''Don Matteo'' () is an Italian mystery

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television series that has been airing on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television channel and is known for broadcasting ...

since 2000.

History

The protagonist of the series is Father Matteo (portrayed by

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with hi ...

), a Catholic priest in a parish of the town of

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

. He is also known for his unrivaled talent in investigating local crime stories. Father Matteo is a wise and respected person who really manages to understand people's problems, and always appears to be willing to help. Thanks to his charm and positivity, he often helps criminals on their way to redemption and he always convinces them to confess their crimes and to accept their responsibilities. Comedian Nino Frassica portrays Marshal Antonio Cecchini, a middle-aged

Carabiniere The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

who also happens to be Matteo's best friend. Cecchini is one of the main co-protagonists and often provides humour and comic relief in the series. Other notable cast members include

Flavio Insinna Flavio Insinna (born 3 July 1965) is an Italian actor and television presenter. He is a former host of ''L'eredità''. He is also known for having hosted ''Affari tuoi, Affari Tuoi'', the Italian version of ''Deal or No Deal'' between 2006 and 20 ...

, who portrayed Captain Flavio Anceschi from 2000 to 2006, Milena Miconi, who played Laura, the mayor of Gubbio as well as Anceschi's love interest and Simone Montedoro who has been playing the role of Captain Giulio Tommasi, successor to Anceschi, since the sixth season. From season 8, Don Matteo is filmed in

HDTV High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

1080i In high-definition television (HDTV) and video display technology, 1080i is a video display format with 1080 lines of vertical resolution and Interlaced video, interlaced scanning method. This format was once a standard in HDTV. It was particular ...

. The series has also a Polish version titled '' Ojciec Mateusz'' produced by TVP and a Russian version titled ''Otec Matvej'' (: Отец Матвей).

Syndication

The series is syndicated in the United States by

MHz Networks MHz Networks is an American broadcaster that specializes in international television programming. Washington, D.C., broadcast operations MHz (pronounced "M-H-Z") Networks began as a project of the Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation. ...

Synopsis

The plot primarily revolves around the titular Matteo, a Catholic priest with an impressive insight in human nature, aiding the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

, the national as opposed to local police force personnel in solving crimes (usually murder cases). In this he usually finds support in marshal Antonio Cecchini, a warrant officer who often shares with him important details and clues, but also hostility, in the figure of Cecchini's direct superiors, captain Flavio Anceschi and later captains Giulio Tommasi and Anna Olivieri, who have little tolerance for the priest's continuous interference with the investigations despite the deep esteem they have for him.

Cast and characters

as Father Matteo Minelli-Bondini: The series' protagonist and a Catholic priest with an impressive insight into human nature, aiding the Carabinieri (police) station in solving crimes (usually murder cases). (seasons 1-13) * Raoul Bova as Father Massimo Sartori/Matteo Mezzanotte: another Catholic priest, former agent of Carabinieri; replaces Father Matteo Bondini after his depart to Africa. (5^ episode of 13–present) * Nathalie Guetta as Natalina Diotallevi: Father Matteo's housekeeper. (seasons 1–present) * Nino Frassica as Marshal Antonio "Nino" Cecchini: Marshal of Gubbio and Spoleto Carabinieri military police stations and best friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 1–present) *

as Captain Flavio Anceschi: Captain of Gubbio Carabinieri military police station. (seasons 1–5) * Simone Montedoro as Captain Giulio Tommasi: Captain of Gubbio and Spoleto Carabinieri military police station, successor of Anceschi. (seasons 6–10, guest 12) *

Maria Chiara Giannetta Maria Chiara Giannetta (born 20 May 1992) is an Italian actress. She is best known for her roles in the Italian TV series ''Don Matteo'' and Blanca (TV series), ''Blanca''. Early life and education At the age of 10 Gianetta took part in her f ...

as Captain Anna Olivieri: Captain of Spoleto Carabinieri military police station, successor of Tommasi. (seasons 11–present) * Francesco Scali as Pippo Gimignani-Zerfati: Father Matteo's sacristan. (seasons 1–present) * Caterina Sylos Labini as Caterina Cecchini: Wife of Marshal Cecchini. She died of a hitherto unknown illness. (seasons 1–11) * Pamela Saino as Patrizia Cecchini: First daughter of Marshall Cecchini and wife of Captain Giulio Tommasi, she was killed in a car accident. (seasons 2–8) * Giada Arena, Giusy Buscemi and Simona Di Bella as Assuntina Cecchini: Second daughter of Marshall Cecchini. (seasons 2–present) * Pietro Pulcini as Brigadier Piero Ghisoni: Carabiniere in Gubbio and Spoleto Carabinieri military police stations. (seasons 1–3; seasons 5–present) * Giuseppe Sulfaro as Appuntato Severino Cecchini: Nephew of Marshal Cecchini and carabineer in Gubbio and Spoleto police station. (seasons 6–10) * Eleonora Sergio as Andrea Conti: Public minister (prosecutor) of Gubbio. (season 8) *

