Actors Stefania Sandrelli and Enrico Vanzina, alongside presenters Simona Ventura and Giovanni Terzi, will inaugurate the exhibition ‘Alberto Sordi, Mask of a Vitellone’ at Rimini’s Grand Hotel on Wednesday, July 30th (5:30 PM). The show, running free of charge until August 28th, offers a journey through Italian comedy, starting with the deep friendship between Alberto Sordi and Federico Fellini and paying tribute to the Roman actor’s six-decade career.
Curated by Marco Dionisi Carducci under the supervision of Paola Comin, Sordi’s longtime collaborator and press officer, the exhibition features dozens of photos (many unpublished), sketches, personal belongings, posters, scripts, costumes, and audiovisual materials. It forms part of the sixth edition of the Ventura-Terzi couple’s ‘Terrazza della Dolce Vita’ cultural salon series, which opens the same evening with an interview featuring Sandrelli.
The bond between Sordi and Fellini, both born in 1920, is highlighted as one of the most fascinating chapters in Italian cinema history. Fellini, who first recognized Sordi’s immense talent, directed him in ‘The White Sheik’ (1952) and insisted on casting him in ‘I Vitelloni’ (1953). Set in Fellini’s native Rimini, ‘I Vitelloni’ saw Sordi reveal his extraordinary skill as a cinematic “mask” through his portrayal of the “mama’s boy” Alberto.
Beginning with this pivotal Fellini partnership, the exhibition traces Sordi’s extensive career. It explores his great talent, honed through years of apprenticeship in radio, revue theatre, and dubbing. His iconic performances – from ‘I Vitelloni’ to Steno’s ‘Un giorno in pretura’ (A Day in Court), which birthed the character Nando Mericoni, and the definitive ‘An American in Rome’ (‘Un americano a Roma’), to Mario Monicelli’s ‘Il Marchese del Grillo’ (The Marquis of Grillo) – are illustrated through photos sourced from institutional and private archives.
Additional exhibits include newsreels from the Luce-Cinecittà Institute, documents, scripts, poster sketches for ‘I Vitelloni’ from the Pennello Cinema Museum in Montecosaro, and Gianna Gissi’s costume for ‘Il Marchese del Grillo’, created for Costumi d’Arte.
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