Piccolo mondo antico

Piccolo mondo antico
File:Piccolomondoantico.jpg Film poster
Directed by	Mario Soldati
Produced by	Carlo Ponti (uncredited)
Written by	Antonio Fogazzaro (novel) Mario Bonfantini (adaptation)
Starring	Alida Valli
Music by	Enzo Masetti
Cinematography	Arturo Gallea (outdoors) Carlo Montuori (indoors)
Edited by	Gisa Radicchi Levi (uncredited)
Distributed by	Industrie Cinematografiche Italiane
Release dates	10 April 1941
Running time	106 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Piccolo mondo antico (literally: Little Ancient World), also known as Old-Fashioned World , is a 1941 Italian drama film directed by Mario Soldati and based on the 1895 novel The Little World of the Past by Antonio Fogazzaro. Was one of the first colossal of Italian cinema (this movie was important for the relatively young Italian cinema like Gone With The Wind was for the American one) and it was also a great success, starting the career of Alida Valli as movie star.

Plot summary

During the Italian Risorgimento (mid-nineteenth century), in Austrian-occupied Lombardy, Franco Maironi (Massimo Serato), a young man of noble descent, decides to marry Luisa (Alida Valli), a humble clerk's daughter, against his grandmother, the Marquess Orsola Maironi's wishes. The old lady makes the life of the newly married couple miserable (she destroys the will which would grant Franco his wealth, and causes Luisa's uncle to lose his job, as he was helping them). In the meantime, Luisa gives birth to little Maria. Franco is forced to go to Turin in search of a job. During his absence, a terrible tragedy upsets Luisa's life: her daughter drowns in Lake of Lugano and the woman is driven to the brink of madness. Franco returns home for a short time but Luisa reacts coldly towards him. During the Second Italian War of Independence Franco becomes a volunteer soldier in the fight against Austrian and again meets his wife by Lake Maggiore. Despite Luisa's coldness, Franco is sure she still loves him. Aware that he might die in the war, he makes love to her one last time, leaving her pregnant.

Cast

Actor	Role
Alida Valli	Luisa Rigey Maironi
Massimo Serato	Franco Maironi
Ada Dondini	La marchesa Orsola Maironi
Annibale Betrone	Zio Piero
Mariù Pascoli	Maria Maironi
Giacinto Molteni	Il professore Beniamino Gilardoni
Elvira Bonecchi	La signora Barborin Pasotti
Enzo Biliotti	Il signor Pasotti
Renato Cialente	Von Greisberg
Adele Garavaglia	La signora Teresa Rigey
Carlo Tamberlani	Don Costa
Giovanni Barrella	Il curato di Puria
Nino Marchetti	Pedraglio, il cospiratore
Giorgio Constantini	L'avvocato di Varenna
Jone Morino	Donna Eugenia
Anna Carena	Carlotta, la cameriera della marchesa

External links

• Piccolo mondo antico at IMDb