La Piovra
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''La Piovra'' (; en, The Octopus, referring to the Mafia) is an Italian television drama series about
the Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
. The series was directed by various directors who each worked on different seasons, including
Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mere ...
(first season),
Florestano Vancini Florestano Vancini (24 August 1926 – 18 September 2008) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed over 20 films since 1960. His 1966 film '' Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enrico Maria Salerno, was entered into t ...
(second season), Luigi Perelli (from the third to the seventh season and again on the tenth season), and
Giacomo Battiato Giacomo Battiato is an Italian film director and writer. One guide to Italian cinema says he:''The History of the Italian Cinema'' (Princeton University Press, 2009), p. ?? Born in Verona and married to Anna Zaneva since 1999, he began his car ...
(from the eighth to the ninth seasons). The music was written by
Riz Ortolani Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty year ...
(first season),
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
(from the second to the seventh season and again on the tenth season), and by
Paolo Buonvino Paolo Buonvino (born 29 March 1968) is an Italian composer, musician, conductor, and music arranger. Life and career Buonvino was born on 29 March 1968 in Scordia, a comune in Sicily, Italy. He earned his Piano Bachelor-Degree from the Conse ...
(from the eighth to the ninth season). The show was successfully exported to over 80 countries during and after its close to 20-year run. All ten seasons were released in Australia on DVD with English subtitles by Aztec International Entertainment, having originally aired on the
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
television channel. It was also broadcast on
MHz Networks MHz Networks is an American public broadcaster that specializes in international television programming. Washington, D.C., broadcast operations MHz (pronounced "M-H-Z") Networks began as a project of the Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corpora ...
in the United States. The first three seasons were shown in the UK on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. The TV drama was successful in the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, where it appeared on state TV in 1986 and in Albania, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, where it appeared in the end of the 1980s (in its seventh season, the show featured Bulgarian actor
Stefan Danailov Stefan Lambov Danailov ( bg, Стефан Ламбов Данаилов; 9 December 1942 – 27 November 2019) was a Bulgarian actor who served as Minister of Culture of Bulgaria (August 2005 – July 2009). The first film Danailov took p ...
). In Portugal, it was re-cast by
RTP Memória RTP Memória ( ''RTP Memory'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's heritage television channel, and is known for broadcasti ...
. ''La Piovra'' is still considered to be the most famous Italian television series in the world, and all seasons received widespread public approval, with an average of 10 million and a peak of 15 million viewers. The show presents an extremely realistic portrayal of the violence and heartlessness of members of organized crime, and this remains the most distinctive feature of the production to this day.


Synopsis

Particularly important to the show is the narrative evolution with which the multiple tentacles of organized crime spread through local and international networks, and this is also the basis of the show's title. The first season moves from localized drug trafficking rings in Sicily to the palaces of power in Rome in the second. The third season tells the story of the Mafia's financial dealings through international banks and the illegal trafficking of weapons and nuclear waste. The plot intensifies in the fourth season, at the end of which the main protagonist, Commissioner Corrado Cattani (played by
Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco ...
), is killed due to the increasing knowledge he acquires about the Mafia's vast dealings and criminal operations. The intricate stories of politics, finance, Freemasonry, corruption, and organized crime which are told in seasons 5 to 7 (1990-1995) were inspired by the political and news stories of those years, and attempted to present the notion that the Mafia was not based on concepts of honour and valour but was rather a harmful societal phenomenon replete with fraud, cold-blooded killers, and a cause of social decay. This fact generated several political controversies as well as strong pressure to put an end to the series. Despite this, the show continued to have great success with the public and with critics, even at the international level. It was partly due to these political pressures that the 8th and 9th seasons deviated from telling a story set in contemporary times and shifted to the earlier era of the landowner-and-peasant mafia of the 1950s and 1960s, mainly focusing on the private affairs of the protagonists rather than on the business of
Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...
, and the plot was almost entirely detached from the other chapters of the saga. Finally, with "La piovra 10", the show strived to tie up any loose ends which were previously left pending and to present an updated perspective of the Mafia of the early 2000s.


Season one

The first season of 6 episodes of 60 minutes each, released in 1984, was directed by
Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mere ...
and scored by
Riz Ortolani Riziero Ortolani (; 25 March 192623 January 2014) was an Italian composer, conductor, and orchestrator, predominantly of film scores. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty year ...
. The episodes were filmed at locations in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and the Sicilian city of
Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...
, and the scenes in the mountains and on the lake were shot in
Horgen Horgen is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the municipali ...
and
Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...
, Switzerland.
The main theme of the plot revolves around local arms and drug trafficking, which is investigated by Commissioner Corrado Cattani, played by
Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco ...
. Cattani has been transferred from Rome and appointed deputy police chief in a small town in Sicily, after his predecessor, Commissioner Marineo, is killed by the mafia. The commissioner moves with his wife Else (
Nicole Jamet Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Eu ...
), with whom he often has arguments, and his teenage daughter Paola ( Cariddi Nardulli). Cattani's investigation interferes with local mafia groups, who try to influence him. A whole range of measures are used to make the commissioner compliant, to no avail. Eventually, Cattani's subordinate, Vice-Commissioner Leo De Maria (
Massimo Bonetti Massimo Bonetti (born 28 March 1951) is an Italian actor and director. Life and career Born in Rome, Bonetti after several years as character actor debuted in a leading role in 1981, in Aurelio Chiesa's ''Bim Bum Bam''. Then, he obtained role ...
), is shot and killed by a mafia henchman in a café. This proves to be one of the most brutal scenes in the whole series. Following this, Corrado continues his investigation, and an unsuccessful attempt is made to assassinate him. Finally, the mafia decides to kidnap his daughter Paola, and this proves to be Cattani's breaking point. Panicked about his daughter's safety, he follows all of the mafia's demands and revokes his previous statements. Paola is later raped by one of the mobsters before being released, and suffers severe trauma. Corrado begins an affair with the young heroin-addicted Raffaella "Titti" Pecci Scialoia
Barbara De Rossi Barbara De Rossi (born 9 August 1960) is an Italian actress who has combined a career in international cinema with longstanding popularity in Italian television. Biography Barbara De Rossi was born in 1960 in Rome to an Italian wine importer and ...
, whose mother was shot together with former police commissioner Marineo. He attempts to help her go clean and get away from her drug dealer Sante Cirinnà (
Angelo Infanti Angelo Infanti (; 16 February 1939 – 12 October 2010) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1961 and 2010. He was born on 16 February 1939 in Zagarolo, Italy. He died on 12 October 2010 in Tivoli, Italy due t ...
), but she also ends up getting killed. Cattani resigns from the police and leaves Sicily, joining his wife Else in a small lakeside town in Switzerland, where Paola is being treated at a psychiatric facility. The season additionally features the powerful architect Olga Camastra (
Florinda Bolkan Florinda Bolkan (born Florinda Soares Bulcão; 15 February 1941) is a retired Brazilian actress and model. Biography She was born in Uruburetama and lived in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro until she moved to Italy. A former flight inspector fo ...
) and the commissioner's primary antagonist, attorney Terrasini (
François Périer François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles. He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
).
The success of the first season was exceptional, with ratings rising with each successive episode - the first being watched by 8 million Italians and the sixth by 15 million.


Season two

The second season, again having 6 episodes of 60 minutes each, was released in 1986. The fact that there was a second season at all was controversial, and previous director Damiano Damiani thought it was a mistake to shoot sequels so he withdrew from the project. Screenwriter Ennio De Concini had to be persuaded by producer Sergio Silva to return, and finally
Florestano Vancini Florestano Vancini (24 August 1926 – 18 September 2008) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed over 20 films since 1960. His 1966 film '' Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enrico Maria Salerno, was entered into t ...
was hired to direct. Legendary composer
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
joined the project and composed the soundtrack. Shooting again took place at several locations in Italy and Switzerland. In this season, the focus increasingly shifts to the international business dealings of the
Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...
. The emphasis is on American connections and contacts with the Italian government. The story showcases the intrigues and violent pressure of a secret society called Itala in Sicily. The first two episodes pick up the thread of the first season. The creators of the series decided to remove all characters from the previous season who were no longer necessary to the plotline, and these were killed off or otherwise removed from the story. Corrado Cattani, who had previously left the police force, is persuaded to return and resume work. For this purpose, Colonel Ettore Ferretti (
Sergio Fantoni Sergio Fantoni (7 August 1930 – 17 April 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor and director. Biography Fantoni was born in Rome to the actor Cesare Fantoni. He began his career appearing in films, radio dramas, television and theatrical pro ...
), a connection to Corrado's long-time friend and mentor Sebastiano Cannito (
Jacques Dacqmine Jacques Dacqmine (1923–2010) was a French stage, film and television actor.Hayward p.242 He was married four times, including to the actress Odile Versois. Partial filmography * ''Premier rendez-vous'' (1941) - Un élève du collège (uncredi ...
), makes an appearance. The corrupt Cannito has gained a high position in the Secret Service with the help of the
Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
and is deeply involved in the business of the Mafia, which Ferretti wants to uncover. At the beginning of the story, Corrado's daughter Paola, who was brutalized in the previous season, commits suicide. Cattani decides to search for those responsible for Paola's kidnapping in Sicily. There, however, he runs into a trap and is placed in custody by his nemesis, Attorney Terrasini (
François Périer François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles. He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
). Cattani is forced to agree to a pact with his foe, and he goes undercover as an assistant to the powerful Cannito; in this role he has to work closely with the people responsible for the death of several of his colleagues. He begins a love affair with Olga Camastra (
Florinda Bolkan Florinda Bolkan (born Florinda Soares Bulcão; 15 February 1941) is a retired Brazilian actress and model. Biography She was born in Uruburetama and lived in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro until she moved to Italy. A former flight inspector fo ...
), who is a member of the Lodge, thereby obtaining information from her about everything that happens within the organization. The Countess, due to her feelings for Cattani, begins to play a double game, even bringing the commissioner into her inner circle so he can obtain the information he needs. As Corrado gets involved in factional battles between the Lodge and the Mafia, he places himself in even greater danger. When his partner Ferreti is killed, Cattani is completely on his own. Only his wife Else, who lives by herself at a lakeside in the Swiss Alps, remains as his conversation partner. By the end of the season, Cattani has enough evidence to help prosecutors file charges against key figures of organized crime. Attorney Terrasini turns out to be the most influential Mafia boss on the island, and with a lot of effort and risk-taking from Cattani, is eventually put behind bars. In the last episode, Else Cattani dies in her husband's arms in an assassination attempt on him.
The second season solidified the success of the production, with an average rating of 15 million viewers per episode in Italy.


