Letizia Quaranta (30 December 1892 – 9 January 1977), also known with the stage name of Laetitia Quaranta, was an Italian

film actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. She was mainly active in the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

of cinema.

Early life

Letizia Quaranta was born in Turin in 1892 into a wealthy family, the younger sister of Lidia and the twin of

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

both actresses, and the daughter of Giuseppe Quaranta and Beatrice Rissoglio.

Career

Letizia Quaranta embarked on her journey in the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

industry back in 1913. Her introduction to this world was facilitated by her elder sister Lydia when she joined

Itala Film Itala Film was an Italian film production company. Silent era It was founded during the silent era. In 1905, industrialists Carlo Rossi and William Remmert established a company in Turin, recruiting filmmakers from Pathé. Two years later, they ...

, a prominent production company based in Turin at the time. Her cinematic debut occurred in 1912 with the film ''T'ho ancor baciato, or muoio lieta!'' directed by Sandro Camasio. From 1913 onward, she established herself as a regular actress at Itala, where she notably portrayed Elena, sharing the screen with her sister Lyda, who assumed the role of Dorina in Cammasio's ''Addio giovinezza'' (1913). Letizia Quaranta also took on supporting roles at the Turin-based

Gloria Film Gloria Film was a West German film production and distribution company. It was established in 1949 by Ilse Kubaschewski. An earlier, unconnected company of the same name had existed during the silent era in Germany, and had been absorbed into U ...

company, appearing in films starring

Lyda Borelli Lyda Cini, Countess of Monselice (née Borelli, 22 March 1884 – 2 June 1959) was an Italian actress of cinema and theatre. Her career in theatre started when she was a child, acting on stage with Paola Pezzaglia in the French drama '' I due ...

, such as '' Love Everlasting'' (1913) and ''La memoria dell'altro'' (1914). She depicted characters like Enrichetta Floretta in '' Floretta and Patapon'' (1913) and Ottavia in ''Nerone e Agrippina'' (1914). During her tenure at Gloria Film, she appeared in numerous films directed by Camillo De Riso. In a short span, Letizia Quaranta emerged as one of the most sought-after actresses of her era. She was directed by various filmmakers, including

Carlo Campogalliani Carlo Campogalliani (10 October 1885 – 10 August 1974) was an Italian screenwriter, actor and film director. Campogalliani directed around eighty films during his career and acted in another fifty. He directed the 1934 sports film '' Stadio'' a ...

, whom she eventually married in 1921.Moliterno, p.62 Campogalliani directed her in films both at Itala and at his own production company, Campogalliani Film. Their collaborations extended from the late 1910s to the early 1920s and included noteworthy works like ''Maciste innamorato'' (1919), ''La trilogia di Maciste'' (1920) starring Bartolomeo Pagano, and ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

'' (1920) featuring Italia Almirante Manzini. Around 1923, Carlo Campogalliani and Letizia Quaranta moved to Argentina to work on three films directed by Campogalliani, in addition to one film produced in Brazil.

Later career and death

Upon their return to Rome in 1930/31, Letizia Quaranta continued her acting career. However, with the advent of sound in cinema, she encountered challenges in adapting to the new medium. She appeared in only seven films since 1931, most of which were directed by her husband. Her acting career concluded in the mid-1950s. Letizia Quaranta passed away on January 9, 1977, at the age of 84 in Rome.

Selected filmography

* '' Love Everlasting'' (1913) * '' Floretta and Patapon'' (1913) * ''

'' (1920) * '' The Woman at Midnight'' (1925) * '' The Doctor in Spite of Himself'' (1931) * '' The Devil's Lantern'' (1931) * '' Forbidden Music'' (1942) * '' The Innocent Casimiro'' (1945) * '' The Devil's Gondola'' (1946) * '' Orphan of the Ghetto'' (1954)

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''The A to Z of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1892 births 1977 deaths Italian film actresses Italian silent film actresses 20th-century Italian actresses Actresses from Turin {{Italy-film-actor-stub