A Tale of Two Cities: The Cinematographic Representation of Naples from Fascism to the Republic (1922–1962)

Carlo Ugolotti

Un turco napoletano, directed by Mario Mattioli, produced by Alfredo De Laurentis, 1953 (frame from the film, source: Wikicommons). — *Un turco napoletano,* directed by Mario Mattioli, produced by Alfredo De Laurentis, 1953 (frame from the film, source: Wikicommons).

*Un turco napoletano,* directed by Mario Mattioli, produced by Alfredo De Laurentis, 1953 (frame from the film, source: Wikicommons).

The broad purpose of this research project is to provide an analysis of the different cinematic representations of the urban space of Naples across the first half of the 20th century. The proposed analysis will focus on how the image of the city, considered both from the perspectives of temporality and spatiality, changes from the Fascist Era to the aftermath of World War II.
The main goal of the project is to foreground continuities and differences between the cinema of the regime and the neo-realistic and post-neorealistic cinema. In order to do so, an interdisciplinary approach has been adopted that combines a close analysis of film with the tools provided by the sociology of culture and a more traditional historical methodology applied to primary and secondary sources to be found in various archives. Film sources include different kinds of productions relevant to the topic, such as feature films, documentaries, short movies, and cinegiornali. Some relevant literary works are also included in order to consider every cultural source that has been important for the conceptualization of the urban space of Naples in the ‘collective imagery’ (e.g. Eduardo and Vincenzo Scarpetta’s plays, Malaparte’s La pelle, etc.).
The period under consideration includes: the Fascist rise to power, the ensuing creation of a totalitarian state, the growing interest of the regime for cinema from the tenth anniversary of the March on Rome to the creation of Centro Sperimentale Cinema (CSC) and Cinecittà, the colonial war of Ethiopia, the Second World War, the armistice of September 8, 1943, the Allied “occupation” of Naples, the end of the war, and the birth of the Republic. The years 1962–1963 have been chosen as the terminus of the analysed period since they were marked by three crucial events: the beginning of the centrosinistra government, the beginning of the economic boom, and the release of such milestone movies as Le quattro giornate di Napoli and Le mani sulla città.