City of Memory

Abstract

Since he had left Naples in the winter of 1946–1947 Rosi had never felt tempted to return but somehow always looked for creative projects which would lead him back. In 1992, he films Diario napoletano (Neapolitan Diary), an intimate narrative documenting a personal and collective journey. In 2003, Eduardo De Filippo’s art, deeply rooted in human suffering rather than the virtuosity of the stagecraft, persuaded Rosi to direct Napoli milionaria! at the San Carlo Theatre for the Compagnia di Teatro Luca De Filippo. Rosi’s vision of historical continuity between cinema and the theater is embodied in a city where poverty favors corruption, crime, and an insatiable longing for power. For Rosi, Eduardo's play is an appeal for action aimed at recapturing the fundamental values of life: love, honesty, solidarity. Three years later he staged Le voci di dentro and in 2008 Filumena Marturano.