''Condottieri'' is a 1937 Italian

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Luis Trenker Luis Trenker (born Alois Franz Trenker, 4 October 1892 – 12 April 1990) was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, alpinist, and bobsledder. Biography Early life Alois Franz Trenker was born on 4 October 1892 in ...

and starring Trenker,

Loris Gizzi Loris Gizzi (16 August 1899 – 6 October 1986) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Rome, after his university studies Gizzi attended a school of dance and singing. He abandoned the courses when he became an employee of Ferrovie dell ...

and

Laura Nucci Laura Nucci (26 February 1913 – 30 January 1994) was an Italian film actress. Nucci was one of the stars of the Italian fascism, Fascist era, emerging after she won a competition.Gundle, Stephen. ''Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fas ...

. It portrays the life of Giovanni de' Medici, a celebrated

condottiere Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

of the sixteenth century. A separate German-language version was also made. The film received 9.6 million lire of funding from the Italian government, as part of a major drive by the Fascist authorities to develop the Italian film industry (which also involved the construction of the large

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constru ...

complex in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

). Along with ''

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

'', the film was an attempt to harness history to support the Fascist regime's current policies. ''Condottieri'' drew parallels between the dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

and the historical figure of de' Medici, portraying both as unifying Italy. The film's elaborate sets were designed by

Virgilio Marchi Virgilio Marchi (21 January 1895 – 30 April 1960) was an Italian architect and art director. He designed the sets for more than fifty films during his career. Marchi was stylistically identified with the Futurist movement.Sabatino, Michelangelo. ...

and Erich Grave, while Herbert Ploberger produced the costumes.

Cast

as Giovanni de' Medici *

as Malatesta *

as Tullia delle Grazie * as

Maria Salviati Maria Salviati (17 July 1499 – 29 December 1543) was a Florentine noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni delle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband ...

* as

Caterina Sforza Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. The descendant of a dynasty of noted co ...

Mario Ferrari Mario Ferrari (September 3, 1894 – June 28, 1974) was an Italian film actor. After making his debut in 1920, Ferrari became a mainstay of Italian cinema during the Fascist era appearing in a mixture of leading and supporting roles. He pla ...

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

Angelo Ferrari Angelo Ferrari (14 August 1897 – 15 June 1945) was an Italian actor known for his work in German cinema. Selected filmography * '' The Nude Woman'' (1922) * '' The Green Manuela'' (1923) * ''Samson'' (1923) * '' The Faces of Love'' (1924) * ' ...

*Giulio Cirino as Rüschli *Sandro Dani as D'Argentière *

Tito Gobbi Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation. He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's '' La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major oper ...

as Nino *

Augusto Marcacci Augusto Marcacci (4 June 1892 – 7 December 1969) was an Italian actor and voice actor.Mancini p.229 Selected filmography * '' Dimmed Lights'' (1934) * '' Lady of Paradise'' (1934) * '' Golden Arrow'' (1935) * ''Condottieri'' (1937) * '' The Cuc ...

as Daniello *

Nino Marchetti Nino Marchetti (21 February 1905 – 19 February 1981) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1934 and 1973. Selected filmography * ''Melodramma'' (1934) – Remo * ''Le scarpe al sole'' (1935) – Alpino amico di Toni ...

as Corrado * as Pedro *Ernesto Nannicini *

Umberto Sacripante Umberto Sacripante (2 October 1904 – 14 January 1975) was an Italian film and stage actor. Life and career Born Umberto Sacripanti in Rome, Sacripante debuted on stage in 1921, and in 1926 he became first actor in the theatrical company Teat ...

as Sanzio *

Carlo Tamberlani Carlo Tamberlani (11 March 1899 – 5 August 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1931 and 1976. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. Life and career Born in Salice Salentino, Tamberlani was born ...

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

Gino Viotti Gino Viotti (1875–1951) was an Italian film actor who appeared in more than forty films, mostly in supporting roles. He played the part of Chilone Chilonides in the 1924 epic ''Quo Vadis''.Wyke p.214 Selected filmography * ''Nemesis'' (1920) * ...

as Pope *

Giuseppe Addobbati Giuseppe Addobbati (31 December 1909 – 4 January 1986) was an Italian film actor known for his roles in Spaghetti Western and action films in the 1960s and 1970s. He was often billed as John MacDouglas for films released to an American audi ...

as Duke of Imola *Friedl Trenker as Giovanni *

Oreste Bilancia Oreste Bilancia (24 September 1881 – 31 October 1945) was an Italian film actor. Born in Catania, Sicily, he was a star of Italian films in the silent era. He worked during the 1920s in Weimar Germany, which had the largest European film ind ...

*Alberto Emmerich *

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634/1638–1714) was an Italian people, Italian"Carlo Fontana."
''Encyclopæ ...

*Tullio Galvani *Luis Gerold as Barbo *Alberto Minoprio *

Carlo Simoneschi Carlo Simoneschi (25 August 1878 – 4 January 1943) was an Italian stage and film actor.Michell p.173 He also directed a number of films during the silent era. Selected filmography * '' The Sack of Rome'' (1920) * '' The Gift of the Morning'' (1 ...

*Virgilio Botti *Mara Danieli *

Claudio Ermelli Claudio Ermelli (24 July 1892 – 29 October 1964) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1915 to 1962. Internationally, he is best known for his role as Giovanni, Gregory Peck's landlord in ''Roman Holiday ...

Carlo Duse Carlo Duse (5 January 1898 – 9 September 1956) Birth name: Carlo Artemio e Vittorio Duse. With mention in margin of his date and place of death. was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1956. He was bor ...

References

External links

* 1930s action war films 1930s historical films Italian action films Italian war films Italian historical films Films of Nazi Germany German black-and-white films 1930s Italian-language films Films directed by Luis Trenker Films set in the 16th century Italian multilingual films Italian black-and-white films Cultural depictions of Cesare Borgia Cultural depictions of Caterina Sforza 1937 multilingual films Fascist propaganda 1930s Italian films Films scored by Giuseppe Becce {{1930s-Italy-film-stub