Rossellini's Postwar Cinema and Italian Cultural Identity
Michele Dantini's essay on Artribune examines how Roberto Rossellini's postwar films used Italy's cultural heritage to articulate a national identity rooted in humanism and resistance against nihilism. In "Roma città aperta" (1945), the iconic sequence of Anna Magnani's death references Michelangelo's Pietà, with Aldo Fabrizi holding her body, while the final shot of children against St. Peter's dome asserts resilience. "Paisà" (1946) and "Il generale della Rovere" (1959) show monuments like the Colosseum and Uffizi statues packed in crates, sharing the suffering of civilians and partisans. In "Paisà"'s final episode, a German officer boasts of destroying the past, counterposed by a humanism tied to Italian resistance. "Viaggio in Italia" (1954) uses classical statues from Naples' National Archaeological Museum to symbolize cultural reconciliation between Anglo-American victors and defeated Italians. Dantini links this to Giuseppe Prezzolini's 1948 pamphlet "Cosa resta dell'Italia?" and Salvatore Satta's "De profundis" (1948), which offered a liberal-national perspective acknowledging Catholics' role in the Resistance, often silenced in official narratives.
Key facts
- Roberto Rossellini's films "Roma città aperta" (1945), "Paisà" (1946), "Il generale della Rovere" (1959), and "Viaggio in Italia" (1954) are analyzed.
- Anna Magnani's death scene in "Roma città aperta" references Michelangelo's Pietà.
- Aldo Fabrizi plays a priest executed in "Roma città aperta".
- St. Peter's dome appears in the final shot of "Roma città aperta".
- Monuments like the Colosseum, Paestum, Florence, and Milan are featured in "Paisà" and "Il generale della Rovere".
- Uffizi statues are shown packed in crates for protection.
- A German officer in "Paisà" declares intent to destroy the past.
- "Viaggio in Italia" includes sequences at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
- Giuseppe Prezzolini published "Cosa resta dell'Italia?" in New York in 1948.
- Salvatore Satta's "De profundis" appeared in 1948 but was written between 1944 and 1945.
- The essay discusses the role of Catholics in the Resistance, often omitted from official narratives.
- Michele Dantini is a contemporary art historian and critic teaching at Università del Piemonte orientale.
Entities
Artists
- Roberto Rossellini
- Anna Magnani
- Aldo Fabrizi
- Michele Dantini
- Giuseppe Prezzolini
- Salvatore Satta
- Indro Montanelli
Institutions
- Artribune
- Università del Piemonte orientale
- Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
- Museo archeologico nazionale di Napoli
- Uffizi
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- Paestum
- Florence
- Milan
- Naples
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Colosseum
- Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano