Subject
Clip from the 1961 movie “Accattone” that marks Pier Paolo Pasolini’s directorial debut. This is a scene set on a part of the Via Appia Antica, near Rome. In this part, the actor Franco Citti (dubbed by Paolo Ferrari) is sitting by a side of this roadstretch rich in archaeological remains. You can see some Roman sepulchres’ ruins without their decorative cladding, statues and other marble decorations, many of which are missing due to acts of vandalism during the centuries along the Via Appia. In the scene, the ancient Roman paving is covered by an asphalt layer that makes it like any other road open to vehicular traffic: a car passes near the big pyramidal sepulchre at the entrance of Villa dei Quintili at the 5th mile. A little bit further, in 1951 the Grande Raccordo Anulare road interrupted the way of the Regina Viarum, but in 1999, thanks to the 2000 Jubilee funds, an underpass was built and that section of the Via Appia was set free.
Director
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Year
1961