A celebratory crowd welcomes the French in Milan in the late 1700s, its appearance provided by the borgo of Nepi in the Tuscia area: the opening scenes were shot in the piazza del Comune and feature a glimpse of the building begun in 1542 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and only finished 200 years later. A carriage taking Gina (Marthe Keller), future Countess Pietranera, crosses the square as she heads off to visit her sister-in-law, the Marchioness del Dongo (Lucia Bosè), at her residence, the Rocca Meli Lupi in Soragna (province of Parma): the frescoed porticoes that greet the woman on her arrival and the sumptuous interiors identify the place. Several years later, Fabrizio del Dongo (Andrea Occhipinti) is called back by his father from his time with his uncle and aunt in Milano, to the 15th century residence, Castle of Grianta, actually Villa Melzi in Bellagio on lake Como; a residence celebrated by Stendhal who wrote the book the series is based on.
Mantua lends its palaces to recreate the pompous life of the Parma Court. Gina fears for Fabrizio, who fled Waterloo to join Napoleon’s troops and asks for help from Count Mosca (Gian Maria Volonté), her future lover: the teatro Bibiena is the sumptuous setting for their encounters. Having become Duchess of Sanseverina in the meantime, Gina has moved to Parma where her residence is Palazzo d’Arco. The Ducal Palace provides the interiors for the castle of Prince Ranuccio Ernesto IV: in the sala dei Fiumi, decorated during the Hapsburg domination (1773-1775), the Duchess is seated beside the Prince at a concert. A panoramic view of the wonderful palace rooms is offered in Episode 4 when Gina goes to the Prince to announce her departure from Parma because she is offended by the sentencing of her nephew: she walks first through the sala di Manto with a wooded, coffered ceiling decorated with depictions of the city’s origins and the Gonzaga family’s triumphs and then through the galleria dei Marmi.
In Episode 3 after four years of study in Naples, Fabrizio comes to Parma as a priest: the first glimpse of the city shows piazza Duomo, dominated by the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Baptistery. Riding onwards, the young man passes by the Reggia di Colorno, the exteriors of the Prince’s residence (although we are actually 16km north of Parma) to reach his aunt Gina’s residence in the Palazzo d’Arco in Mantua where she shows him the library. In the Torre Farnese, the terrible prison where Fabrizio is imprisoned and where he falls in love with young Clelia, is identifiable as the 15th century Castle of Torrechiara, about 20km south west of Parma while the exteriors of the villa on Lake Como where Fabrizio hides with his aunt after his escape are the neo-classical facades of Villa Trivulzio in Bellagio. The Prince’s death sparks a period of instability in Parma as the people push for a republic: the scene of the revolt was, however, shot in piazza Ducale in Sabbioneta (MN), about 30km north of Parma.
At the Church of the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Graces in Curtatone, increasing numbers of congregants attend Fabrizio’s sad sermons which moved them to tears. The Charterhouse of Parma, which gives the novel its title, where Fabrizio decides to retreat from the world, is actually the Abbey of Valserena.
A celebratory crowd welcomes the French in Milan in the late 1700s, its appearance provided by the borgo of Nepi in the Tuscia area: the opening scenes were shot in the piazza del Comune and feature a glimpse of the building begun in 1542 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and only finished 200 years later. A carriage taking Gina (Marthe Keller), future Countess Pietranera, crosses the square as she heads off to visit her sister-in-law, the Marchioness del Dongo (Lucia Bosè), at her residence, the Rocca Meli Lupi in Soragna (province of Parma): the frescoed porticoes that greet the woman on her arrival and the sumptuous interiors identify the place. Several years later, Fabrizio del Dongo (Andrea Occhipinti) is called back by his father from his time with his uncle and aunt in Milano, to the 15th century residence, Castle of Grianta, actually Villa Melzi in Bellagio on lake Como; a residence celebrated by Stendhal who wrote the book the series is based on.
Mantua lends its palaces to recreate the pompous life of the Parma Court. Gina fears for Fabrizio, who fled Waterloo to join Napoleon’s troops and asks for help from Count Mosca (Gian Maria Volonté), her future lover: the teatro Bibiena is the sumptuous setting for their encounters. Having become Duchess of Sanseverina in the meantime, Gina has moved to Parma where her residence is Palazzo d’Arco. The Ducal Palace provides the interiors for the castle of Prince Ranuccio Ernesto IV: in the sala dei Fiumi, decorated during the Hapsburg domination (1773-1775), the Duchess is seated beside the Prince at a concert. A panoramic view of the wonderful palace rooms is offered in Episode 4 when Gina goes to the Prince to announce her departure from Parma because she is offended by the sentencing of her nephew: she walks first through the sala di Manto with a wooded, coffered ceiling decorated with depictions of the city’s origins and the Gonzaga family’s triumphs and then through the galleria dei Marmi.
In Episode 3 after four years of study in Naples, Fabrizio comes to Parma as a priest: the first glimpse of the city shows piazza Duomo, dominated by the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Baptistery. Riding onwards, the young man passes by the Reggia di Colorno, the exteriors of the Prince’s residence (although we are actually 16km north of Parma) to reach his aunt Gina’s residence in the Palazzo d’Arco in Mantua where she shows him the library. In the Torre Farnese, the terrible prison where Fabrizio is imprisoned and where he falls in love with young Clelia, is identifiable as the 15th century Castle of Torrechiara, about 20km south west of Parma while the exteriors of the villa on Lake Como where Fabrizio hides with his aunt after his escape are the neo-classical facades of Villa Trivulzio in Bellagio. The Prince’s death sparks a period of instability in Parma as the people push for a republic: the scene of the revolt was, however, shot in piazza Ducale in Sabbioneta (MN), about 30km north of Parma.
At the Church of the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Graces in Curtatone, increasing numbers of congregants attend Fabrizio’s sad sermons which moved them to tears. The Charterhouse of Parma, which gives the novel its title, where Fabrizio decides to retreat from the world, is actually the Abbey of Valserena.
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Jean Boissery – Piazza Ducale, Sabbioneta
Copyright: ©Archivio fotografico Cineteca Nazionale, Roma. Selezione a cura di: Valentina Contessi, Elisabetta Chiarotti, Alessandro Andreini
Piazza del Comune, Nepi
Rai
The young aristocrat Fabrizio del Dongo joins Napoleon’s troops and takes part in the defeat at Waterloo. On his return, accused of betrayal, he escapes to Naples where he begins a career in the church and then heads to Parma to his aunt Gina Sanseverina who is in love with him. Fabrizio, however, loves Clelia Conti, the daughter of the director of the fortress where he is imprisoned for murder.
