Great participation and emotion at Palazzo dei Bruzi this morning for the presentation of Ornella Muti’s book “This is not Ornella Muti”, an event which also saw the presence of David Cronenberg, one of the most prestigious protagonists of the international cultural and cinematographic scene, guest of honor at the Celico International Arts Festival.
The meeting was opened by Mayor Franz Caruso, who expressed the satisfaction of the entire municipal administration and the city for having welcomed David Cronenberg and Ornella Muti, two symbolic figures of Italian and international cinema, into the Town Hall.
The greeting of Mayor Franz Caruso and the synergy between territories
“I am happy today to express my great satisfaction, of the entire municipal administration and of the city of Cosenza which has the honour, pleasure and privilege of hosting Ornella Muti”, declared the mayor, underlining the value of the second edition of the International Arts Festival born thanks to the intuition of the mayor of Celico, Matteo Lettieri.
Franz Caruso then highlighted the institutional collaboration between the Municipality of Cosenza, the Municipality of Celico and the University of Calabria, recalling how the Representative Hall of Palazzo dei Bruzi, thanks to the “Libri in Comune” exhibition, has now become a meeting place with some of the most prestigious names in Italian literature.
The intimate portrait of an icon: fragility and courage
Focusing on the book “This is not Ornella Muti”, Franz Caruso highlighted its intensity and narrative strength: “I was struck by the sense of dismay that runs through the story and that phrase, ‘What the hell is happening?’, which gives back the sense of a life lived without constructions, developed day after day between fragility, courage and authenticity”.
The First Citizen then underlined the contrast between the actress’s public image and her more intimate and fragile dimension.
“You won’t believe it – he said – but Ornella Muti is taciturn. She is a diva who has graced the most important scenes of cinema and today also of theatre, but who demonstrates all the fragility of a woman, with her loves, passions, pains and frailties”.
The mayor then defined the book as “an authentic act of courage”, appreciating the sincerity with which the actress recounts episodes of her personal and family life, intertwining them with memories of meetings with great protagonists of Italian and world cinema.
A stellar career between Italy and Hollywood
Numerous references to the extraordinary career of Ornella Muti, which began almost by chance when she accompanied her sister Claudia to an audition and was chosen to play the role of Franca Viola in the film “The Most Beautiful Wife” by Damiano Damiani.
In recalling the success that Muti achieved with Mario Monicelli’s “Romanzo Popolare”, alongside Ugo Tognazzi and Michele Placido, Franz Caruso also highlighted her collaborations with some of the greatest Italian directors, including Dino Risi, Citto Maselli and Marco Ferreri, highlighting the recognition obtained by the actress with the Nastro d’Argento for “Private Code”, presented at the 1988 Venice Film Festival.
In his speech, Franz Caruso also mentioned the international dimension of Ornella Muti’s career, built alongside actors of the caliber of Gérard Depardieu, Hanna Schygulla, Ben Gazzara, Jeremy Irons, Alain Delon and Rupert Everett.
“That Ornella Muti was a great actress is demonstrated by her luminous career – concluded the mayor -. We have now discovered that she was also a good writer and we wish her to continue to make us dream with the stories she still wants to tell on the big screen”.
The Arts Festival as a showcase for Calabria
The mayor of Celico, Matteo Lettieri, also thanked the Municipality of Cosenza for the collaboration offered in the second edition of the National Arts Festival, together with that of the University of Calabria.
“It is a festival that has given great visibility to Calabria thanks to the presence of David Cronenberg, honorary president of the event”, declared Lettieri, underlining the value of the initiative as a tool for cultural and tourist promotion of the area.
“It is a great national showcase – he continued – but also a way to make culture accessible to everyone”.
Finally, the mayor of Celico extended special thanks to Ornella Muti: “We met a great and beautiful person. We already knew about the artist.”
Ornella tells herself: “I identify with Francesca”
During the meeting, Ornella Muti spoke with Antonietta Cozza, municipal councilor delegated to Culture by Mayor Franz Caruso, telling her story in an authentic and intense way.
The actress spoke about her childhood, defined as “peculiar”, and about her mother, an artist and “the most modern woman in Italy of that time”, often considered a foreigner and looked at with distrust.
“From the beginning of my life I have always been a little uncomfortable,” said Ornella Muti who recalled the strong bond with her mother, her love for horses, her Russian origins and the difficult journeys she faced to get to Italy.
In the actress’s story, the figure of her Neapolitan father, a journalist, and the great love that bound her parents, despite a complex relationship, also emerges.
Ample space was dedicated to his chance encounter with cinema.
“They chose me not because my sister was younger than me, but because I was 14 years old and Franca Viola was 14 years old,” he specified.
Ornella Muti then reflected on the relationship with her stage name.
“It’s a name that brought me luck, but it doesn’t belong to me. I identify with Francesca”, he said, explaining how important it is, as the years pass, to remain true to oneself.
“I’m not comfortable being a diva. Ornella Muti is one thing – she said – but I’m another.”
The actress also spoke about her choice to become a mother against the judgment of many, her love for her daughter Naike, who “came by chance”, the relationship built with her and her other children Carolina and Andrea, her passion for animals, her deep faith and empathy towards others.
The love for cinema, theater and the connection with Calabria
During the conversation, Ornella Muti also expressed her love for Italian cinema.
“Italian cinema – he declared – was a great cinema. It taught others to make cinema. We taught neorealism and Vittorio De Sica was the master”.
According to the actress, today Italian cinema continues to exist and express quality, as demonstrated by the work of Paolo Sorrentino, even if compared to the past it is more difficult to find adequate support for many projects.
There is also space for his theatrical experience, initially faced with fear.
“Theatre is a communion between you and the audience – he argued -. The audience breathes with you. It was a wonderful adventure.”
Finally, urged by Mayor Franz Caruso, Ornella Muti spoke about her bond with Calabria, born also thanks to her daughter’s marriage to a Calabrian and consolidated by the affection of friends who welcomed her here, making her feel at home.
The Golden Seal to two giants of cinema
To seal the intense morning of emotions, culture and great cinema, mayor Franz Caruso handed over the city’s golden seal to David Cronenberg and Ornella Muti, protagonists of one of the most heartfelt moments of the initiative.
A symbolic gesture with which the First Citizen wanted to pay homage to two extraordinary personalities of the international cinema scene, in a setting characterized by sobriety, participation and profound emotion.