EDITORIAL -One of the most important films shot under the Cento Torri is certainly Shadow of the Day. The film, directed by the Ascoli director Giuseppe Piccioni, is set in Ascoli in 1938 and follows the events of Luciano (Riccardo Scamarcio), a fascist sympathizer and veteran of the First World War, during which he suffered a wound in his leg and runs a restaurant in Piazza del Popolo. One day Anna, a young girl from Rome looking for work, shows up. Luciano hires her for kitchen tasks for 5 lire a day. From there many surprises will happen that we won’t reveal for those who haven’t seen the film.
Initially the film was supposed to be shot in Rome, but Giuseppe Piccioni from Ascoli convinced the actor and producer Riccardo Scamarcio, after a visit under the Cento Torri, to film in Ascoli. In particular, what struck Scamarcio was the beautiful location of the “Caffè Meletti”, one of the most beautiful and famous Art Nouveau venues in Italy. The production was entrusted to Riccardo Scamarcio’s production company, Lebowski Srl, and to Rai Cinema. The initiative was also financially supported by the Municipality of Ascoli, the Marche Region and the Carisap Foundation. In February 2021, it was announced that casting for the film would begin. There was just part of it at Palazzo dei Capitani, with many people from Ascoli and beyond who showed up to take part, as extras, in the film. Among the main actors, in addition to Scamarcio, there are Benedetta Porcaroli (co-protagonist) Valeria Bilello, Lino Musella, Sandra Ceccarelli, Vincenzo Nemolato and Waël Sersoub. For the entire duration of the filming, Ascoli was in the red zone following the Prime Ministerial Decree of the Conte Government: there were so many restrictions in place, it was very difficult to attend the shooting of the film, masks were mandatory everywhere and the actors and cast were subjected anti-Covid swabs daily to avoid infections on set. The scene of Luciano and Anna on a bicycle was filmed in the Via delle Stelle while the following scene is filmed in the garden of Palazzo Saladini Pilastri, in Corso Mazzini. Another important scene is filmed on the Tufillo Bridge at night. The final scene was filmed in April 2021 in the Sentina area of San Benedetto. Also in the same month, filming concluded and a press conference was held in the Meletti café, the main filming location of the film. After a long post-production, the film was released on 24 February 2022 after a national preview, in the presence of the full cast, which took place at the Odeon cinema and at the Piceno cinema on 23 February. The film also had international distribution and was nominated for best scenography at the Nastri d’Argento 2022.
