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A series of murders dominates the headlines in Italy: among the victims is Mino Pecorelli, killed by four gunshot wounds on 20 March 1979 in Via Orazio in Rome. The scene of the crime was staged outside the Mediterraneo Theatre at the Mostra d’Oltremare centre in Naples. Also shot in the streets of Naples was Giorgio Ambrosoli’s murder, which actually took place in Milan on 11 July 1979 but was staged here in Via Morelli in the Chiaia quarter, as was that of Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, who was actually killed in Palermo on 3 September 1982, although his murder was staged in Via Pasquale Leonardi Cattolica in the Bagnoli quarter for the film. The spectacular explosion of Falcone’s car as it speeds past the old Italsider plant closes the sequence of murders.
We’re in Rome, at the beginning of the 1990s. Looking out the window, Andreotti’s secretary warns Andreotti that “an ill wind is coming”, as Paolo Cirino Pomicino arrives. The exteriors and courtyard of Andreotti’s home are actually those of Palazzo Saluzzo Paesana in Via della Consolata in Turin. Bit by bit, other key figures from Andreotti’s time filter in: Franco Evangelisti, Giuseppe Ciarrapico, ‘his Excellency’ Salvo Lima, Vittorio ‘The Shark’ Sbardella, and Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, nicknamed ‘Sua Sanità’. The seventh Andreotti government is about to be sworn in.
Soon after, he’s sworn in in the presence of the President of the Republic Francesco Cossiga. But before this, a surreal scene sees the new Prime Minister come face to face with a cat in an enormous hall: this is actually the Hall of the Swiss Guards in Palazzo Reale in Turin. The official swearing-in by the President takes place in the Ballroom.
The celebrations, with music, unrestrained dancing and young women, take place at Pomicino’s home. The exteriors, which can be seen a few scenes later when Andreotti agrees to run for President of the Republic during a solemn dinner in the garden, and when Pomicino is arrested, are those of Villa di Fiorano, a historical residence immersed in four hectares of gardens next to the Appia Antica Archaeological Park.
While Andreotti attends a horse race at Capannelle, actually the Agnano Racecourse (NA), Salvo Lima is killed by the mafia in Palermo: it’s 12 March 1992 and the murder was reconstructed for the film in the park of the Mostra d’Oltremare in Naples.
During one of his walks/processions at dawn under the protection of his bodyguard, Andreotti goes to the Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina in the piazza of the same name in Rome (which is actually where he had his office), and asks if he can confess. His office is in Palazzo Santacroce, and in one of the last sequences in the film, as he walks out the door, we see the Church of San Carlo ai Catinari, in Piazza Cairoli in Rome.
A priest blesses a deserted Chamber of Deputies: in the foreground is the main bench, which is set out like an altar. During the vote for the President of the Republic, despite all the political scheming, Andreotti fails to win. The ‘Buvette’ bar in the Italian Parliament building was reconstructed at the Circolo dei lettori in Via Bogino (Turin).
It is at this point in the film that an explosion marks the assassination of Giovanni Falcone and the beginning of a very difficult period for Andreotti, who is implicated in legal proceedings by informers and convicted for mafia association and complicity in a murder.
This is followed by a number of arrests for corruption: in the film, the home of Ciarrapico, where the latter is arrested for bankruptcy, is actually Palazzo Birago di Borgaro in Via Carlo Alberto in Turin. The villa of Licio Gelli, Grand Master of the secret P2 lodge, and the building we see Andreotti in during a trip to the Soviet Union, can actually be found in Gressoney-Saint-Jean.
We see Pippo Calò, who is brought to trial on the back of the testimonies of various informers, walking along Via della Conciliazione, with St. Peter’s Basilica behind him.
Among the various informers, Baldassarre Di Maggio, Toto Riina’s driver, is the instigator of the arrest of his boss: he knows the ruins where the boss of Cosa Nostra his hiding well (these were reconstructed on a small farm in Ischitella near Pozzuoli).
In one dreamlike scene, Andreotti recalls how he asked his wife Livia to marry him in Verano cemetery (this is actually the Naples War Cemetery), subsequently acknowledging that this was wrong.
He recalls the accusations of Aldo Moro, who was held prisoner by the Red Brigades before they killed him: the terrorists’ hideout was reconstructed for the film in Naples, in the Mostra d’Oltremare centre.
Andreotti's trial is held in Palermo. His Lawyer's office is actually in Palazzo della Vittoria (also known as Casa della Carrera or Casa dei Draghi) a liberty-style building in Turin.