Giorgia Surina Giorgia Surina (born 8 March 1975, in Milan) is an Italian television personality known for presenting '' TRL Italy'', the Italian version of ''Total Request Live'' broadcast by MTV Italia MTV is an Italian pay television network, owned by Pa ...

as Bianca "Bibba" Venezia: Public minister of Spoleto and friend of Tommasi that becomes a rival in Lia's love. (season 9) * Dario Cassini as Gualtiero Ferri: New public minister of Spoleto which replaces Bianca Venezia. He leaves Spoleto when he discovers that Captain Tommasi get engaged to Margherita, and then return when the captain refused to marry her after falling in love with Lia. (season 10) * Maria Rosaria Russo as Lucrezia Volpi: New public minister of Spoleto which replaces Gualtiero Ferri (season 10) * Maurizio Lastrico as Marco Nardi: New public minister of Spoleto which replaces Lucrezia Volpi. (seasons 11–present) * Simona Marchini as Clara Tommasi: Mother of Captain Giulio Tommasi (seasons 6–10) * Nadir Caselli as Lia Cecchini: Niece of Marshall Cecchini who falls in love with Captain Tommasi. (seasons 9–10) * Emma Reale as Martina Tommasi: Daughter of Captain Giulio Tommasi and the late Patrizia Cecchini. (seasons 9–10) * Astra Lanz as Sister Maria: Friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 6–present) * Laura Glavan as Laura Belvedere: 16 years old pregnant girl hosted in Father Matteo's rectory, daughter of Antonio Belvedere, old friend of Matteo. She falls in love with Tomàs Martinez. (seasons 8–10) * Andrés Gil as Tomàs Martinez: Young boy who is serving a year in prison in Father Matteo's rectory; he is looking for his sister Alma. He falls in love with Laura. (seasons 9–10) * Letizia Arnò as Ester Natalina Belvedere: Little daughter of Laura Belvedere and Giuliano Rovati. (seasons 9–10) * Claudio Ricci as Nerino Bertolacci: Children who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (seasons 1–4) * Evelina Gori as Grandma Elide: Sprightly grandmother of Nerino (seasons 1–3) * Sara Santostasi as Camilla: Bolivian little girl who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (season 4) * Steven Manetto as Tommaso: Another child who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (season 5) * Andrea Pittorino as Agostino: Another child who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (seasons 7–8) * Dalila Pasquariello as Sabrina Esposito: Former convict who thanks to Father Matteo goes to work alongside Tomas. (season 10) * Gabriele De Pascali as Alberto Torre: Boyfriend of Laura for a short period. (season 10) * Andrea Cereatti as Appuntato Linetti: Carabiniere in Gubbio police station. (season 4) * Dario Cassini as Gualtiero Ferri: District attorney of Spoleto police station. (season 10) * Milena Miconi as Laura Respighi: Mayor of Gubbio and wife of Captain Anceschi. (seasons 4–5) * Ilaria Spada as Amanda Patriarchi: Former girlfriend of Captain Tommasi. (seasons 6–7) * Raniero Monaco di Lapio as Daniele Orsini: Former boyfriend of Lia Cecchini. (season 10) * Sara Zanier as Margherita Colognese: Girlfriend of Gualtiero Ferri who shortly falls in love with Captain Tommasi. (season 10) *

Gastone Moschin Gastone Moschin (; 8 June 1929 – 4 September 2017) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Career Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto (Veneto), Moschin graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico and then began ...

as Guido: Bishop of Gubbio and friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 1–2) * Renato Carpentieri as Bishop of Gubbio: Successor of Guido. (season 3) *

Philippe Leroy Philippe Marie Paul Leroy-Beaulieu (15 October 1930 – 1 June 2024) was a French actor. He appeared in over 150 films between 1960 and 2019, and worked extensively in Italian cinema, as well as in his native country. After an early career as ...

as Mons. Benelli: Bishop of Gubbio and friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 6–7) * Sydne Rome as Susi Dallara: Principal of Gubbio and Spoleto high school. (seasons 7–present) * Bruno Cabrerizo as Fernando: Spanish friend of Patrizia Cecchini. (season 8)

Episodes

Reception

The series received two awards at the 42nd

Monte-Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony ...

in 2002:

won the award for Best Actor and Alessandro Jacchia won the award for Best Producer.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000 Italian television series debuts Clerical mysteries Fictional Italian detectives Italian crime television series Italian comedy television series 2010s Italian television series Gubbio RAI original programming Perugia in fiction Television shows set in Umbria Television series by Fremantle (company)