Season three

The third season of ''La Piovra'' launched in 1987 and this time had seven episodes. The production style changed somewhat this time around as well. Directing duties passed to Luigi Perelli, who, in contrast to his predecessors Damiano Damiani and Florestano Vancini, had previously mainly worked in television. The screenplay was written by
Sandro Petraglia Sandro Petraglia (; born 19 April 1947) is an Italian screenwriter. He began his career in the early 1970s as a film critic, writing for the May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some sev ...
and
Stefano Rulli Stefano Rulli (; born 3 October 1949) is an Italian screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with fellow screenwriter Sandro Petraglia, including '' La piovra'' (1987–1995) and ''The Best of Youth ''The Best of Youth'' ( it, La me ...
, who would later go on to work together again on the feature film
The Stolen Children ''The Stolen Children'' ( it, Il ladro di bambini) is a 1992 Italian film directed by Gianni Amelio. The film was selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Plot ...
, among other productions. The season was filmed at
Giardini Naxos Giardini NaxosSometimes spelled as Giardini-Naxos. However, the official form as used in the statuto comunale'' is not hyphenated. ( scn, Giaddini; English language, English translation: Naxos Gardens) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of M ...
and
Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
, Sicily, as well as in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and in the medieval abbey of
San Pietro in Valle San Pietro in Valle is a medieval abbey in the ''comune'' (township) of Ferentillo in Umbria. The Romanesque church houses some particularly fine Roman sarcophagi; the walls of the nave are decorated with a large cycle of good Romanesque frescoe ...
in Umbria. The show's ratings in Italy remained high, but started to show a slight downward trend. While an average of 15 million viewers had watched the first two seasons, the third one was watched by an average of 12 million Italian viewers. It was also sold to 77 countries, including the Soviet Union.
In this season, the action moves to Milan. The story exposes the actions of the financial mafia and international money-laundering channels. Corrado Cattani launches an investigation into the largest Italian bank, Antinari, and he meets members of the Antinari family. He falls in love with Giulia (
Giuliana De Sio Giuliana De Sio (born 2 April 1956) is an Italian actress, the younger sister of pop-folk singer Teresa De Sio. She won two David di Donatello for Best Actress and different Silver Ribbons for Best Actress. Biography and career Giuliana De Si ...
), the daughter of the family patriarch, Carlo Antinari, who runs the bank with his father, Nicola Antinari. Gaetano "Tano" Cariddi (
Remo Girone Remo Girone (born 1948 in Asmara, Eritrea) is an Italian film and stage actor. He is best known for the role of Tano Cariddi in the epic TV mini-series '' La piovra'' (''The Octopus''). He appeared as an Italian-American mob boss in ''Live by Ni ...
), the most notorious mafia character of the series, initially holds the role of assistant at the Antinari Bank, before becoming its sole owner at the end of the season.


Season four

Again directed by Luigi Perelli, the fourth season, launched in 1989, proved to be the most successful of the series. It reached an average of over 14 million viewers, a noticeable uptick from the previous season, and the last episode achieved a peak of 17.2 million viewers. The number of episodes returned to 6, but the length of each one was increased from 60 minutes up to nearly 100 minutes. Luigi Perelli was back at the helm of the project, with Petraglia and Rulli once again writing the screenplay. The fourth season was the last one featuring Michele Placido in the lead role of Corrado Cattani. Placido had made the decision to leave the production and return to other projects after five years, as he no longer wished to be associated with the character he had portrayed so successfully. The fate of the beloved commissioner preoccupied the Italian public weeks before the new season's launch, and there was much speculation as to which way the show would end.
La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo ...
, one of the largest daily newspapers in Italy, produced several reports on the subject in a single day. After the last episode, speculations arose that
Rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
had filmed an alternative and more positive ending to the fourth season.
The season begins with Gaetano "Tano" Cariddi expanding his position at Antinari Bank. In order to maintain sole rule, he arranges for Giulia Antinari to drown in a "bathing accident". With this, Tano becomes Corrado Cattani's mortal enemy. Tano's machinations reach their peak as he strategically marries Ester Rasi ( Simona Cavallari), daughter of powerful insurance company president Filippo Rasi (
Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters, ...
), and after realizing that she is actually helping the police, kills her. The investigation into the case of the mysterious murder of a casino owner, Carmelo Tinadari, has been entrusted to a new judge - the legendary Silvia Conti ( Patricia Millardet), with whom Cattani initially quarrels, but later has a love affair. What follows is an intense series of dangerous criminal cases with multiple homicides and attempts on Cattani's life. When the Mafia realizes that Conti is unshakeable and will not succumb to corruption, they organize her abduction and rape. Shortly after Ester's death, Cattani is able to uncover all the associates involved in a nuclear waste smuggling business, whose principal organizer is Tano. In the last episode, one morning in the courtyard of a Milan hospital, Cattani is ambushed by multiple gunmen and killed on the spot. Silvia Conti finds his corpse, and vows to avenge him.


