Assunta Spina (Francesca Bertini and Gustavo Serena, 1915)

Italy’s film production in the pre-sound era was famous not only for the beauty of its images but also for its powerful female stars, or divas. In Assunta Spina—a primordial tale of a fateful love triangle, based on a 1909 play by Salvatore Di Giacomo—diva Francesca Bertini (who also codirected the film with exceptional skill and sensitivity) stars as Assunta, a beautiful Neapolitan laundress torn between two men. “Assunta Spina was shot in fall 1914 in Naples, and during its filming the city itself became its uncredited protagonist: the picture shows the city’s soul, scrutinizes its every aspect, realistically portraying the serenity and beauty of its most colorful areas, the chaotic frenzy of its neighborhoods and markets . . . [and] the spirit of Neapolitans, emphasizing their exuberance and passion . . . a stereotyped picture no doubt, but one that escapes cliché through the honesty of the camera.”—Giovanni Lasi.