A series of murders dominates the headlines in Italy: among the victims is Mino Pecorelli, killed by four gunshot wounds on 20 March 1979 in Via Orazio in Rome. The scene of the crime was staged outside the Mediterraneo Theatre at the Mostra d’Oltremare centre in Naples. Also shot in the streets of Naples was Giorgio Ambrosoli’s murder, which actually took place in Milan on 11 July 1979 but was staged here in Via Morelli in the Chiaia quarter, as was that of Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, who was actually killed in Palermo on 3 September 1982, although his murder was staged in Via Pasquale Leonardi Cattolica in the Bagnoli quarter for the film. The spectacular explosion of Falcone’s car as it speeds past the old Italsider plant closes the sequence of murders.
We’re in Rome, at the beginning of the 1990s. Looking out the window, Andreotti’s secretary warns Andreotti that “an ill wind is coming”, as Paolo Cirino Pomicino arrives. The exteriors and courtyard of Andreotti’s home are actually those of Palazzo Saluzzo Paesana in Via della Consolata in Turin. Bit by bit, other key figures from Andreotti’s time filter in: Franco Evangelisti, Giuseppe Ciarrapico, ‘his Excellency’ Salvo Lima, Vittorio ‘The Shark’ Sbardella, and Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, nicknamed ‘Sua Sanità’. The seventh Andreotti government is about to be sworn in.
Soon after, he’s sworn in in the presence of the President of the Republic Francesco Cossiga. But before this, a surreal scene sees the new Prime Minister come face to face with a cat in an enormous hall: this is actually the Hall of the Swiss Guards in Palazzo Reale in Turin. The official swearing-in by the President takes place in the Ballroom.
The celebrations, with music, unrestrained dancing and young women, take place at Pomicino’s home. The exteriors, which can be seen a few scenes later when Andreotti agrees to run for President of the Republic during a solemn dinner in the garden, and when Pomicino is arrested, are those of Villa di Fiorano, a historical residence immersed in four hectares of gardens next to the Appia Antica Archaeological Park.
While Andreotti attends a horse race at Capannelle, actually the Agnano Racecourse (NA), Salvo Lima is killed by the mafia in Palermo: it’s 12 March 1992 and the murder was reconstructed for the film in the park of the Mostra d’Oltremare in Naples.
During one of his walks/processions at dawn under the protection of his bodyguard, Andreotti goes to the Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina in the piazza of the same name in Rome (which is actually where he had his office), and asks if he can confess. His office is in Palazzo Santacroce, and in one of the last sequences in the film, as he walks out the door, we see the Church of San Carlo ai Catinari, in Piazza Cairoli in Rome.
A priest blesses a deserted Chamber of Deputies: in the foreground is the main bench, which is set out like an altar. During the vote for the President of the Republic, despite all the political scheming, Andreotti fails to win. The ‘Buvette’ bar in the Italian Parliament building was reconstructed at the Circolo dei lettori in Via Bogino (Turin).
It is at this point in the film that an explosion marks the assassination of Giovanni Falcone and the beginning of a very difficult period for Andreotti, who is implicated in legal proceedings by informers and convicted for mafia association and complicity in a murder.
This is followed by a number of arrests for corruption: in the film, the home of Ciarrapico, where the latter is arrested for bankruptcy, is actually Palazzo Birago di Borgaro in Via Carlo Alberto in Turin. The villa of Licio Gelli, Grand Master of the secret P2 lodge, and the building we see Andreotti in during a trip to the Soviet Union, can actually be found in Gressoney-Saint-Jean.
We see Pippo Calò, who is brought to trial on the back of the testimonies of various informers, walking along Via della Conciliazione, with St. Peter’s Basilica behind him.
Among the various informers, Baldassarre Di Maggio, Toto Riina’s driver, is the instigator of the arrest of his boss: he knows the ruins where the boss of Cosa Nostra his hiding well (these were reconstructed on a small farm in Ischitella near Pozzuoli).
In one dreamlike scene, Andreotti recalls how he asked his wife Livia to marry him in Verano cemetery (this is actually the Naples War Cemetery), subsequently acknowledging that this was wrong.
He recalls the accusations of Aldo Moro, who was held prisoner by the Red Brigades before they killed him: the terrorists’ hideout was reconstructed for the film in Naples, in the Mostra d’Oltremare centre.
Andreotti's trial is held in Palermo. His Lawyer's office is actually in Palazzo della Vittoria (also known as Casa della Carrera or Casa dei Draghi) a liberty-style building in Turin.
It’s the beginning of the 1990s and the orchestra of Italian politics is being conducted, as it has been for 40 years, by Giulio Andreotti. Electoral battles, terrorist attacks and shameful accusations slide off him, without leaving a trace on his placid and impenetrable face.
