An exhibition in Rome traces the making of The Leopard, Luchino Visconti's masterpiece film

On view until June 22 at the Senate Library in Rome’s Piazza della Minerva is the photo exhibition Il set del Gattopardo in 300 images, dedicated to Luchino Visconti ’s masterpiece film Il Gattopardo. The initiative is organized by BCsicilia and the Study Center "La Donnafugata del Gattopardo."

The exhibition The set of Il Gattopardo in 300 images recounts the ninety days of work for the making of the Film Il Gattopardo in Ciminna, transformed into the Donnafugata of the mid-nineteenth century. The backstage of the long adventure that involved the small community in what would become a masterpiece of Italian cinematography. The exhibit, produced by BCsicilia and the Study Center “La Donnafugata del Gattopardo,” is the largest photographic exhibition dedicated to Luchino Visconti’s masterpiece film.

The panels, measuring 3.05 x 1.75 meters, accommodate the largely unpublished material, recovered through a long work around Italy with Titanus (now Repoters-Associati) “off-scenes.”

The photographic exhibition follows a very precise itinerary, beginning precisely with the first inspections of Titanus patron Golfredo Lombardo, set photographer Giuseppe Rotunno and Gioacchino Tomasi Lanza, for the construction of the set of the imaginary Donnafugata: the prince’s palace, the balcony of the square, the town hall, the Sedara house, the cobblestone pavement of the square, and the first arrivals in Ciminna of some actors(Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli and Claudia Cardinale). In addition, the exhibition highlights the entry of the Salina family into the village, the procession, and the singing of the Te Deum inside the matrix dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. In the second part, the exhibition displays a series of photos concerning the life of the Prince and the people of Donnafugata through images of the singing of the Bella Gigogin, the procession, the plebiscite, the arrival and departure of Count Chevalley and some scenes concerning the mayor’s daughter, Angelica played by actress Claudia Cardinale. Some panels are dedicated to the two outdoor scenes in the Donnafugata countryside concerning the Prince ’s hunt together with Ciccio Tumeo.

Finally, the exhibition reserves for the visitor a backstage section, with off-scenes from the film where the director Luchino Visconti can be glimpsed “explaining” to Burt Lancaster how to attack Ciccio Tumeo, the same Visconti spraying talcum powder on the face of Rina Morelli, in the guise of Princess Maria Stella Salina, wife of Don Fabrizio, to make it appear even more “realistic” the Family’s long carriage ride to Donnafugata or the Salina family in the mother church in front of a myriad of spotlights and cameramen. In addition, a series of stills from the filming that mainly showed Sedara’s frantic commitment to the annexation, but which were later cut by the director. Other photos deal with the great work that went on behind the cameras and the amount of people who participated in various capacities as extras, makeup artists, photographers, electricians, etc. All moments of a great adventure of which there will never be a trace on the big screen.

The exhibition opens from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Free admission.

Pictured: Fuoriscena Gattopardo: The Prince and his wife in the church of Donnafugata-Ciminna

Source: release

An exhibition in Rome traces the making of The Leopard, Luchino Visconti's masterpiece film

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