"Light and busy"Treccani remembers Mariangela Melato

Mariangela Melato«new diva, light as a showgirl but with the cultural weight of a committed actress». He remembers her like this Treccani in a voice of the new Biographical and thematic dictionary of women in Italy.

Born Mariangela Caterina Melato (born in Milano on 19 September 1941 and died in Roma on January 11, 2013) would have turned 85 today and remains one of the most beloved actresses of the Italian cinema.

A model of free and modern femininity

Actress suspended between stardom and anti-stardom, sensuality and seriousness, lightness and depth, in reality he always escaped categories and eluded labels, in art as in life. It was the expression of a feminism personal and pragmatic, linked to a deep desire for professional and artistic self-realization, “symbol of the renewed image of women” and inspiration for many young actresses, who saw in her a model of alternative and emancipated femininity.

A tireless professional, guided by a great sense of duty and recognized technical and vocal skills, she was also a sensitive and human interpreter, with a strong passion for experimentation, both with characters and genres, driven first of all by the need for constant self-exploration.

The beginnings and discovery of Ronconi

Endowed with great charm, she received an invitation from Tinto Brass to act without veils in one of his erotic-authorial films and even deserved, thanks to his presence on the small screen, the nickname of “sex symbol with brains”.

Mariangela Melato, Treccani recalls, began her career in the early 1960s when, mistaken for a relative of the well-known actress Maria Melato, she passed the selections of the Accademia dei filodrammatici in Milan, without completing the two-year period and found success thanks to the interpretation of Olimpia in her famous Orlando furioso (1969), which earned her the comment of “dazzling discovery” by critics.

Success in Italian cinema

From there an incredible career with films such as “By grace received”first directed by Nino Manfredi in 1971, and “The working class goes to heaven” Of Elio Petri.

Here he met Gian Maria Willfrom whom he learned the use of transcribing the lines of the script in various colours, as “a sort of mysterious musical score” and in 1972 he participated in the Cannes Film Festival con “The working class goes to heaven”, Palme d’Or equally withThe Mattei case” Of Francesco Rosiand with “Mimì metalworker wounded in honor”which earned her a special award at Donatello’s Daviddue Silver Ribbons as a leading actress and a Golden Globe as a revelation actress.

The collaboration with Wertmüller and Giannini

“Mimì metalworker wounded in honor” marked the beginning of the successful collaboration with Lina Wertmüller and of the famous artistic couple formed with Giancarlo Giannini.

In 1974 the third film directed by the director brought the Melato-Giannini duo to international fame thanks to “Overwhelmed by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of ​​August”. The success pushed the actress to intensify her cinematographic activity until 1983, making about fifteen films in less than ten years and collecting numerous awards.

In the early eighties he also participated in “The pap’occhio”first work directed by Renzo Arborewho would remain one of his closest friends.

Television and latest works

From 1984 he devoted himself almost exclusively to televisionparticipating in the variety show Al Paradisehosted in prime time by Oreste Lionelloand numerous other television productions.

Also important are the recordings of theatrical performances produced by Raiincluding Filumena Marturanothe last television production in which he took part in 2010, alongside Massimo Ranieriwhile he had been fighting a pancreatic disease for some time.

The latest awards and artistic legacy

It was Ronconi, alpha and omega of her theatrical career, who accompanied her in her last show, “Nora put to the test”taken from “Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, which was staged in March 2011. Despite the difficult physical conditions, Melato obtained ex aequo a further Premio Ubu as best actress. The recognition added to numerous career awards and honors Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republicconferred on May 28, 2003 by the president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

At his funeral, on January 12, 2013, were the words of Emma Bonino to bid farewell to this «rare model of female autonomy», in front of the Church of the Artists in Rome.