Federico Fellini's Rimini. Let's find out in the centenary

Who knows what Federico Fellini would think of all the clamor that the city of Rimini has created around the 100th anniversary of his birth (next 20 January). He who defined himself "a craftsman who has nothing to say", would be surprised by the numerous initiatives that also mean the unsaid and reveal every little curiosity about man, one of the greatest geniuses of world cinema. Certainly, he would be happy with the affection the Romagnolians have for him. The same affection he felt for the city. Although he left in 1939 at a time in Rome to pursue the dream of cinema, Fellini never left completely and always felt for "the country", as he called it, a feeling of nostalgia, especially for the winter sea . He never filmed the town in any of his films, but it often emerged in his thoughts and his works. "Rimini is a dimension of memory" he used to say. And it is the memory, transfigured by the creative force of the great director, the track to follow to savor the Fellini soul of the city. Starting with the exhibition "Fellini 100 Immortal Genius. The exhibition" which opens at Castel Sismondo on December 14th (until March 15th 2020, to continue in Rome at Palazzo Venezia from April).In the fortress of the fifteenth century to which Filippo Brunelleschi contributed, each room will remember a film set to tell first the History of Italy from the 1920s to the 30s until the 1980s through the imagery of his films. Do not miss the story of the director's traveling companions, real, imaginary, and also costume designers, scenographers, writers, poets, actors, musicians. Available original material – consisting of films, drawings, costumes, documents, manuscripts and photographs – which comes from the rich heritage accumulated over the years of the former Fellini Foundation. Space for the multimedia aspect, so much so that one can be invited by a Silvia-Anita, on a giant scale, to cross a screen where the mythical scene of the Sweet life of the Trevi fountain: "Marcello, come here" (Marcello, come here). You can walk in the middle of the grandfather's scene Amarcord or sight the night passage of the transatlantic Rex with its thousand lights. Still, you will be able to admire the clothes of the ecclesiastical fashion show of the film Rome and the movie's costumes The Casanova, for which the costume designer and set designer Danilo Donati won the Oscar. A room will be dedicated, and could not be otherwise, to the mythical Book of Dreams, an out-of-scale wooden simulacrum, of an open book, whose sensitive surface allows you to leaf through a series of digitized pages. Among the most curious sections is that of the Fondo Nino Rota, the famous composer who has collaborated with Fellini for many films. In particular, for the first time, a series of original notebooks will be exhibited, on which Rota pointed out the Maestro's indications on the music that should have accompanied and enhanced his directorial choices. Among other unpublished materials, there is also the very first screenplay of what would later become Amarcord, entitled "Il borgo", in a first draft, and the screenplay by Half past eight owned by Lina Wertmuller, who was assistant director in that film.

Village. Piazzetta Gabena

2020 will be a year entirely dedicated to the Fellini sign of "everything you imagine" and Rimini will turn into a great and imaginative film set wrapped in poetry, to be able to live a real "Fellini Experience". A way to honor the unforgettable director and screenwriter, nominated 12 times for an Oscar (he won four golden statuettes in the category of the best foreign language film), ambassador of Italian art and culture, with his vices and virtues . It seems he ate a walnut kernel at every lunch because it reminded him of his brain, he drank little, but that glass of wine must have been red and at the restaurant, it is said, he was furious if they made him wait between courses. He also had his obsessions on the set. It is said that he occasionally changed his perspective by following his instincts. In short, an opportunity to get to know him better about the places he loved and lived. "Rimini is a mess, confused, fearful, tender, with this great breath, this open void of the sea."You can start from his native house, in via Dardanelli (not open to visitors), where he was born on a very cold evening, with rain, thunder and lightning. A few minutes walk and you reach the Fulgor cinema, inside Palazzo Valloni, a neoclassical palace with a beautiful liberty facade. This is the place where little Federico, sitting on his father's legs, identifies with the protagonists of Maciste in Hell. It is here that Titta, the protagonist of Amarcord, clumsily attempts to seduce Gradisca. Renovated, it has restored the golden stuccos between the briars and red curtains to its ancient splendor, thanks to the scenographic preparation of the Oscar-winning Dante Ferretti. Moreover, Fellini repeatedly said: "I like cinema because with the cinema you express while you live, you tell the journey while you do it. I am very fortunate, also in this I was led by the hand to choose a job that is the only job for me, the only one that allows me to realize myself in the most joyful, immediate form ».

From the Fulgor, on foot, you can reach the old village of San Giuliano, the ancient fishermen's quarter, born around the year 1000, which rises close to the Tiberius Bridge, where the cars of the Mille Miglia flew, as told in Amarcord . An almost hidden corner of the city. Difficult not to fall in love with it thanks to its low pastel-colored houses, to the silence that characterizes it (the area is a pedestrian area). It was the favorite place of Federico and his Giulietta (Masina) who came here often to walk, hand in hand. Here there are numerous murals that tell the story of the Maestro's cinematographic journey, through the most famous scenes such as "Le notti di Cabiria", or the characters of "La voce della luna".

Fulgor Cinema

Then you can move towards the sea. The pier of Rimini in winter, the "palata", is the emblem of The Vitelloni. You will be enchanted by the Grand Hotel, inaugurated in 1908, the symbol of the Belle Époque and, for the young Fellini, of forbidden desires: it was the fairy tale of wealth, luxury, oriental opulence. He stays there whenever he can: for him the same suite was still reserved, the number 316 (still dedicated to him) and here he will be struck by the stroke in August 1993. Near the hotel, there is the famous camera "Fellinia ”Della Ferrania, which has characterized the roundabout since the late forties. The courses are part of an extensive project "Fellini's Rimini (born from the joint work of the Region, APT Servizi, Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, Cineteca Foundation of Bologna and Ibc), which includes eleven in all. Different stages to live the places that have been the subject of cinema or have favored the artistic creation of directors or authors. It is also worth taking a walk in the park named after Federico Fellini with the Quattro Cavalli fountain in Rimini, inspired by classicism. The main pool has a circular shape and represents the sea, from which four sea horses arise. At the City Museum (via Luigi Tonini, 1) you can see up close the Book of Dreams, where Fellini transcribed and illustrated his dreams for over thirty years, a source of inspiration for his films. And if the thirst for knowledge does not calm down, make a stop at Palazzo Gambalunga, in the street of the same name, at number 27, to consult and touch original documents, stage photos, drawings, screenplays, publications. Or read two of the last volumes published on the theme: Federico Fellini. Intimate dictionary for words and images (Piemme) and, indeed, Il libro dei sogni (Rizzoli illustrated edition).

Finally, the centennial appointment will be a way to lay the foundations of the Federico Fellini International Museum. A permanent exhibition, on several poles of extraordinary architectural and symbolic value connected to each other, which will open exactly in a year, in December 2020, and combine the poetry of Fellini's cinema with the most innovative technologies and urban choices.