The great fortress on Paliano crest is the symbol of the city and makes it immediately recognizable, but it is also a place in the city that is not often visited. So, it was a pleasant surprise to go and see the show 'Fatti e misfatti a corte - Deeds and misdeeds at court’ by Officine Alcazzar of Paliano.
I arrived by climbing the steps and entering a historic center that is still inhabited and alive where people are proud of their town: "here, in this house, an important astrologer lived!" a lady tells me and stops me while I take some photographs.
Meanwhile, the company was warming up their voices in the light of one of Paliano's famous sunsets over the Sacco Valley, right under the great fortress.
The little square is located after one of the arches that lead into the city and is so intimate that it has perfect acoustics that no one uses a microphone, a real jewel box that welcomes the stage and almost 200 spectators.
Many brought chairs from home while the St Andrew committee provided long benches that were ultimately in harmony with the spirit of the show. In fact, the story is that of a company of acrobats who arrive in the square of a town to tell the story of the Duchess of Paliano, a woman at the center of amorous intrigues and killed while she was six months pregnant.
I really appreciated the direction of Mariano Panella, who also played the role of comedian leader, who was able to unite actors and spectators in a single performance. His ironic approach lightened the drama of the story making it almost current. The solution of the stage curtain that hid the costume changes and the scenographic wall, worn by one of the protagonists, integrated with the spirit of the comedy. And also with the architecture of the historic center of Paliano!
The show opened with the introduction of the main characters, and especially their faces, while leaving room for small squabbles between the actors that continued pleasantly throughout the show.
The acting and the language perfectly interpreted the popular spirit of the comedians who found themselves playing nobles without having any experience of nobility, who spoke a ‘polished’ dialect confusing the terms. A real joy with some modern cameos like one of the actors saying that he was hungry and that luckily it wasn’t Lent so maybe with the evening’s takings he could get some bread.
Incidentally, this is why the color purple brings bad luck in the theater: purple is the color of Lent during which companies were forbidden to perform in squares so they starved.
The text was freely inspired by the novel Duchess of Paliano by Stendhal and tells the story of Violante Diaz Cardon married to Duke Giovanni Carafa, a title wanted by his uncle Cardinal Carafa. The couple has rather cheerful customs and governs with greed so much that the Pope sends them into exile in the Viterbo area, exactly in Gallese.
Stories of lovers (or loves), of passion and jealousy to the point that almost all the protagonists die with the exception of the former Duke of Paliano Giovanni Carafa. And in fact, Paliano will then become the headquarters of the army of Marcantonio Colonna, paladin of the papacy and admiral of the papal fleet in the battle of Lepanto.
A curiosity: Violante Cardon came from a noble family of Spanish origin and had her duchy in Alife, today in the province of Caserta, which is also the town where our director of the show comes from. It is clear that somewhere there was a written destiny.
The stage costumes were lent by the Palio di Paliano Association, with its president Linda Cecconi who strongly wanted the show, and by the Renaissance Group “Brancaleone” of Genazzano, a twin town of Paliano for importance in the history of the Colonna family.
In addition to the direction of Mariano Panella, we want to list all the actors who gave life to a unique performance and were true stars on stage: Maria Cristina Curti, Flavio di Domenicantonio, Emanuela Romani, Giulio Pantellini (who is also blind and I only realized it at the final greetings), Paola Calselli and Roberto Romani.
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