Romanzo criminale is an Italian novel written by the judge Giancarlo De Cataldo and inspired by the true story of the Banda della Magliana, a criminal gang which operated in Italy in Rome between the late 1970s and mid-1980s. [1] The novel, published by Einaudi, formed the basis for the movie of the same name (2005) directed by Michele Placido and for a TV series directed by Stefano Sollima. [2]
Romanzo Criminale shows the intricate relationship between criminality and the State in Italy at that time, with gangs fighting for the control of drug traffic, prostitution and gambling in the different quarters of Rome. The book traces the Italian story as seen by organised crime during the Years of Lead, beginning with Aldo Moro's kidnapping.
Criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially in the southern part of the country, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions. There are major native mafia-like organizations that are heavily active in Italy. The most powerful of these organizations are the Camorra from Campania, the 'Ndrangheta from Calabria and the Cosa Nostra from Sicily.
The Banda della Magliana was an Italian criminal organization based in Rome. It was founded in 1975. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighborhood, the Magliana, of some of its members.
Riccardo Dario Scamarcio is an Italian actor and film producer.
Pierfrancesco Favino is an Italian actor, voice actor, and producer. He has appeared in more than 50 European and American movies and television series since the early 1990s, including The Prince of Homburg (1997), The Last Kiss (2001), El Alamein: The Line of Fire (2002), The Keys to the House (2004), Romanzo Criminale (2005), The Unknown Woman (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), Saturn in Opposition (2007), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), Angels & Demons (2009), ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards (2012) Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (2012), World War Z (2013), Rush (2013), Suburra (2015) and The Traitor (2019). In 2020, he won the Volpi Cup at the 77th Venice International Film Festival for his performance in Padrenostro.
Romanzo criminale is an Italian-language crime drama film released in 2005, directed by Michele Placido. It was highly acclaimed and won 15 awards. It is based on Giancarlo De Cataldo's 2002 novel, which is in turn inspired by the true story of the Banda della Magliana. The Magliana gang was one of the most powerful Italian criminal associations, dominating Rome's drug, gambling and other kinds of crime activities from the early 1970s until the death of Enrico De Pedis in 1992. The gang's affiliates started their career kidnapping rich people, drug dealing. From the 1970s they started working with the Italian secret service, fascists, terrorists, the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra, and many more. Some gang members are still alive, as inmates of an Italian prison, or justice collaborators.
Danilo Pennone is an Italian writer.
Alessandra Carina Mastronardi is an Italian actress. She is best known for her roles in the films To Rome with Love and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and the television series Master of None, for which she garnered a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017.
Enrico De Pedis was an Italian gangster and one of the bosses of the Banda della Magliana, an Italian criminal organization based in the city of Rome, particularly active throughout the late 1970s until the early 1990s. His nickname was "Renatino". Unlike other members of his gang, De Pedis possessed a strong entrepreneurial spirit. While other members squandered their earnings, he invested his illicit proceeds.
Francesco Montanari is an Italian actor.
Romanzo criminale – La serie is an Italian television series based on the novel of the same name by the judge Giancarlo De Cataldo. The series is an adaptation of the film Romanzo Criminale (2005) directed by Michele Placido. The first series quickly achieved cult status in Italy.
Gianmarco Tognazzi is an Italian actor.
Massimo Carminati, referred by the press as one of "the kings of Rome", and in the context of the onset of the "Mafia Capitale" investigation nicknamed as il Cecato, is an Italian underworld figure and former member of far-right terrorist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari and criminal gang Banda della Magliana, which were at the centre of sensational allegations of state collusion and Masonic conspiracy during Italy's Years of Lead. Carminati was investigated for match fixing in 2012. In 2014 he was arrested with 36 others on allegations of running a corrupt network that infiltrated Rome's public administration. He was charged with fraud, money laundering, embezzlement, and the bribing of public officials. In 2017, Carminati was sentenced to 20 years in jail. In 2020, he was released due to the expiry of his pre-trial detention terms.
Ho! is a 1968 French-Italian crime film directed by Robert Enrico and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. It is based on the 1964 novel Ho! by José Giovanni.
Franco Giuseppucci was an Italian criminal, and one of the founders and bosses of the Banda della Magliana, an Italian criminal organization based in the city of Rome that was particularly active throughout the late 1970s until the early 1980s.
Stefano Sollima is an Italian director and screenwriter.
Ivano De Matteo is an Italian director, screenwriter, and actor.
A gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime film, that may involve large criminal organizations, or small gangs formed to perform a certain illegal act. The genre is differentiated from Westerns and the gangs of that genre.
Dario D'Ambrosi is an Italian actor and filmmaker.
Antonio Gerardi is an Italian actor and radio presenter.
Giancarlo De Cataldo is an Italian crime novelist, screenwriter and dramatist.