Italian cinema fans around the world mourn the loss of the great director and writer Lina Wertmüller. Her passing on 9 December 2021 was especially marked in Naples and the South of Italy, where she had deep roots and a personal connection, and where many of her films were inspired and set. Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Spanol von Braueich was born in Rome on 14 August 1928 and raised there in a devout Catholic family. Her father Federico was a lawyer from Palazzo San Gervasio in Basilicata of noble Neapolitan and Swiss ancestry and her mother Maria Santamaria Maurizio was a member of the Roman bourgeoisie. Wertmüller's ancestors loyally served the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies up until the fall of the Kingdom in 1865.
In her youth Wertmüller attended various Catholic schools and developed an interest in comics, the theatre and the arts and became rooted in tradition and modernity. She graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico in 1951 and began working as a set designer, director and script writer. Critics have noted that she developed an appreciation for tackling the serious while blending the comedic and absurd. Prior to going out on her own, Wertmüller worked as an assistant for director Federico Fellini. Her debut film I Basilischi (1963) was awarded at the Locarno International Film Festival.
She was best known for her ability to handle social and political themes with tragic irony with lightness, which is perhaps why she so appealed to her Neapolitan fans. She was technically adept and known for her meticulous work on her art. She explored not only 20th century Italian and Neapolitan themes in her work, but also was widely regarded for her period piece bringing to life a playful portrayal of King Ferdinand IV's youth and betrothal to Princess Maria Carolina of Austria. Ferdinando & Carolina, like many of her films, featured authentic Neapolitan dialogue. In the United States her films enjoyed wide popularity and set box office records for foreign films. Among her iconic films which inspired generations, were Swept Away, Seduction of Mimi, Love and Anarchy, Summer Night, and Ciao Professore!. Exhibiting her great skills as a satirist of political movements and ideologies and the struggles of modernity, and known for her whimsical and lengthy titles, she is in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest film title: Un fatto di sangue nel comune di Siculiana fra due uomini per causa di una vedova. Si sospettano moventi politici. Amore-Morte-Shimmy. Lugano belle. Tarantelle. Tarallucci e vino. Many of her films' titles were indeed shorted when presented abroad, such as Swept Away (Travolti da un Insolito Destino Nell'Azzurro Mare d'Agosto). In post 1960's Italian film she stood out for returning to Neapolitan and Southern themes in an engaged manner. .
In 1977 Wertmüller became the first woman nominated for an Oscar for best director for her film Pasqualino Settebellezze, set in 1930's Naples. She was nominated several times for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards. In 2019 she was at the Governor's Award in Los Angeles to receive a lifetime achievement award and she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also was the recipient of the Premio Flaiano for lifetime achievement in 2008, a Golden Globe in 2009, and the David di Donatello prize for lifetime achievement in 2010. She was invested as a cavaliere grand cross by the Italian Republic.
Her life and work intersected with many Italian greats. Her longtime friend and collaborator, noted actor Giancarlo Giannini honored her memory and noted that while she had sometimes been overlooked in Italy by a close-minded intelligentsia who could not fit her into certain parameters, she was always greatly appreciated around the world. In 2015 Valerio Ruiz made a biographical film about her in which she discussed her career and works.
The history and lore of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies no doubt fascinated Wertmüller and drew her back to her roots, and she viewed Naples as her cultural and spiritual capital. She often upheld the history and the humanity of Naples against reductive stereotypes and denigration by inviting its detractors to study and live it. She once said, "One of my unexpressed desires? To be Neapolitan". In 2015 Mayor De Magistris of Naples conferred honorary Neapolitan citizenship upon her. About Naples, Wertmüller said, "As Luciano De Crescenzo wrote in one of his book titles, 'Jesus was born in Naples'. De Crescenzo maintains that he was born once in Palestine, but all the other times he was born in Naples and I agree with him."
Wertmüller is predeceased by her husband the artist and writer Enrico Job (Naples 31 January 1934- 4 March 2008 Rome), who worked as an art designer on many of her films and by her daughter Maria Zulima Job.
RIP Donna Lina, ve vasammo 'e mmane.
~ Cav. Charles Sant'Elia, Dec. 11th, Feast of St. Damasus I
