Italia Almirante (1890-1941) or Italia Almirante Manzini became one of the divas of the Italian silent cinema with Cabiria (1914). She worked with some of the most important Italian directors of the silent era, including Roberto Roberti, Augusto Genina and Giovanni Pastrone. Earlier, EFSP had posts on her later films L'innamorata/The Woman in Love (Gennaro Righelli, 1920), Zingari/Gypsies (Mario Almirante, 1920), La statua di carne/The statue of flesh (Mario Almirante, 1921), La chiromante/The Fortune Teller (Mario Almirante, 1922), La grande passione/The great passion (Mario Almirante, 1922),L'ombra/The Shadow (Mario Almirante, 1923) and L'arzigogolo/The Court Jester (1924). Today, we focus on three of her early films: Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914), Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917) and Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 1 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, Itala Film 1914). Here, the Punic army returns to the city Cirta. They have captured a few Roman soldiers among whom Fulvio Axilla (Umberto Mozzato) and Maciste (Bartolomeo Pagano).
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 2 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Teresa Marangoni as the nurse Croessa and Carolina Catena as young Cabiria in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914).
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 3 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. The giant entrance to the Temple of Moloch in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914).
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 5 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, Itala Film 1914). Here Sophonisba (Italia Almirante) and Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano) are married.
Italia Almirante had her breakthrough in the cinema as the wicked Carthaginian queen Sofonisba in the influential costume epic Cabiria (1914). Director Giovanni Pastrone chose her for the role at the suggestion of author Gabriele D'Annunzio himself.
The film also starred Umberto Mozzato as Fulvio Axilla, Lydia Quaranta as Cabiria and Bartolomeo Pagano as Maciste.
A million lira was budgeted for the film, a tremendous sum then, and location shooting was extended to Tunisia, Sicily and the Alps. The result was a tremendous success and it had a direct influence onD.W. Griffith's production of Intolerance (1916).
Ivo Blom wrote an article about how director Giovanni Pastrone appropriated the book illustrations for the 1900 edition of Gustave Flaubert's 'Salammbô' for Cabiria.
This article in French, ‘Images spectaculaires: Cabiria de Pastrone et les illustrations de Salammbô de Flaubert par le peintre Rochegrosse’, has just been published this month in 'Le cinéma muet italien, à la croisée des arts, edited by Céline Gailleurd (Paris: Les Presses du Réel, 2022), pp. 162-191.
Take a sneak peek at the book. It includes two pages of Ivo Blom's article. Later in 2022, an Italian edition of the book will appear with publisher Kaplan.
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 7 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). The high priest Karthalo (Dante Testa) is called by Queen Sophonisba (Italia Almirante) to explain her nightmare. In between them, in the back, we see the adult Cabiria (Lydia Quaranta).
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 8 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, Itala Film 1914). Here Queen Sophonisba receives her former lover and now adversary Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano) in her palace at Cirta.
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 9 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Italia Almirante as princess Sophonisba in her boudoir in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914).
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 10 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Bartolomeo Pagano as Maciste in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). Maciste strangles the high priest Karthalo (Dante Testa), but Cabiria (Lydia Quaranta) holds him back.
![Cabiria (1914)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 11 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Italia Almirante as Sophonisba in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). Here we see the death of Sophonisba, surrounded by Cabiria, Fulvio Axilla and the courtiers. She has poisoned herself, rather than to become a slave to the Romans.
![Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita (1917)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 1 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante as Winny Workson in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917). The ruined Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabattini) has set his eyes on the young widow and rich heiress Winny Workson, who has returned to Italy. She rejects the golddigger. He threatens her to avenge himself.
![Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita (1917)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 2 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917). The vengeful Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabattini), rejected by the young widow Winny, slanders her so Winny's father refuses a marriage between the two lovers. Winny begs the count in vain for mercy. The count's sister (Renata Torelli) is to the right here.
![Giovanni Casaleggio in Tua per la vita (1917)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 3 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Card for the film Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917), starring Italia Almirante. Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabattini) has just been poisoned. His sister (Renata Torelli) is devastated. The inventor Mari (Giovanni Casaleggio) is suspected, arrested and condemned.
After her lead as the princess, and later queen, Sofonisba in the mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914) for Itala, Italia Almirante became one of the Italian film divas of the late 1910s and early 1910s, in most modern dramas, often adaptations of plays and novels.
Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917) is probably one of the oldest of these for which we have cards in our collection, although Almirante did a handful of films before, particularly in 1916.
The plot deals with a young widow and rich heiress, Winny Workson (Italia Almirante), who has returned from the US to Italy to her father. She is haunted by an old, ruined aristocrat, Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabbattaini).
Instead, she falls for an inventor, Mari (Giovanni Casaleggio), who believes he has failed in life and tries to commit suicide. Yet, Winny stops him and they fall in love. When she rejects the count, he takes revenge by slandering the inventor such that Winny's father refuses a marriage between the two lovers.
When afterwards during a hunting party, the count dies of poisoning, Mari is suspected as a flask is found with a poison he invented. He is arrested and condemned, but Winny doesn't give up on him. In the end, it is revealed that an employee, mistreated by the count, had taken revenge by poisoning him. Mari is freed and Winny and Mari are free to marry.
The Italian press thought the script of Tua per la vita/Yours for life was too old-hat and overly complicated but praised the performances of the actors, Italia Almirante in the first place.
![Filippo Butera in Tua per la vita (1917)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 4 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Probably Filippo Butera as the demented employee, who poisons his employer, the count Del Rio, who mistreated him, in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917), starring Italia Almirante.
![Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita (1917)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 6 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917). Epilogue: Winny Workson and the count's sister reconcile.
![Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia (1918)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 1 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
![Italia Almirante Il matrimonio di Olimpia (1918)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 2 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918) was based on the play 'Le Mariage d'Olympe' (1885) by Émile Augier.
The celebrated mundane Olimpia Taverny (Italia Almirante) whose caprice is the law to all of her admirers, secretly has the dream of marriage, her own house and family, and a quiet and honest life. She finds the young marquis Vilbert, who falls in love with her and marries her.
Olimpia retakes her original name of Paolina Moris. But life is against her. After the feverish first times have passed, Vilbert notices he has no true sentiments for her anymore and rekindles his affair with his cousin. In a wild, rebellious act against life, Olimpia commits the final act which honours and purifies herself.
The Italian film journal La vita cinematografica wasn't very convinced by the film and thought the artistry of the original source was mistreated. Moreover, even while praising her performance, the critic asked himself why Almirante had to appear in a new attire in every shot.
![Italia Almirante Il matrimonio di Olimpia (1918)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 4 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
![Italia Almirante Il matrimonio di Olimpia (1918)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 6 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante and probably Alberto Nepoti in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano, Vol. 1917 and 1918 - Italian), and IMDb.
Cabiria (1914)
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 1 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, Itala Film 1914). Here, the Punic army returns to the city Cirta. They have captured a few Roman soldiers among whom Fulvio Axilla (Umberto Mozzato) and Maciste (Bartolomeo Pagano).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 2 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Teresa Marangoni as the nurse Croessa and Carolina Catena as young Cabiria in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 3 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. The giant entrance to the Temple of Moloch in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 5 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, Itala Film 1914). Here Sophonisba (Italia Almirante) and Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano) are married.
Italia Almirante had her breakthrough in the cinema as the wicked Carthaginian queen Sofonisba in the influential costume epic Cabiria (1914). Director Giovanni Pastrone chose her for the role at the suggestion of author Gabriele D'Annunzio himself.
The film also starred Umberto Mozzato as Fulvio Axilla, Lydia Quaranta as Cabiria and Bartolomeo Pagano as Maciste.
A million lira was budgeted for the film, a tremendous sum then, and location shooting was extended to Tunisia, Sicily and the Alps. The result was a tremendous success and it had a direct influence onD.W. Griffith's production of Intolerance (1916).
Ivo Blom wrote an article about how director Giovanni Pastrone appropriated the book illustrations for the 1900 edition of Gustave Flaubert's 'Salammbô' for Cabiria.
This article in French, ‘Images spectaculaires: Cabiria de Pastrone et les illustrations de Salammbô de Flaubert par le peintre Rochegrosse’, has just been published this month in 'Le cinéma muet italien, à la croisée des arts, edited by Céline Gailleurd (Paris: Les Presses du Réel, 2022), pp. 162-191.
