Lunetta Savino (born 2 November 1957) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

theatre and movie

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's best known for portraying Concetta Gargiulo in Italian soap opera ''

Un medico in famiglia ''Un medico in famiglia'' (English: ''A doctor in the family'') is an Italian television series, based on the format of the Spanish series of Telecinco '' Médico de familia'', produced by Publispei and Rai Fiction. The series aired for ten seaso ...

'' (1998–2009). She later played lead roles in other Italian television productions such as ''

Il bello delle donne ''Il bello delle donne'' is an Italian comedy-drama television series, that follows the lives of different Italian women. Main cast *Stefania Sandrelli: Anna Borsi *Nancy Brilli: Vicky Melzi (1ª e 3ª Seasons) *Giuliana De Sio: Annalisa Bott ...

'' (2001–2002), '' Raccontami'' (2006–2008), ''

È arrivata la felicità ''È arrivata la felicità'' is an Italian television comedy-drama series created by Stefano Bises, Ivan Cotroneo, Monica Rametta; and produced by Publispei and Rai Fiction. The setting of the show are Aventino and Testaccio, two districts in Rom ...

'' (2015–2018) and '' Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco'' (2021–present). Her film credits includes comedy '' Free the Fish'' (2000), drama '' Saturn in Opposition'' (2007), romantic dramedy '' Loose Cannons'' (2010), comedy '' An Almost Ordinary Summer'' (2019), and drama ''

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

'' (2024).

Career

After graduating at Teatro "Alessandra Galante Garrone" in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Lunetta Savino made her stage debut in 1981 with ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. Savino has enjoyed a successful stage career, performing in several plays including an Italian-language version of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' (1984), ''Sorelle Materassi'' (from a novel by

Aldo Palazzeschi Aldo Giurlani (; 2 February 1885 – 17 August 1974), known by the pen name Aldo Palazzeschi (), was an Italian novelist, poet, journalist and essayist. Biography He was born in Florence to a well-off, bourgeois family. Following his father's ...

, 1988), and ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'' (1994). In 1995, she made her stage debut at Teatro dell'Orologio 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, ...

with ''Prova orale per membri esterni'', a play by Claudio Grimaldi in which she starred as an oral sex instructor. The play proved to be extremely successful, being replicated for six seasons in many Italian cities. In 1982, Savino made her screen debut, playing a small part in ''Grog'', directed by

Francesco Laudadio Francesco Laudadio (2 January 1950 – 6 April 2005) was an Italian director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Born in Mola di Bari, graduated in philosophy, Laudadio started his career as a script supervisor and an assistant directo ...

. From 1998 to 2010, Savino played her breakthrough role. She starred as flamboyant au-pair girl from

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

Cettina Gargiulo, a leading character in ''

'', one of the most famous Italian TV-series of all times. Savino has taken part in many TV series in her country, such as ''Il bello delle donne'', '' Raccontami'' and ''Il figlio della luna''. In 2010, she starred as Stefania Cantone, a mother struggling with her grown-up son's sexual orientation, in

Ferzan Özpetek Ferzan Özpetek (, ; born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy since 1978. Biography Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History ...

's internationally acclaimed movie '' Loose Cannons'' She briefly starred alongside

Luciana Littizzetto Luciana Littizzetto (born 29 October 1964) is an Italian comedy actress, shock jock and humor writer. Littizzetto is known in her home country for her irreverent gags, lampooning government ministers and church prelates alike. Nicknamed "Luc ...

in the TV series ''

Fuoriclasse ''Fuoriclasse'' (English: ''A League of Their Own'') is an Italian television series directed by Riccardo Donna and Tiziana Aristarco. It is loosely based on several works by Domenico Starnone (including ''Ex cattedra'', ''Fuori registro'', and ...

'', playing the leading character's dishonest sister. In 2015, Savino starred in

Rai Uno 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 television channel and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

's primetime TV series ''

'', once again playing the role of a mother struggling with her child's

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

Personal life

Savino has a son, Antonio, born in 1988. She supports the Italian centre-left party, and she once took part in a rally against former Italian prime minister

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

. While playing a

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

mother twice on screen, Savino is a supporter of lesbian and gay rights in Italy. She defines herself as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Savino, Lunetta 1957 births 20th-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian actresses Italian film actresses Living people Nastro d'Argento winners Actresses from Bari