Subject
The scene shown is from the 1913 black-and-white film “Quo vadis?”, by Enrico Guazzoni, based on the historical novel of the same name from Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz. The silent feature is considered one of the first “colossals” of film history. Guazzoni achieved sensational results thanks to the inclusion of thousands of extras and seemingly countless actors, among which Amleto Novelli (Vinicio), Gustavo Serena (Caio Petronio), Lea Giunchi (Licia), Amelia Cattaneo (Eunice), Carlo Cattaneo (Nerone), Bruto Castellani (Ursus).
Complex and innovative stage designs reproduced Rome in the ancient times of Emperor Nero, to spectacular effect. In the excerpt seen here, accompanied by the notes of the Prelude in E major by Johann Sebastian Bach (Well-Tempered Clavier, vol. II, BWV 878), we recognise Saint Peter fleeing Rome to avoid martyrdom, accompanied by Hazarfus. The apparition of Jesus along the Via Appia, however, induces him to return to the city and accept martyrdom. Today, at the site of this legendary meeting near the Catacombs of San Callisto, there stands the small church of the Domine Quo Vadis, reconstructed in the 17th century over the original 9th-century chapel. Inside the building is a stone slab said to show the footprints of Jesus, a copy of the original held in the Basilica of San Sebastiano Beyond the Walls. This latter slab, in fact, originated as a pagan ex voto: the offering of a traveller to the god Rediculus as they departed Rome, or perhaps after a successful return.
Director
Enrico Guazzoni
Year
1913
