Illustrious People - Fontana Liri (Italy)

Inside the history of Fontana Liri, prestigious people belonging to different areas of expertise must be remembered. Marcello Mastroianni, an internationally-famous actor, was born in Fontana Liri on September 28th 1924 to Ottorino and Ida Irolle. He lived in this town until he turned four years old, when he moved firstly to Turin and then, in 1938, permanently to Rome. His great passion for the cinema and the theatre brought him to debut in this particular field in 1938 as a background actor in a film by Carmine Gallone.
In 1949 he finally established himself in the film “A tram called Desiderio (Desire)” in which there was cast the actress Flora Carabella, who he will marry the following year. In the subsequent years, he always interpreted more important roles, thanks to the esteem and respect that he had earned from the most famous directors of that time, such as Fellini, De Sica, Monicelli and Camerini. He worked with actors of the likes of Gassman, Lollobrigida, Sofia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Vittorio De Sica. He starred in more than 100 films and in the one called “Days of Love” he clearly declares to be “Ciociaro”, enhancing the memories and emotions he feels for this territory.
Umberto Mastroianni, Marcello’s cousin, considered an artist and teacher of contemporary sculpture, was born in Fontana Liri on September 21st 1910 to parents coming from Arpino. He attended the professional school of Fontana Liri. When he was 14, in virtue of his artistic passion, he moved initially to Rome and then to Turin, where he stayed until 1970. His first works were figurative representations, such as busts made of bronze and nudes.
He took part in the resistance during World War II and this event changed him permanently, from an artistic point of view too. His following works depict a condemnation of violence and war, and the glorification of peace and liberty. The Venice Biennale in 1958, with the conferment of the Award of the International Jury, made Mastroianni a sculptor internationally appreciated. Mastroianni was an engraver, a writer and a poet, he was a teacher and director of the Belle Arti Academy in Bologna. Many of his works can be found in the most important museums in Italy and abroad. One of his works is located in Trento Square in Fontana Liri, whereas in Arpino there is a museum dedicated to him.
The scientist and chemist Nicola Parravano was born in Fontana Liri on July 21st 1883. His family environment fomented his passion for Chemistry since his father and his grandfather were both pharmacists.
He attended the elementary school of Fontana Liri, then the classical high school in Arpino and the University in Rome. When he turned 21, he graduated with full marks and then he moved to Berlin where he worked in the iron and steel industry and in the cement and explosives field.
When he was thirty he taught Chemistry at the University of Pavia, and then Chemistry-Physics at the University of Florence. In 1917 the “Reale Accademia dei Lincei” conferred the Royal Award for Chemistry upon him; not many years later he became a full Professor at the University of Rome. Later, he became one of the greatest and most qualified representatives of the Chemistry National Institute, and he worked together with Guglielmo Marconi too. Nicola Parravnao died on August 9th 1938 when he was 55, his name is close to his father’s Giuseppe and to his mother’s Alessandra Nardone in the family thumb located in the centre of the cemetery of high Fontana Liri.
Vincenzo Bianchi is a versatile artist and his techniques range from sculpture to painting, from graphic design to video-art, all realised with a variety of materials. He was born in Fontana Liri on May 28th 1939 and today he lives in the small town of Isola del Liri. His artistic career sees him teaching sculpture, at least initially, in the Academies of Catanzaro, Frosinone and Urbino. Lately, he became a regular Professor in the School of Fine Arts in Florence. His activity starts with painting, then he will find inspiration for sculpture, mainly using materials like stone, wood, tool and copper. He became a pioneer of “The First Primitives” since he was attracted to the prehistoric world, and he thoroughly studied the civilization, the culture and the mythology of the Australian Aboriginal, which he presents in his works. The study and the being of the universe fascinated him a lot too. Today, his masterpieces are exhibited not only in Italy, but in the world, even in museums dedicated to him in Ciociaria, between them there is the Church of Santa Croce and they can be seen along the narrow streets of the village of Fontana Liri.