50 Years of ‘Fantozzi’ – The most iconic locations of the saga

Fantozzi, directed by Luciano Salce, was released in theatres on March 27, 1975: the first in the series of films about the character made famous by Paolo Villaggio (1932-2017), who described his creation as follows: “Fantozzi is a curious fighter. He is the ‘biggest loser’ of all time. […] He adapts to everything and has submitted to everything yet continues to float along, smiling. He may be a victim but he is not defeated”.

The film was based on the novels written by Villaggio, published by Rizzoli in 1971 (Fantozzi) and 1974 (Il secondo tragico libro di Fantozzi) and brings to the big screen the archetype of the loser, a grotesque, inept and unfortunate man, the victim of bullying who lives in a constant attitude of psychological subservience towards power.

The saga of the unfortunate accountant consists of 10 films: the last, Fantozzi 2000 – La Clonazione, directed by Domenico Saverni, was filmed in 1999. Their success was so great that the adjective fantozziano (indicating an awkward, inept, unlucky employee, servile with his superiors), officially entered the Italian language in 1977 and some scenes and lines from the films have cult status.

In 2008 Fantozzi was included in the list of 100 Italian films to save.

Who is ‘Fantozzi’? Plot. In theatres on March 27

While told through a lens of hyperbole, encapsulated in memorable scenes, the situations that Fantozzi and the group of “caricature” characters around him experience are still topical some fifty years later: the bus caught on the fly, the match between bachelors and married men, the New Year's Eve party, the game of billiards with the ferocious Catellani, the communist conversion, when Fantozzi, in winter jacket, red scarf and long hair, presents himself before the Galactic Megadirector wreathed in sanctity.

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first, legendary instalment in the Fantozzi film saga, the Cineteca di Bologna, in collaboration with RTI and Mediaset Infinity, is bringing the restored version to Italian theatres after work by the L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, with the supervision of Daniele Ciprì for color correction on March 27.

The evening at the Cinema Barberini in Rome

On Thursday, March 27, at 7:00 p.m., at Cinema Barberini in Rome (the location for the film's premiere 50 years ago), there will be a special evening with the screening of Fantozzi, in the presence of Elisabetta Villaggio, Paolo's daughter; Emanuele Salce, son of director Luciano; actor Plinio Fernando, who plays Mariangela Fantozzi; Fabio Frizzi, author of the unforgettable soundtrack; Daniele Ciprì, director and director of photography who oversaw the restoration; all coordinated by the critic Marco Giusti.

The evening will also feature the presentation of Fantozzi: Batti lei: a game created by Andrea Angiolino, developed by Ravensburger and produced in collaboration with the Mediaset Brand Extension Department to celebrate 50 years since the film’s release.

Key locations in the Ragioniere Fantozzi saga

The locations of the films are well-known to fans: the building that overlooks the flyover of the eastern ring road of Rome whence the accountant hurries to catch the bus to clock in at work on time; the entrance to the house and courtyard in via Giovanni Battista Bodoni (Testaccio), the street where his wife Pina’s crush - the baker - has his shop in Fantozzi Contro Tutti (1980, Neri Parenti, Paolo Villaggio), and the huge corporation set in the Lazio Region offices on via Cristoforo Colombo, where the accountant is walled up alive.

Then there is also: the villa in Olgiata of Count Diego Catellani (of the billiards challenge); and the Monumental Complex of San Michele a Ripa Grande (a juvenile prison, hospice and orphanage in the 1600-1700s, today the seat of the Ministry of Culture) which stood in for the Birkenmeyer Clinic for the film, where Fantozzi attempts the most drastic diet ever seen on at the cinema ("what does it consist of? Nothing... Twenty days of absolute fasting: no eating, no drinking...").

And also: scenes of the departure for ski week with his colleagues were shot at Roma Ostiense station; while the company bike race - the Cobram Cup – was held on monte Antenne.

The most iconic of all, however, is a scene which features the Bruno Zevi staircase, in front of the National Gallery of Modern Art near Villa Borghese, now part of the history of Italian cinema.