Bertolucci’s *Novecento* was released 50 years ago: a journey through Emilia (red and black)

There was, of course, plenty from the set of Novecento: from the marvellous black-and-white photographs by Angelo Novi to the original script, right through to ABCinema, the documentary in which Giuseppe Bertolucci, Bernardo’s brother and co-screenwriter, transformed the behind-the-scenes footage of the film into a reflection on the Seventh Art. And there was also a great deal about the historical and social context in which Novecento was made: the Corteo by Mario Schifano, a pop-Maoist procession, and the Cimitero partigiano rosso by Franco Angeli, the enthusiastic review with which *Rolling Stone* welcomed the American release, the contemporary posters for both highbrow and popular films from Italian cinema, and the images of the legendary football match between the cast of *Novecento* and that of its ‘twin’ film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Pier Paolo Pasolini, released a few weeks after the tragic death of the director, who was also a close friend of the Bertolucci family. For the record: the cast of Novecento won, but Bernardo ‘cheated’ by recruiting a few promising youngsters from Parma’s youth teams. Including a certain Carletto Ancelotti.

Il colpo d’occhio sul cortile della Corte degli Angeli, principale set di «Novecento»

The beauty of the *Novecento* film set is that it is still ‘accessible’. Starting with the farmstead where the class struggle between the bourgeois Berlinghieri family and the proletarian Dalcò family takes place. It is situated in Roncole di Busseto (Parma), just a few kilometres from the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi, and was built in the early 19th century by Prince Giovanni Vidoni de’ Soresina to a design by the Cremonese architect Luigi Voghera. A farm established to produce the finest cheese in the region, Parmigiano Reggiano, based on an innovative vision: the wellbeing of both people and animals at the heart of the production process. Today, two-thirds of the property has been taken over by Alessandro Lusardi and his wife Milly Freddi, who have transformed it into the Corte degli Angeli agritourism estate.

L’interno del podere di «Novecento» come appare in una foto dal set di Angelo Novi (courtesy Fondazione Bernardo Bertolucci)

The guided tour is a real treat for all fans of the film: in the monumental barn, the hook on which Alfredo/Lancaster hangs himself is still there. Here, to distinguish the early 20th-century settings from those of 1945, Bertolucci insisted on filming cows of different breeds, in keeping with Italy’s agro-industrial history. Just a few metres away lay the immense track along which the Maestro moved his dolly. And you can walk through the gateway that welcomes the procession of red flags during the socialists’ long march. This vast courtyard will host the trial of the Boss (De Niro) and Olmo’s (Depardieu) speech, in which he breaks the fourth wall. From the staircase where Depardieu first meets Sandrelli, you reach the attic where young Olmo used to rear silkworms. There is the Dalcò family’s dining room, and it is possible to stay in their bedrooms. In short: everything here speaks of Novecento. Starting with Lusardi, who grew up on the estate: his family were working on the farm when Bertolucci’s cast arrived. And he, a child fifty years ago, was chosen by the Maestro to play the part of the ‘louse-ridden boy’.

Le stalle della Corte degli Angeli, set di alcune delle sequenze più celebri di «Novecento»

But the set of Novecento does not stop at the court of Roncole di Busseto. A stroll through the historic centre of Guastalla (Reggio Emilia), for example, brings to life the town’s setting, from Anita’s Casa del Popolo to the rampages of the early Fascists. If you then move from Emilia to Lombardy, you can find further details relating to the Berlinghieri family. At the Badia farmhouse in Voltido (Cremona), the Dalcò family will be celebrating, whilst there is little to celebrate at the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary delle Grazie in Curtatone (Mantua), where Attila/Sutherland raises funds from the enterprises in the Bassa to set up the local branch of the National Fascist Party, in order to stifle any proletarian demands. All with the full blessing of the Church.

Le riprese di «Novecento» in piazza a Guastalla (courtesy Fondazione Bernardo Bertolucci)

Beyond the film’s actual locations, it is the view of the Bassa countryside that brings back the atmosphere of Novecento: haystacks piled high in the fields, ditches teeming with frogs, centuries-old buildings constructed for work yet still designed with an eye for beauty. All this comes together to form the marvellous backdrop that Bertolucci chose for his highly distinctive epic on the class struggle. Because, as Oliver Stone would say, ‘Bernardo loved Jean-Luc Godard. But he was mad about Gone with the Wind’.