Of
Emilia Costantini
The actor confesses while waiting for the launch of the drama on Rai 1 on January 8th
«In a year of life anything can happen, and anything has happened. There were those who went so far as to say: “Bova fired by Don Matteo… Rai wants to get him out.” A conviction, it almost seemed like something organized to bring down a giant and me I was ready to resign from the role… But luckily that didn’t happenneither Rai nor the producers of the series fired me.” Raoul Bova he comments in a calm tone on the case that has recently involved his private life and his relationship with his ex-partner Rocío Muñoz Morales. He thus returns to impersonate the now famous Don Massimo who, for three years now, has taken the place of Terence Hill.
The fifteenth season of the beloved fiction starts on Rai 1 in 10 prime time slots from 8 January 2026, produced by Matilde and Luca Bernabei, a Fremantle group company, in collaboration with Rai Fiction. In addition to historical characters such as Marshal Cecchini (Nino Frassica), Natalina (Nathalie Guetta), Pippo (Francesco Scali), among the new features is the arrival of Caterina Provvedi (Irene Giancontieri), the new fierce marshal of the carabinieri, who will create havoccompeting for the position with the now elderly, almost retired Cecchini.
«After Fabrizio Corona’s video I wanted to leave Don Matteo 15, I was willing to let Don Massimo die. I called the producers to understand what was best to do, and whether it was better to leave the scene”, says the actor to TV Smilesregarding the scandal surrounding his relationship with the model Martina Ceretti, to then add: «I was asked if I had done anything illegal. I hadn’t, so we continued to work calmly and no one on set ever made a negative comment towards me. We are like a familyand my colleagues never had a moment of prejudice or yielding towards me when I was in difficulty.”
And in any case, there will be no shortage of new challenges for Don Massimo, including the character of Maria (Fiamma Parente), a pregnant young woman who has lost her memory. «The fundamental theme of the new season – continues the actor – is the spiritual vocation: who we are, what is our place in the world, among conflicts, personal crises, doubts. As is known my Don Massimo is a former policeman who chose the uniform for his desire for justice and who became a priest with the same ethical valuesbut if sometimes when he was in the Army he made mistakes, he continues to be a priest who makes mistakes and questions his true religious faith. Therefore – adds Bova – he is first of all a man, with his existential problems, his private pains, his feelings of guilt”.
For the seventh consecutive year, the stage action is set in the alleys of Spoleto. In the cast, in addition to Eugenio Mastandrea (captain Diego Martini) and Federica Sabatini (Giulia Mezzanotte, half-sister of the protagonist) will also enter, in various other roles, Diletta Leotta, Max Tortora, Tosca D’Aquino and, directly from «May God Help Us», «Sister Costanza» played by Valeria Fabrizi. «I have never thought, much less pretended, to change the title of this series, which has been running for 25 years. I chose to be Don Massimo because he is not banal, in a profound series, sophisticated in the appearance of comedy, where smiling gives people hope that they will always find a solution. I entered with great respect first of all towards the one who passed the baton to me, Terence, and then towards the other historical actors – continues the protagonist – I was welcomed by the families who follow “Don Matteo” with affection and interest, this welcome also helped me to overcome my personal problems».
Also a way to start over? «It was like receiving a punch in the face: you go down, but you get up due to the instinct of survival. Of course, it’s not easy to get up when you feel everything is against you. But God tells you: fight to survive. Then you look for serenity and affection from people to heal the wounds: children in particular help a lot to maintain a healthy balance. What is the message? If you’re honest, if you can look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you haven’t done anything unfair, go ahead… otherwise the alternative is: I’ll jump from the fourth floor and get it over with. However, being imperfect helped me to deal with the character of Don Massimo.” And will he also play him in the sixteenth season in the future? “Why not? I have many incentives to continue to be so.”
December 30, 2025 (changed December 30, 2025 | 5:41 pm)
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