1. Marquise - Vera Belmont, 1996.
The story of Marquise-Thérèse de Gorla, a charming actress and dancer who worked in Molière's company, in the melodramatic frame of the European seventeenth century.

Rocca dei Rossi, San Secondo Parmense
Although the seventeenth century was a period of decline - art, painting and dance found their apogee. The film gives the opportunity to admire the architectural complex which originates from the fifteenth-century structure built due to the will of Pier Maria Rossi. During the sixteenth century, it was transformed into a noble monumental residence by Troilo I, Pier Maria III, Troilo II. It houses an imposing pictorial cycle and the Hall of the "Gesta Rossiane".

 

2. The Charterhouse of Parma - Mauro Bolognini, 1982, TV series.
Film adaptation of Stendhal's novel. The story deals with political ideals and disappointments of Fabrizio Del Dongo - who joined the Napoleonic army - as well as his unforgettable love story with Clelia. In the cast: Marthe Keller, Gian Maria Volonté, Lucia Bosè, Ottavia Piccolo and Andrea Occhipinti.

Reggia di Colorno
The end of the 18th century, the dynasty of the Farnese, the Bourbons and the beginning of the Napoleonic era with Maria Luigia of Austria, represent the background where the Palace of Colorno and its historic garden were built. The palace was chosen as setting of the TV series, where the audience may recognise: the architecture by Petitot, the sculptures by artist Boudard, the stuccoes by Carlo Bossi.

 

3. Lo specchio, la tigre e la pianura - Raffaele Andreassi, 1961.
Winner of the Berlin Film Festival as best documentary. It decribes the life of painter Antonio Ligabue. Andreassi, who discovered Toni's talent thanks to journalist Erminio Canova, tries to describe the mysterious features of the artist.

Floodplain, Gualtieri
The natural environment of the area is today a reserve rich in plant and animal species. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was used to obtain clay by means of a cable car equipped with small containers (“caldaren”). The area covers about 13 hectares and represents a natural habitat for the avifauna. Here, tourists may find many species, such as grey herons, night herons, egrets, moorhens, weasels, hedgehogs and foxes. It is characterised by the presence of an extensive wood, the oldest in the areas of the floodplains in Reggio. There are at least 32 different species of local trees and shrubs. The wood has grown spontaneously over 50/60 years and includes large willows, white and black poplars, maples and elms. This part of the forest evolves in a natural way.

 

4. Ligabue - Salvatore Nocita, 1977.
TV Series with Flavio Bucci, screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and Arnaldo Bagnasco. Winner of the Grand Prize of the Americas - Montreal Film Festival. It tells the tormented and visionary story of painter Antonio Ligabue (1899-1965), who lived a painful life marked by loneliness, before being discovered and celebrated.

Antonio Ligabue Museum, Gualtieri
Antonio Ligabue Documentary Museum: the "Giove" Hall in Palazzo Bentivoglio preserves bibliographic and iconographic materials, original films, two original paintings, photographs and engravings, bronze sculptures and a raw clay sculpture.

Bentivoglio Square, Gualtieri
Palazzo Bentivoglio, which served as residence of the Marquises of Gualtieri, overlooks the homonymous elegant and scenic square. From Bentivoglio Square, tourists may notice the clock Tower and, on the south side, the collegiate church of Santa Maria della Neve. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most beautiful squares in Italy and setting of many events in Ligabue's life.

Po river, Luzzara
The connection among Luzzara, Ligabue and Nocita's film is noticeable, not only due to the fact the Luzzara is the land of the naif painters. In fact, the script of the film is taken from Zavattini’s book on Toni (1967). "Ligabue", written in three episodes for RAI, was adapted by Cesare Zavattini and Arnaldo Bagnasco.

 

5. Giorgio Diritti, 2020, with Elio Germano, produced by Palomar.
With his knowledge, culture and sensitivity, Diritti, after Nocita, retells the painful life of the artist. Diritti manages to recreate the context of the lowlands by studying documents and details of the great painter’s relationships, and highlights energy, misery and mistery.

