Villa Adriana: Designed as a Cinematic Set?
In an essay featured in Artribune, Andrea Bruciati posits that Villa Adriana in Tivoli, constructed by Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, functions as a cinematic backdrop. The villa's layout creates a 'spatial montage' that foreshadows cinematic techniques. Bruciati discusses films that maintain its essence, such as Peter Greenaway's 'The Belly of an Architect' (1987) and the Taviani brothers' 'Allonsanfàn' (1974), alongside those that reinterpret it, like Roger Vadim's 'Et mourir de plaisir' (1960) and Ridley Scott's 'All the Money in the World' (2017). He curated the 2020 exhibition '60/20: Villa Adriana tra Cinema e UNESCO' and references the Villae Film Festival's screenings, concluding that Hadrian designed the space to shape perception, rendering the villa an 'infinite set'.
Key facts
- Villa Adriana in Tivoli, built by Emperor Hadrian, is analyzed as a proto-cinematic space.
- The villa's spatial design features sequences, perspectives, and reflections akin to film editing.
- Films preserving the villa's identity include 'The Belly of an Architect' (1987) by Peter Greenaway and 'Allonsanfàn' (1974) by the Taviani brothers.
- Films transforming the villa include 'Et mourir de plaisir' (1960) by Roger Vadim, the first film shot there.
- Other films: 'Von Ryan's Express' (1965) by Mark Robson, 'The Fall' (2006) by Tarsem Singh, 'The Order' (2003) by Brian Helgeland.
- Contemporary uses: 'All the Money in the World' (2017) by Ridley Scott and 'Smetto quando voglio – Masterclass' (2017) by Sydney Sibilia.
- The exhibition '60/20: Villa Adriana tra Cinema e UNESCO' was presented in summer 2020, curated by Andrea Bruciati with Francesca Roncoroni.
- The Villae Film Festival in 2020 screened films like 'Titus' (1999) by Julie Taymor and 'La balia' (1999) by Marco Bellocchio within the villa.
- The essay was written by Andrea Bruciati and published on Artribune.
- Villa Adriana was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 (20 years before the 2020 exhibition).
Entities
Artists
- Andrea Bruciati
- Francesca Roncoroni
- Peter Greenaway
- Taviani brothers
- Roger Vadim
- Mark Robson
- Frank Sinatra
- Tarsem Singh
- Brian Helgeland
- Heath Ledger
- Ridley Scott
- J. Paul Getty
- Sydney Sibilia
- Julie Taymor
- Marco Bellocchio
- Emperor Hadrian
Institutions
- Artribune
- UNESCO
- Villae Film Festival
Locations
- Villa Adriana
- Tivoli
- Italy
- Rome
- Egypt
- Greece
- Asia Minor