GRAND TOUR ITALIANO – FILMS FROM THE EARLY 1900S

GRAND TOUR ITALIANO – FILMS FROM THE EARLY 1900S

Grand Tour Italiano – Films from the Early 1900s

Do you wish to see beauty? Over a century ago, hordes of cine-camera operators, both Italian and those from further afield, travelled far and wide throughout Italy to film the landscapes, villages, cities, events, factories, customs and traditions of our country, for the benefit of a whole new category of person: the cinemagoer around the world.

With this collection of films, restored by the Cineteca di Bologna and other prestigious film archives, we hop aboard a machine travelling through time and space, stopping off at hundreds of destinations, from Sicily to Monte Cervino. Italy as we’ve never seen it before, suspended between the nineteenth century and modernity, in the old and rare images that have survived. A Grand Tour, a journey of pleasure, of course, but also one that better helps us to understand the country as it is today.

(Cineteca di Bologna)


PART 1 – TOURISM

 

Through Sicily
(Attraverso la Sicilia) (Tiziano Film, Italy, 191?)

dir.: Pietro Marelli

  DCP, 5’; bw, tinted; intertitles: IT | subtitles: PL, EN

The camera takes a long trip along the picturesque Sicilian coastline, showing the harvesting of seafood, the comings and goings of people in the port, and the ruins of the ancient Greek settlements of Selinunte and Girgenti.


Excursion to the Grotte d'Azur
(Excursion à la Grotte d’Azur) (Gaumont, France, 1910)

  DCP, 4’; bw, tinted; intertitles: DE | subtitles: PL, EN

The Regina Elisabetta steamboat heads towards Sorrento and Capri, where the tourists transfer onto smaller boats to see the chromatic wonders of the Grotta Azzurra.    


The Beauty of Italy: A Picturesque Triptych. In a Lagoon
(Le bellezze d’Italia: trittico di visioni pittoresche. Nella Laguna pittoresca) (Pasquali Film, Italy, 191?)

dir.: Pietro Marelli

  DCP, 5’; bw, tinted; intertitles: IT | subtitles: PL, EN

The third episode of the triptych Le Bellezze d’Italia takes us on a tour through the lagoon and canals of Venice, ending with a night shoot of the fishing boats drifting on the open sea.


PART 2 – AT WORK    


The Clay Industry in Sicily
(L’industria dell’argilla in Sicilia) (Tiziano Film, Italy, 191?)

dir.: Pietro Marelli

  DCP, 5’; bw, tinted; intertitles: IT | subtitles: PL, EN

Near Cefalù, Sicily, we witness the different stages of the clay work process: from its extraction and transportation to the artisan craftsmanship of the ceramists and artists.    


Salt Extraction in Sicily
(Exploitation du sel en Sicile) (Milanese Film, Pathé Frères, Italy, France, 1912)

  DCP, 5’; bw; intertitles: NL | subtitles: PL, EN     

We observe the various stages of the extraction and treatment of salt, including the loading of the finished product onto a sailboat. 


The Straw Hat Industry
(L’industria dei cappelli di paglia) (Cines, Italy, 1911)

  DCP, 6’; bw; intertitles: DE | subtitles: PL, EN

We follow the entire manufacturing process of straw hats in Florence, from the selection of the raw materials to their final decoration with fancy ribbons.    


The Making of Chocolate and Candy
(Chokoladen und Bombonsfabrikation) (191?)

  DCP, 6’; bw, tinted; intertitles: NL | subtitles: PL, EN

A visit to an Italian sweet factory, with workers kneading, wrapping and decorating at a feverish pace, and children stuffing their mouths with great satisfaction.  


PART 3 – EVENTS    


The Earthquake in Messina
(Tremblement de terre messine) (Pathé Frères, France, 1909)

  DCP, 4’; bw; intertitles: FR | subtitles: PL, EN

The earthquake that destroyed Messina and Reggio Calabria on 28 December 1908 drew large numbers of camera operators, who captured the townsfolk seeking refuge in the first aid tents or searching amongst the wreckage for survivors.


The Lily Festival in Nola
(La festa dei gigli a Nola) (Cines, Italy, 1909)

  DCP, 1’; bw; intertitles: none           

The oldest-existing moving images of the famous festival held annually in Nola, in the Campania region.    

The Making of a Carnival Cake
(Polentone à Pont Canavese) (Cines, Italy, 1909)

  DCP, 7’; bw; intertitles: DE | subtitles: PL, EN

We witness a carnival celebration in a square in a small town in Piedmont, with an enormous polenta feast prepared live by enthusiastic cooks.

 

PART 4 – CITIES

 

[Italy 1911. Naples]
([Italien 1911 – Napoli]) (1911)

  DCP, 3’; bw, tinted; intertitles: none            

This fragment comes from a vintage print which brings together a variety of views of the city of Naples, showing pots being made in the open air and people devouring spaghetti.


Through the Ruins of Ancient Rome
(À travers les ruines de la Rome antique) (Pathé Frères, France, 1911)

  DCP, 4’; bw; intertitles: PT | subtitles: PL, EN

The remnants of the Imperial Capital overflow with history, but at the same time the city can be traversed on modern wheels...

 

Recordings of Aviation Week, Milan 1910
(Ricordo della settimana d’aviazione Milano 1910) (Luca Comerio, Italy, 1910)

  DCP, 3’; bw; intertitles: IT | subtitles: PL, EN  

The camera moves slowly among the crowd, recording the people standing shoulder to shoulder who have gathered for the celebrations of Aviation Week, which took place from 24 September to 3 October, 1910.

 

PART 5 – FINAL

 

Monumental Bologna
(Bologna monumentale) (Latium Film, Italy, 1912)

  DCP, 5’; bw; intertitles: IT | subtitles: PL, EN

This sightseeing tour through Bologna takes us from Porta Galliera, through the porticoes, to Piazza Maggiore and the Canale delle Moline, with its watermills and women washing clothes.

 

A Beauty Pageant for Kids in Turin
(Concorso di bellezza fra bambini a Torino) (Aquila Films, Italy, 1909?)

  DCP, 5’; bw; intertitles: NL | subtitles: PL, EN

Little boys and girls in their best clothes do their utmost to convince the camera that they deserve the prize.

 

Inauguration of St. Mark’s Campanile
(Inaugurazione del campanile di San Marco) (Italy, 1912)

  DCP, 11’; Kinemacolor; intertitles: IT | subtitles: PL, EN

The bell tower of the San Marco Basilica in Venice collapsed on 14 July 1902. The faithfully reconstructed copy was inaugurated on 25 April 1912, an event caught on camera showing all the picture-postcard views that are the hallmarks of Venice.

  introduction to the movies: Iga Harasimowicz

section: TRAVELOGUES

  music by: Bartek Wąsik

  WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 27

19:00  | screening room: STOLICA

  • source: Cineteca di Bologna

  • source: Cineteca di Bologna

  • source: Cineteca di Bologna

  • source: Cineteca di Bologna

  • source: Cineteca di Bologna