She has been described as a holy monster of acting, “wolf, “volcano” and many other imaginative ones, during her varied and triumphant career in cinema, which she marked with her beastly acting skills, her original talent. Anna Magnani, arguably the most important actress in Italy, a country that has had a huge tradition of producing great actors, may not have had the beauty of the great Sophia Loren, but she had a unique charm of her own and above all an exciting drive that seemed with a hurricane.

Anna Maniani was not the beautiful woman, in the sense that we are used to by the film industry – especially Hollywood – and the standards of empty content, projected internationally. He had a hard face, like rough rock, before it changed into a statue of expression. Her black eyes sparkled, her gaze pierced the camera, walls, the world and of course every viewer trying to understand where this innate power of interpretation came from.

Her life was neither easy, nor simple or single-minded. She went through a lot from her childhood, her youth, even when she matured. She lived to the extremes, tragedies, passionate loves, despair, but also glories, appreciation and deep respect for her artistic contribution. Her unconventional character and brave approach to life showed in her face, but also in her behavior. She walked around unkempt, with uncombed hair, even barefoot. She smoked heavily, often threw her shoes, wore whatever she found in front of her, while her open mouth was also famous. And yet, she was a woman of lust to those who knew her closely, she seduced, like her earthly interpretations, which captivated the viewers.

Completing 50 years since her death (September 26, 1973), Anna Maniani today remains one more name, among many, in cinema, for younger cinephiles. Unthinkable for one of the leading actresses to pass away, as her offering was immense and her performances iconic, exemplary, acting lessons.

Unknown father

Her birth on March 7, 1908 and the first years of her life seem straight out of a novel. According to her own words, she was born in Rome, although it is possible that Alexandria is her birthplace. Father unknown, presumably Egyptian or Austrian when her mother lived in Alexandria. She will take her last name from her mother, while she will grow up mostly next to her grandparents and uncles.

Even as a child she will learn to live and play in the streets, acquiring a tough personality and the “language of the street”, which she maintained throughout her life. She went to a reclusive Catholic school and learned to play the piano and sing. When she turned 15 she decided to earn her living by working, while she also tried to find her mother.

Packets, cigarettes and coffees

Her raw talent secured a scholarship for her Royal Dramatic School of the legendary Eleonora Ducebut the basic lessons will be obtained by working in groups, the popular vaudeville of the time, variety shows and nightclubs.

He will join the theater man’s troupe Dario Nicodemi, where he remained for four years. When her grandmother died, Maniani will say that she found the strength to make her revolution, adding: “It was that day that Maniani was born.” She will play whatever she can find, for a fee of 25 lire a day, while in her personal life she will adopt a sloppy dress, not caring about her appearance and not paying any attention to the comments made about her. He lived in small houses, he ate very little, in contrast to the many packs of cigarettes and dozens of coffees he drank every day.

The shock with her child

In 1933 she was discovered by Gruffredo Alessandrini, one of the pioneers of Italian cinema, whom she married. During the Mussolini years, when only propaganda films and indifferent romantic comedies were made, there was no room for Maniani. Despite this, in 1941 he will star in “Teresa Venerdi” by Vittorio de Sica, playing alongside him. Somewhere there, her marriage will also fall apart, to be followed by the acquaintance with the actor Chewable Serato, with whom she will have a child, Luca, who will be infected with polio, which will shock her. Determined to give him a lifelong support, Maniani will decide to work hard to cover the huge costs of caring for her only son.

Rossellini, Rome and Bergman

1944 will be a defining year for her life. She will meet and fall in love with the great director Roberto Rossellini. The attraction will be mutual, as will their conflicts, from which Rossellini almost always came out the loser – and with many carousels from the objects he hurled at him!

Artistically, however, they will write one of the finest moments of world cinema, primarily with the well-known masterpiece “Rome, Unspoiled City”, an emblematic film for Italian neorealism. It was 1945, when the whole world will be talking about the Rossellini-Magnini couple.

However, they will only work together in one more film, the spine-tingling “Love”, as their fiery love will die out in front of the ethereal beauty of Ingrid Bergman, whom Rossellini will fall in love with and give her the lead role in the famous “Stromboli”. A role that was written for Maniani and you can easily understand that Bergman might have been the hottest name in Hollywood, but Maniani was not.

The Oscar

Maniani will star in dozens of films, which were given another dimension by her presence, her interpretive skill, her fiery passion, her angry gaze. He will work with the greatest Italian directors, such as Fellini, Pasolini, Rossellini, Visconti, but also top foreign directors such as Jean Renoir, George Cukor or Daniel Mann.

The latter, in a script written especially for Maniani by the fan of Tennessee Williams, will shoot with her the bittersweet comedy “Rose on the Breast”, which will give her the Oscar for Best Actress in 1955. He will even “disappear” the great superstar of the era Burt Lancaster, and he will also win acting awards at both the Venice Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival.

“Mama Roma”

Her performance in Pasolini’s sensational drama “Mama Roma” (1962) in the role of a prostitute, who gives up her profession to raise her son in a small-town district, will remain indelible in our memory and in world cinema history, but when the child learns her past will turn illegal and she will be killed. Only the final sequence in which Maniani curses everyone for the death of her child is enough to enter the pantheon of top female performers.

Her performance in the wonderful drama “Bellisima” shot in 1952 by Luchino Visconti, about the vanity and the gaudy universe of cinema, is also up close. Maniani plays an imaginary mother, who believes that her young daughter is a child prodigy, will do anything to enter Chinachita, to know the real and hard side of cinema. Again in the finale Maniani will be sensational, leaving us all speechless.

Anna Magiani will die prematurely, at the age of 65, from pancreatic cancer, with her son Luca and her forever “man” Roberto Rossellini by her side. Italy will mourn, as will all movie lovers. The Italians will understand that they are not only losing a great actress, but also their soul, a personality that could inspire, stop the coming descent…