“She's always happy. She desires nothing, envies no one, is curious about nothing. You can't surprise her. She doesn't notice the humiliations, though they happen to her every day. It all rolls off her back like some waterproof material. Zero ambition. No moral code. Not even a whore's love of money.” Io la conoscevo bene [I Knew Her Well] (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965)
Mar
5
Crispus Attucks – 1770
Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli) seen through her apartment window. Rome is reflected in her face. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
A wasteful act: Crispus Attucks, (arguably) the first American victim in the American Revolution, dies on March 5th, 1770.
– The Writer
An ambitious but aimless girl – she wants to be loved, and to be a model, a proto-Edie – mills about her day.
Sublimely shot, we see Adriana through glass panes, in reflections, in an off-focal plane, in other people's words.
Rome
Roma dodici novembre 1994 [Rome, November 12, 1994] (Alfredo Angeli et al., 1995)
Nov
12
1994
Domenica d'agosto [Sunday in August] (Luciano Emmer, 1950)
Aug
7
1949
A little boy runs down a Roman street. Superimposed it reads SUNDAY AUGUST 7 S. GAETANO THE SUN RISES AT 5:15 SUNSET AT 19:42 – CRESCENT MOON. S. GAETANO refers to Saint Cajetan, who's feast day is on August 7. DPs: Leonida Barboni, Ubaldo Marelli & Domenico Scala.
“Everything's crashing here.”L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
Jul
10
Mon
Vittoria (Monica Vitti, bottom left) at the Borsa – the Rome Stock Exchange. A clock top-right indicates it's Monday, July 10, 12:31 pm.. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.
– Vittoria's mother
Domenica d'agosto [Sunday in August] (Luciano Emmer, 1950)
Apr
29
spaghetti di mamma
Marcella (Anna Baldini) enjoying mamma's spaghetti on the beach of Ostia. DPs: Leonida Barboni, Ubaldo Marelli & Domenico Scala.
“Trouble is, she likes everything. She's always happy. She desires nothing, envies no one, is curious about nothing. You can't surprise her. She doesn't notice the humiliations, though they happen to her every day. It all rolls off her back like some waterproof material. Zero ambition. No moral code. Not even a whore's love of money.”Io la conoscevo bene [I Knew Her Well] (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965)
Apr
2
cocktails
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A lone Roberto (Enrico Maria Salerno) at a lively cocktail party in Rome's hypermodern EUR district. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
– the writer
L'udienza [The Audience] (Marco Ferreri, 1972)
Nov
14
Amedeo (Enzo Jannacci), a young man with heavy rimmed glasses wrapped in heavy, flowery drapes as if it's a toga, eating late at night. There's an opened can on one of his plates. A sad looking stuffed toy dog hangs out. DP: Mario Vulpiani.
“I still can't figure out if it's an office, a market place, or a boxing ring. And maybe I don't even need to.”L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
Jul
19
fruit
Vitti as Vittoria in front of a fruit stand next to La Borsa, the Rome stock exchange located in the remnants of the Hadrianeum. The fruit in the middle is a Melone Mantovano, a type of cantaloupe. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.
– Vittoria
“And what's this? I saw it in a movie once.”Le notti di Cabiria [Nights of Cabiria] (Federico Fellini, 1957)
Jul
18
National Caviar Day
Cabiria (Giulietta Masina) about to experience an unforgettable meal of lobster and caviar. She's holding the lobster up by its antennae with a mix of bewilderment and amusement on her face. Her frumpy outfit looks completely out of place in Lazzari's (Amedeo Nazzari) fancy apartment. DP: Aldo Tonti.
Maria “Cabiria“ Ceccarelli (Giulietta Masina), a prostitute looking for happiness, meets famous movie star Alberto Lazzari (handsomely moustachioed Amedeo Nazzari). In his plush mansion, he treats her to an opulent – if not bewildering to Cabiria – meal of lobster and caviar.
– Cabiria
Co-written by #Pasolini, #Fellini's Le notti di Cabiria is a love letter to hope, life, #Rome, and of course his Giulietta.
“Your new society sounds charming.” The Last Man on Earth (Ubaldo Ragona + Sidney Salkow, 1964)
Jun
2
Republic Day – Italy
Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) walking down the stairs of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (aka the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro aka the Colosseo Quadrato), with bodies scattered around him. DP: Franco Delli Colli.
Rome's EUR was Italy's site for the 1942 World's Fair, and meant as a showcase for #Mussolini's then-20 year old fascist state. Due to the outbreak of World War 2, EUR was never used for the Fair. Instead, the Italian Republic restored the project after the war and – quite appropriately if I may say so – turned it into a business district.
– Dr. Robert Morgan
An idealised, hypermodern interpretation of Classical Roman architecture, EUR feels alien and inhumane and serves as a perfect backdrop for the events a last man on earth may come up against.
Besides in The Last Man on Earth, EUR makes an appearance in L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962), Bertolucci's Il conformista (1970), Antonio Pietrangeli's Io la conoscevo bene (1965), and Peter Greenaway's The Belly of an Architect (1987).