This year 2018 marks the 50th Anniversary of the premiere of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film”Romeo and Juliet” at London’s Odeon Theatre. With a host of talented actors, rich period costumes and lush cinematography, this gorgeous movie is arguably the best ever adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.  Famous critic Roger Ebert included it in his list of ‘Top 100 Films’. Ebert wrote, “I believe Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made.”

The movie won a Golden Globe Award for Best English Language Foreign Film.  It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography (Pasqualino De Santis) and Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati).  It was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture, making it the last Shakespearean film to be nominated for Best Picture to date. Coincidentally, the anniversary of its London premiere just happens to fall on the same day as this year’s Academy Awards presentation.

In Tuscany, on the occasion of the masterpiece’s 50^th anniversary, an exhibition celebrating it is on show, until January 6^th, 2019, in the same historical building, Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza (Siena), that in the movie is the Capuleti’s home, where the two young protagonists meet for the first time at a dance party. The exhibition is entitled ‘What is a youth?’ after the title of the song that in Zeffirelli’s reconstruction resounds inside the courtyard of the building during the dance.

The exhibition aims to highlight Renaissance customs and traditions as vividly portrayed in the movie. Indeed, the Tuscan director chose to shoot important scenes in the monumental Palazzo Piccolomini because it is a very well preserved authentic Renaissance residence. The photos of the set and of the scenes are placed in the rooms where they were taken, to revive the place as if the characters were there, and to offer visitors an even more authentic cross-section of Renaissance daily life. Danilo Donati’s Oscar-winning costumes, now owned by the Cerratelli Foundation, are also on show in the majestic halls.

INFORMATIONS

The admission ticket includes a guided tour with the audioguide at the Palazzo Piccolomini and the Renaissance garden as an exhibition venue. The visits start at 10.30 and are made every 30 minutes

Tickets, € 7.00 in full, € 5.00 reduced

Special price € 3.50 per pupil for schools booked

Group Reductions (from a minimum of 15 to a maximum of 25 people);

Free admission Students, children up to 5 years, disabled people

Timetables

15 March – 15 October – Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 am – 6.30 pm (last admission at 6.00 pm)

16 October – 15 November, 1 December – 6 January – Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm (last admission at 4.00 pm)

Closure of the Palace from November 16th to November 30th

Info and reservations: call center 0577 286300

info@palazzopiccolominipienza.it

http://www.palazzopiccolominipienza.it