Who could ever forget the cool of Marcello Mastroianni as he watched Anita Ekberg wade through the Trevi Fountain in the middle of a sweltering Roman night in Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960)? The moment, one of the movies most iconic, endures because it perfectly encapsulates the irrepressible sense of life and humanity, tragedy and ecstasy, that has been such a hallmark of Italian film. It has been the medium of many giants, directors such as Rossellini, Visconti, De Sica, Antonioni, Pasolini, and the Taviani brothers, and their actors--Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Giulietta Masina, Franco Citti, Monica Vitti, Silvana Mangano, and Sophia Loren. Without them the movies wouldn't be the same. It's a legacy that's influenced filmmakers the world over, and, of course, the place where it all began. But the beauty of emotive clarity lives on in Italian cinema. So who are the keepers of the torch? Here, Interview presents 16 of Italy's current performers, who, with an eye toward their country's rich past, are creating a present and future all their own.
"The atmosphere of Italy and Rome was so beautiful and cinematic," says photographer John Scott, reflecting on his assignment, the results of which are presented here. "The whole tone of the country is romance: the light, the buildings, the colors, the washing hanging out of the windows .... They just really know how to live there." La Dolce Vita, indeed.
RELATED ARTICLE: MONICA BELLUCCI The nerviest Italian bombshell to hit the States since Sophia Loren, Bellucci matches bravura with beauty, and never met a taboo she didn't smash. Rape victim in the recent Irreversible? Badass cybervillain in this month's The Matrix Reloaded (and November's The Matrix Revolutions)? Mary Magdalene in director Mel Gibson's already-controversial The Passion? All in a year's work for Italy's biggest upcoming star.
VALERIO FOGLIA MAMZILLO With one lead, in L'lmbalsamatore (The Embalmer)--one seriously odd movie--this is one beefcake actor (and former model) who's raising eyebrows and pulses.
SILVIO MUCCINO Upstart actor, screenwriter, and part of the hippest Italian filmmaking family since the Rossellinis, Muccino dazzled in big brother (and white-hot-director) Gabriele's youthquakes L'Ultimo Baclo (The Last Kiss, 2001) and Ricordati di Me (Remember Me). What's next? Turning 23.
GIORGIO PASOTTI Think Tom Hanks circa Bachelor Party (1984) and you're somewhere close to Pasotti's appeal. Affable if a little off-kilter, he's the charmer next door, whose roles are delivered with wit, style, and, every so often, a flash of great things to come.
DANIELE LIOTTI Moving between theatrical and television films, this heartthrob has earned a reputation for always laying it on the line. Burning with the heat of Italy's August sun, he steals scenes as often as he does hearts.
DONATELLA FINOCCHIARO In her first--and so far only--film, the modern-day mob tale Angela, this ex-lawyer thrilled audiences at last year's Cannes and Toronto film festivals. Word of her performance spread like wildfire, and raised the bar of what's possible from debut actors everywhere.
ANITA CAPRIOLI This versatile 29-year-old bounced around in bit parts for 10 years before breaking out in 2001--charming in the romantic comedy Santa Maradona and putting a human face on the effects-heavy disaster drama Vajont. With that banner year behind her, she's now taking the leads.
SANDRA CECCARELLI This former fashion illustrator took up serious acting at 28 and quickly rose to the ranks of tried-and-true shape shifters in films like Luce Del Miel Occhi (Light of My Eyes, 2001). She may have come a little late to the party, but at a strong and sexy 36, she's only getting started.
FLAYIO PISTILLI As the star of Paz!, the 2001 film adaptation of the popular Italian comic serial, this gutsy newcomer flirted with disaster by tackling a beloved character with a cult following (not unlike Enid, the disaffected heroine of Ghost World). Paz! was a great big hit, and so was Pistilli. Disaster averted, mettle proven, career launched.
NICOLETTA ROMANOFF Equal parts sass and brass, this 23-year-old descendent of Russia's last czarist family put the spark in 2003's biggest Italian movie to date, Ricordati di Me--her debut--where among a collection of Italy's best and brightest young talent, she stood out as the newcomer to watch.
ANDREA DI STEFANO This 30-year-old has been making noise on both sides of the Atlantic with fearless, textured performances. And choices. Whether it's playing an omnisexual Cuban gigolo and back-stabbing friend in Julian Schnabel's Before Night Falls (2000) or working with other envelope-pushing filmmakers like Dario Argento, Mike Figgis, and Roberta Torre, he's a step ahead of (and a cut above) the pack of actors who play it safe.
MARTENA STELLA As the dream girl in L'Ultimo Bacio--the generational touchstone of the new Italian cinema--the flirty and flashy Stella, 18, was the personification of youth and romance in a culture that loves nothing more than a bright ray of light and a breath of fresh air.
STEFANIA ROCCA Americans may know her best from 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley (though Greenwich Village coffee drinkers might recall her waiting tables at Caffe Dante), but with over 30 films to her credit and a reputation as the real deal, she's one of Italy's top young performers.
RAOUL BOVA One of the biggest stars of Italian TV movies, he's set to make a splash in the Statesas Diane Lane's paramour in this fall's Under the Tuscan Sun. Lane's carnal touch worked wonders for French heartthrob Olivier Martinez; Bova could be next.
ADRIANO GIANNINI If following in the footsteps of his father, the beloved Giancarlo, wasn't pressure enough, this former cameraman remade his dad's most important role less than two years into his acting career--opposite Madonna, no less. OK, so last year's Swept Away didn't quite work out, but it did prove that Adriano Giannini is working on the right side of the camera.
STEFANIA RIVI She went from playing the Virgin Mary (in her debut) to a bisexual named Betta in three films flat. Now that's what we call range.
JOANNA JACOVINI As Interview's Fashion Director, Joanna Jacovini traveled to Rome to ensure the Italian cinema subjects looked their best for photographer John Scott. And while the six-day shoot went swimmingly, Jacovini did have a run-in with the law. "We tried to sneak into the Trevi Fountain," she says, "but the police came and told us to leave. We didn't get the shot, but we certainly tried."
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