Po Floodplain, Gualtieri
In the area of the floodplain, on the cycle path that runs along the river, turists may notice a curious house of the past, completely covered with ivy. In the film, the "green house" is the place where Ligabue shows his friend and artist Mozzali one of his works, painted on the internal wall of the building. The painting is the representation of his future life: he sees himself in a barouche, married, with a wealthy life, in the middle of the countryside.

Mazzini Square, Guastalla
In the main square, the audience witnesses the meeting between Ligabue - already in possession of his Guzzi motorcycle and at the start of his artistic fame - and Sassi, who is interested in promoting his paintings.

Ducal Palace, Guastalla
Toni meets a group of schoolchildren in the inner square and decorated frame of the Gonzaga Palace.

Po river, Luzzara
A suggestive scene was shot in the area of Luzzara, near the Po river: Elio Germano/Toni goes up from the "pennello" (structure built for a better management of the water flow) and proceeds towards Via Alzaia.

Riviera Estate, Novellara
The estate, the farmyard and the interior of the court are the places where Ligabue's art took shape, after he was welcomed in Gualtieri by Mazzacurati, Mozzali and others who were close to him.

 

6. I lupi dentro - Raffaele Andreassi, 2001.
Documentary about the naïf painters of the lowlands of Reggio Emilia and the influence of Ligabue's art on them.

Po river, Luzzara
The film is a poetic journey along the bights of the Po river, among characters of all kinds. Various scenes were shot in Luzzara.

 

7. Ludwig - Luchino Visconti, 1972.
A film about the life of the most famous and fascinating Bavarian sovereign, with a great cast (among others, Helmut Berger as main character and Romy Schneider as empress Sissi).

Bentivoglio Palace, Gualtieri
The Tirelli collection set up in the "Icaro" Hall of Bentivoglio Palace includes important stage costumes for cinema and theatre, donated to the City of Gualtieri by famous tailor Umberto Tirelli, founder of "Tirelli Costumi" in Rome. He collaborated with Piero Tosi, Franco Zeffirelli, as well as Danilo Donati from Luzzara, and many directors. "Tirelli Costumi" added art, expertise and quality to many performances, playing a major role, both nationally and internationally, in this fundamental profession for cinema and entertainment. The hall also preserves a dress by Piero Tosi worn by Romy Schneider.

Danilo Donati Theatre, Luzzara
Danilo Donati (Luzzara 1926 – Rome 2001) was a set and costume designer, a writer, and one of the most important figures in the film industry. He enrolled in the School of Art of Porta Romana in Florence and immediately after the war he became a student of the painter Ottone Rosai. His brilliant activity has revolutionized the scenographic techniques of the performing arts. He worked with the greatest contemporary directors, including Visconti, Pasolini, Fellini, Zeffirelli, Bondarciuk and Benigni. During his career he was awarded two Oscars (for Romeo and Juliet by Zeffirelli and for Casanova by Fellini). With "Roma" by Fellini, he reached a peak of mastery and invention still surprising. Rome is also the city of cinema that always had a special bond with the lowlands, with Zavattini and other filmmakers who set in the province many of their film, especially in the 60s. Since 2018, the Theatre of Luzzara bears his name.

 

8. Mondo Za - Gianfranco Pannone, 2017.
A changing world in the lowlands of Emilia, through past, present and future, between ancient inhabitants and new citizens.

Historic centre, Luzzara
Cesare Zavattini and the lowlands of Reggio Emilia. A rich and complex relationship of reciprocity, which in his films connects the past and the present, creating a new poetic time through the stories of four men of different ages and social conditions. Zavattini, founder of the Italian Neorealism, ideally meets his fellow citizens in this lowland near the Po River.

 

9. Decadenza - Gianluca Menta, 2017.
Videoclip from the "Nomadi dentro" music album.

Garibaldi Square, Polesine Zibello

The music by the Italian band "Nomadi" has always described the lowlands: the country, the river, the environment, war and politics. In 2017, a music video was shot in a typical square, in the Municipality of Zibello. Architecture and photography of the music video, as well as the typical sound by Beppe Carletti’s band, contribute to define the artistic and human heritage of this legendary flat land, between the Po and the ridge.