Season five

After Michele Placido's departure, the creators of the series had to solve the difficult task of maintaining continuity with the story, while introducing a new lead actor in a credible manner. They did so by creating the character of Davide Licata (
Vittorio Mezzogiorno Vittorio Mezzogiorno (16 December 1941 – 7 January 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Mezzogiorno was born in Cercola, the youngest of seven children. His older brother Vincenzo, who wanted to become a director, introduced him to the thea ...
), a new commissioner with a different, harder look and approach. The plot was also moved back to Sicily. Real economic issues were again used as a story background, with a focus on embezzlement of state funds that were approved for structural projects in Sicily and then disappeared into other channels. Political attacks on the series increased so much after this season that
Rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
was forced to temporarily stop production (see Reaction in Italy). The season was again helmed by Luigi Perelli, and launched in 1990. The two main links to the previous story include the judge Silvia Conti, who wants to find the murderers of Corrado Cattani, and head mobster Tano Cariddi, who continues to engage in criminal activities. Davide Licata enters the plot as a police officer who had to flee to the United States in the '70s because he was the last survivor of a police force on the Mafia's hit list. Licata is now recruited by the American police in New York City and smuggled undercover into the immediate vicinity of Sicilian entrepreneur Giovanni Linori (
Luigi Pistilli Luigi Pistilli (19 July 192921 April 1996) was an Italian actor of stage, screen, and television. At one time Pistilli was one of Italy's most respected actors of stage, screen, and television. In theater, he was considered one of the country's ...
) in
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
. There, Licata witnesses the downfall of the wealthy Linori family and is dragged into a vortex of violence to which all male family members eventually fall victim. Judge Conti gets involved and interferes with the Mafia's business, so another hit is put on her life. She is saved by Licata, who begins to collaborate with her more actively. Licata discovers that one of the men involved in the murders of his former police unit has withdrawn to a monastery and he decides to pursue this thread. All the while, he has been successfully infiltrating the Linori family and thus indirectly the Mafia as well, until he has gained their trust. He is considered so trustworthy that Cariddi hires him as his chauffeur, not realizing that he is dealing with the successor of his former mortal enemy Corrado Cattani. The action and convoluted criminal dealings take the viewer from the Mafia heartland in Sicily to banking centres in Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Bavaria, all the way to Africa, where the Mafia is conducting clandestine drug and weapons deals. The season ends with Tano, having escaped an attempt on his life by his previous confreres, the Linori family, flees Sicily with his sister, ostensibly for good.


Season six

The sixth season of ''La Piovra'' launched in 1992 and was again led by the now-familiar team of Perelli/Petraglia/Rulli. The context this time focused on global connections between crime, politics, and finance, with high-stakes involvement in drug trafficking and the embezzlement of aid for the
Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
. A link to the Nazi past is introduced. The latest season was co-produced by the Austrian broadcasting company
ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the ...
, partly due to the addition of Vienna as a new filming location. With this new international dimension to the show, the producers expected to see an increase in international viewership.
New Mafia head Don Amilcare Attilio Brenno ( Pierre Mondy) makes his fortune by bribing foreign companies as part of development aid to Africa. Brenno has made his way to the top of the organization with unprecedented brutality, not only killing internal rivals but also targeting those who are seen as meddling from the outside. Davide Licata, back for another season, barely gets away with his life in an assassination attempt ordered by Brenno, and sustains a permanent injury, with a bullet that can no longer be removed from his skull and which causes him violent headaches. Meanwhile, Tano Cariddi, suffering from severe drug addiction and depression, is located in
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
, Senegal by Licata and brought back to Italy to act as a key witness against the Mafia. The police leverages Tano's only remaining emotional attachment to his disabled sister Maria as a way to manipulate him. Brenno's henchmen do the same, however, and Maria is brutally raped. Faced with the fate of his badly traumatized sister, Tano is ready to cooperate fully with the authorities. In less than a week, he transforms himself from an opium-dependent bundle of nerves to his erstwhile cold and calculatingly efficient operator. The season continues with various plots and sub-plots, Mafia rivalries and schisms, Turkish drug-running channels, and even a connection with a former Nazi concentration camp supervisor in Czechoslovakia. This latter, played by renowned Czech actor
Rudolf Hrušínský Rudolf Hrušínský (17 October 1920 – 13 April 1994) was a Czech actor. He was one of the most popular Czech actors. Many of his movies such as ''The Good Soldier Švejk'', ''The Cremator'' or '' Capricious Summer'' are considered classics of ...
in his last major role, escaped the Allied liberation forces at the end of WWII by assuming the identity of a camp prisoner, and later went on to become a wealthy banker using stolen Jewish money. The season closes with Licata and Cariddi luring the banker back to the concentration camp, now a heroin lab. Licata is at this point struggling with his health and only barely manages to overpower the old man, but dies soon after as a consequence of his previous injury.


