How Ferragosto is celebrated in Italian films.
Italy marks the Ferragosto holiday on 15 August when many Italians swap the city for the beach to escape the summer heat, in a tradition dating back to Roman times. Here is a list of films that celebrate Italy’s beloved holiday at the hottest time of year.
Un Sacco Bello
One of the best-loved Ferragosto movies is Un Sacco Bello, the award-winning 1980 comedy which marked the directorial debut of Carlo Verdone, as well his debut as main actor and as screenwriter. Set in a hot, deserted Rome, the cult movie charts the misadventures of three very different characters – Enzo, Leo and Ruggero (all played by Verdone) – and their failed attempts to celebrate Ferragosto.
Caro Diario
Another classic is the 1993 Caro Diario, directed by and starring Nanni Moretti who offers quirky reflections on Italian life through three disparate journeys including a trip to the Aeolian Islands off Sicily. The movie sees Moretti ride around Rome on his Vespa at Ferragosto, admiring the urban beauty of neighbourhoods including Garbatella and Spinaceto before ending at Ostia where Pier Paolo Pasolini was killed in 1975.
Il Sorpasso
Released in 1962, Dino Risi’s award-winning black and white movie stars Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant who meet by chance on a street in Rome during Ferragosto. Gassman plays the role of a brash, risk-taking bachelor while Trintignant is a shy law student. The unlikely duo embark on a two-day road trip in a free-wheeling adventure of discovery that veers between comedy and tragedy.
Ferie d’agosto
This 1996 hit comedy drama directed by Paolo Virzì is set on the island of Ventotene and tells the story of two families who clash while on vacation in the same place. The Molino and Mazzalupi families have polar-opposite lifestyles, behaviours and political views which lead to conflict between the two clans. 28 years later, in 2024, Virzì directed Un altro ferragosto, in which the two warring families return to the island at the same time and for different reasons.
Una botta di vita
This 1988 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Oldoini stars Alberto Sordi and Bernard Blier as two old men, Elvio Battistini and Giuseppe Mondardini, who are “left behind” at Ferragosto by their families. The two decide to set off on a trip to the Ligurian coast but end up in Saint Tropez where they find themselves in some unlikely circumstances before falling out with each other.
Pranzo di Ferragosto
This 2008 Italian comedy-drama is the directorial debut of Italian actor and screenwriter Gianni Di Gregorio who stars in the lead role. Amid a struggle to pay condominium charges, Gianni looks after his 93-year-old mother over Ferragosto. He makes ends meet by taking care of other elderly women while their families go on holiday, including the mothers of his landlord and doctor, who will forgive his debts in exchange.
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