Freely inspired by the book Nine Lives Like Cats by Margherita Hack and Federico Taddia, Margherita delle stelle, directed by Giulio Base with a screenplay by Monica Zapelli, is a coming-of-age TV film that recounts the lesser-known years of Margherita Hack. The story begins with her childhood and adolescence when her extraordinarily non-conformist parents taught her the freedom to choose, which led her to break the moulds imposed by society, first and foremost those of the Fascist ideology. As an adult she spent 10 years at the Astronomical Centre of Merate, where she clashed with the baronial dynamics of the Italian academic world, only to then direct the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste - the first woman to hold this role. From here, she continued her multi-decade journey through the meanders of the cosmos, her eyes always pointed upwards.
Locations naturally included Florence, the backdrop to Margherita's childhood during the years of Fascism. In the Uffizi, where her mother painted copies of works of art to sell to tourists, little Margherita sees a sky that seems starry to her for the first time. Other featured areas of the city include: piazza Santa Croce, San Miniato, the lungarno Archibusieri, via delle Porte Sante and the Church of San Salvatore al Monte,.
Other locations featured the historic centre, piazza Duomo and surrounding areas and the Puccini park in Pistoia and the interiors of Convitto Cicognini in Prato.
The sports competitions were filmed at the "Pietro Mennea" stadium in Rome; the astrophysics observatories used as the settings for her years of research are in Arcetri (Florence), Rome and Trieste.
Freely inspired by the book Nine Lives Like Cats by Margherita Hack and Federico Taddia, Margherita delle stelle, directed by Giulio Base with a screenplay by Monica Zapelli, is a coming-of-age TV film that recounts the lesser-known years of Margherita Hack. The story begins with her childhood and adolescence when her extraordinarily non-conformist parents taught her the freedom to choose, which led her to break the moulds imposed by society, first and foremost those of the Fascist ideology. As an adult she spent 10 years at the Astronomical Centre of Merate, where she clashed with the baronial dynamics of the Italian academic world, only to then direct the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste - the first woman to hold this role. From here, she continued her multi-decade journey through the meanders of the cosmos, her eyes always pointed upwards.
Locations naturally included Florence, the backdrop to Margherita's childhood during the years of Fascism. In the Uffizi, where her mother painted copies of works of art to sell to tourists, little Margherita sees a sky that seems starry to her for the first time. Other featured areas of the city include: piazza Santa Croce, San Miniato, the lungarno Archibusieri, via delle Porte Sante and the Church of San Salvatore al Monte,.
Other locations featured the historic centre, piazza Duomo and surrounding areas and the Puccini park in Pistoia and the interiors of Convitto Cicognini in Prato.
The sports competitions were filmed at the "Pietro Mennea" stadium in Rome; the astrophysics observatories used as the settings for her years of research are in Arcetri (Florence), Rome and Trieste.
Copyright: ph: Assunta Servello
Giulio Base, Cristiana Capotondi
Copyright: @ Solaria Film
The Uffizi, Florence
Rai Fiction, Minerva Pictures
A child like many others, Margherita is lucky to have two parents who teach her the values of freedom, equality, contact with nature, and curiosity. Margherita roams the Florentine countryside on her bicycle, with her hair loose, comfortable clothes and a natural predisposition for autonomy. The little girl becomes a high-school student who, during the twenty years of Fascist regime, follows her instinct, risking expulsion for her protest against the removal of her Jewish teacher because of the Racial Laws. She doesn't care for fashion or what others think and prefers sport and bike rides to social events. She and Aldo create a marriage tailor-made for themselves, transcending custom and tradition. As a young woman, she falls in love with the world of the stars, finding her way in a world made and governed only by men.
