Don Pietro meets a partisan courier to deliver him some money is just kilometres away.
The interiors of Don Pietro's church are actually in Trastevere, the Church of Santa Maria dell'Orto, a Baroque jewel in via Anicia.
The scene of the Partisan ambush and the liberation of the prisoners takes place in Ostiense. The unmistakable outline of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, or Colosseo Quadrato, is clearly seen from the bridge on via delle Tre Fontane where the Partisans are stationed.
The film ends with the heart-breaking scene of the children sadly returning home after witnessing the shooting of Don Pietro (location: Arnaldo Ulivelli Barracks, in forte Trionfale). In the background is the dome of St. Peter's, and at their feet a Rome that, shortly thereafter, will slowly rediscover its “spring” after the long years of war.
The Nazi occupation of Rome lasted 9 very long months. It began on September 10, 1943. During that time, Rome was declared an “open city”, meaning it would renounce any type of armed defence or belligerent action. This would not stop the Resistance.
Excelsa Film
The film is set in Rome during the Nazi occupation that followed the armistice of September 8, 1943 and tells the story of the resistance of the partisans and the suffering of the civilian population.
