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News of Sophia Loren’s Oscar victory reaches her mother Romilda Villani, who visits her to congratulate her at her home in Piazza d’Ara Coeli in Rome. A flashback to 30 years earlier takes us to Pozzuoli (NA), when young Romilda had ambitions to make it big in Hollywood, but came up against her parents’ refusal. The film was partly shot in Nettuno (RM), a Medieval town that was transformed into 1950s and 1960s Pozzuoli for the film.
Romilda turns her unsatisfied ambitions onto her daughter Sophia when, while sitting on the beach on the Phlegraean Coast in Pozzuoli, she sees in a newspaper that the production team for Quo Vadis is looking for extras. At first times are hard, and the two women stay in a boarding house in Porta Maggiore, taking the tram every day to Cinecittà studios, waiting for their big break.
One problem remains unresolved: Riccardo Scicolone, Romilda’s one great love, refuses to acknowledge his younger daughter, Maria. The first traumatic encounter between the young girl and her father takes place in the shadow of the Colosseum, but doesn’t yield the desired results.
Meanwhile, Sophia is embarking on her dazzling career, first as SophiaLazzaro, a photo story actress, and then as Sophia Loren, the acclaimed film star. We see a melancholy Rome, with its ruins and the Imperial Fora, while Romilda observes them from a distance, deep in thought, aware that her daughter is spreading her wings and probably doesn’t need her anymore.
Romilda and Riccardo seem to have made their peace as, in the Galleria Sciarra, they leave the Odeon cinema, commenting on the latest success of their daughter Sophia, Houseboat, starring Cary Grant.
Maria, meanwhile, has met a man, Romano, who, after some hesitation, asks for her hand in marriage at Villa Borghese, with the Temple of Aesculapius in the background.
The epilogue takes place where it all started, in Pozzuoli: Romilda looks out of the window of her family home, reflecting on the last 30 years. Outside we can see the Flavian Amipitheatre.
News of Sophia Loren’s Oscar victory reaches her mother Romilda Villani, who visits her to congratulate her at her home in Piazza d’Ara Coeli in Rome. A flashback to 30 years earlier takes us to Pozzuoli (NA), when young Romilda had ambitions to make it big in Hollywood, but came up against her parents’ refusal. The film was partly shot in Nettuno (RM), a Medieval town that was transformed into 1950s and 1960s Pozzuoli for the film.
Romilda turns her unsatisfied ambitions onto her daughter Sophia when, while sitting on the beach on the Phlegraean Coast in Pozzuoli, she sees in a newspaper that the production team for Quo Vadis is looking for extras. At first times are hard, and the two women stay in a boarding house in Porta Maggiore, taking the tram every day to Cinecittà studios, waiting for their big break.
One problem remains unresolved: Riccardo Scicolone, Romilda’s one great love, refuses to acknowledge his younger daughter, Maria. The first traumatic encounter between the young girl and her father takes place in the shadow of the Colosseum, but doesn’t yield the desired results.
Meanwhile, Sophia is embarking on her dazzling career, first as SophiaLazzaro, a photo story actress, and then as Sophia Loren, the acclaimed film star. We see a melancholy Rome, with its ruins and the Imperial Fora, while Romilda observes them from a distance, deep in thought, aware that her daughter is spreading her wings and probably doesn’t need her anymore.
Romilda and Riccardo seem to have made their peace as, in the Galleria Sciarra, they leave the Odeon cinema, commenting on the latest success of their daughter Sophia, Houseboat, starring Cary Grant.
Maria, meanwhile, has met a man, Romano, who, after some hesitation, asks for her hand in marriage at Villa Borghese, with the Temple of Aesculapius in the background.
The epilogue takes place where it all started, in Pozzuoli: Romilda looks out of the window of her family home, reflecting on the last 30 years. Outside we can see the Flavian Amipitheatre.
Rai Fiction, Idea Cinema
Based on the book of the same name by Maria Scicolone, this drama series tells the story of Romilda Villani’s ambitions for her two daughters, Sofia (who goes on to become Sophia Loren) and Maria, after her parents stopped her from heading to Hollywood in her youth.