Take a sneak peek at the book. It includes two pages of Ivo Blom's article. Later in 2022, an Italian edition of the book will appear with publisher Kaplan.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 7 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). The high priest Karthalo (Dante Testa) is called by Queen Sophonisba (Italia Almirante) to explain her nightmare. In between them, in the back, we see the adult Cabiria (Lydia Quaranta).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 8 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Picture from the Italian silent mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, Itala Film 1914). Here Queen Sophonisba receives her former lover and now adversary Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano) in her palace at Cirta.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 9 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Italia Almirante as princess Sophonisba in her boudoir in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 10 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Bartolomeo Pagano as Maciste in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). Maciste strangles the high priest Karthalo (Dante Testa), but Cabiria (Lydia Quaranta) holds him back.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolate Amatller, Barcelona, no. 11 of 12 cards. Photo: Itala Film. Italia Almirante as Sophonisba in Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). Here we see the death of Sophonisba, surrounded by Cabiria, Fulvio Axilla and the courtiers. She has poisoned herself, rather than to become a slave to the Romans.
Tua per la vita (1917)
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 1 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante as Winny Workson in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917). The ruined Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabattini) has set his eyes on the young widow and rich heiress Winny Workson, who has returned to Italy. She rejects the golddigger. He threatens her to avenge himself.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 2 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917). The vengeful Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabattini), rejected by the young widow Winny, slanders her so Winny's father refuses a marriage between the two lovers. Winny begs the count in vain for mercy. The count's sister (Renata Torelli) is to the right here.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 3 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Card for the film Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917), starring Italia Almirante. Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabattini) has just been poisoned. His sister (Renata Torelli) is devastated. The inventor Mari (Giovanni Casaleggio) is suspected, arrested and condemned.
After her lead as the princess, and later queen, Sofonisba in the mega-epic Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914) for Itala, Italia Almirante became one of the Italian film divas of the late 1910s and early 1910s, in most modern dramas, often adaptations of plays and novels.
Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917) is probably one of the oldest of these for which we have cards in our collection, although Almirante did a handful of films before, particularly in 1916.
The plot deals with a young widow and rich heiress, Winny Workson (Italia Almirante), who has returned from the US to Italy to her father. She is haunted by an old, ruined aristocrat, Count Del Rio (Giuseppe Ciabbattaini).
Instead, she falls for an inventor, Mari (Giovanni Casaleggio), who believes he has failed in life and tries to commit suicide. Yet, Winny stops him and they fall in love. When she rejects the count, he takes revenge by slandering the inventor such that Winny's father refuses a marriage between the two lovers.
When afterwards during a hunting party, the count dies of poisoning, Mari is suspected as a flask is found with a poison he invented. He is arrested and condemned, but Winny doesn't give up on him. In the end, it is revealed that an employee, mistreated by the count, had taken revenge by poisoning him. Mari is freed and Winny and Mari are free to marry.
The Italian press thought the script of Tua per la vita/Yours for life was too old-hat and overly complicated but praised the performances of the actors, Italia Almirante in the first place.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 4 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Probably Filippo Butera as the demented employee, who poisons his employer, the count Del Rio, who mistreated him, in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917), starring Italia Almirante.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 6 of 6 cards. Photo: Gladiator Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Tua per la vita/Yours for life (Ugo De Simone, 1917). Epilogue: Winny Workson and the count's sister reconcile.
Il matrimonio di Olimpia (1918)
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 1 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 2 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918) was based on the play 'Le Mariage d'Olympe' (1885) by Émile Augier.
The celebrated mundane Olimpia Taverny (Italia Almirante) whose caprice is the law to all of her admirers, secretly has the dream of marriage, her own house and family, and a quiet and honest life. She finds the young marquis Vilbert, who falls in love with her and marries her.
Olimpia retakes her original name of Paolina Moris. But life is against her. After the feverish first times have passed, Vilbert notices he has no true sentiments for her anymore and rekindles his affair with his cousin. In a wild, rebellious act against life, Olimpia commits the final act which honours and purifies herself.
The Italian film journal La vita cinematografica wasn't very convinced by the film and thought the artistry of the original source was mistreated. Moreover, even while praising her performance, the critic asked himself why Almirante had to appear in a new attire in every shot.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 4 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperiale, no. 6 of 6 cards. Photo: Itala Film /J. Verdaguer. Italia Almirante and probably Alberto Nepoti in Il matrimonio di Olimpia/Olympia's wedding (Gero Zambuto, 1918).
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano, Vol. 1917 and 1918 - Italian), and IMDb.