Season seven

The seventh season of ''La Piovra'' launched in 1995 after a three-year gap, the longest between seasons to date.
Vittorio Mezzogiorno Vittorio Mezzogiorno (16 December 1941 – 7 January 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Mezzogiorno was born in Cercola, the youngest of seven children. His older brother Vincenzo, who wanted to become a director, introduced him to the thea ...
had left the show after the previous season, and as the second dead lead protagonist in the series, there were concerns about repeating the same pattern again and thus leading to viewer fatigue. Luigi Perelli again directed, the setting was brought back to Trapani, and Countess Olga Camastra (
Florinda Bolkan Florinda Bolkan (born Florinda Soares Bulcão; 15 February 1941) is a retired Brazilian actress and model. Biography She was born in Uruburetama and lived in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro until she moved to Italy. A former flight inspector fo ...
) reappeared, in order to re-establish continuity with the story of Corrado Cattani, whose life had been cut short at the end of the fourth season. Several new elements were introduced this time around, including connections with the occult
Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, ...
and the pseudo-Masonic ultra-right
Propaganda Due Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge under the Grand Orient of Italy, founded in 1877. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it transformed into a criminal, clandestine, anti-communist, anti-Soviet, anti-leftist, pseudo-Masonic, a ...
. Viewers and critics responded positively to the seventh season. After seasons 1, 2, and 4, the 7th season won the Italian television award
Telegatto Telegatto (a composition of ''television'' and ''gatto'', meaning "cat", after the trophy, which is a little statue representing a cat), was an Italian television award first conceived in 1971 following the contest Gran Premio internazionale dell ...
for the first time. Ratings continued their slightly declining trend, however, and the show garnered an average of 10.2 million viewers in Italy.
Season 7 essentially follows two storylines: On the one hand, brutal gang warfare is taking place in Trapani involving extortion of protection money, and on the other, a secret fascist society is allied with the Mafia and together they control society from behind the scenes. Additionally, the Masonic lodge is planning to invest huge amounts of money in Russian financial holdings. The link between the two levels of action is Countess Olga Camastra, familiar to viewers of the first two seasons of the show. She was previously romantically linked to Corrado Cattani but later ended up going to jail. After her acquittal, she manages to pursue her business activities all the more successfully, so that she is now counted among the most respected entrepreneurs in Sicily. The plot begins with the murder of Rosario Granchio, a Sicilian criminal from the immediate vicinity of Don Nazzareno "Nuzzo" Marciano (
Stefan Danailov Stefan Lambov Danailov ( bg, Стефан Ламбов Данаилов; 9 December 1942 – 27 November 2019) was a Bulgarian actor who served as Minister of Culture of Bulgaria (August 2005 – July 2009). The first film Danailov took p ...
), the local mafia boss who controls a large part of the protection funds in Palermo. In order to solve the murder, Silvia Conti ( Patricia Millardet) is transferred to Sicily, where she meets the same distrust as Corrado Cattani once did. The young vice-commissioner Gianni Breda (
Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971) is an Italian actor. Bova's European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include ''Under the Tusca ...
) becomes her supporter and assistant. Marciano's behaviour, which is becoming increasingly brutal, is initially difficult for Conti and Breda to understand. Sara (
Romina Mondello Romina Mondello (born 1 March 1974) is an Italian actress and television personality. Life and career Born in Rome, at young age Mondello attended a theater workshop under the stage director Candido Coppetelli and studied singing and classical ...
), the young daughter of the murdered Rosario Granchio, plays a central role in this. She is moved into Nuzzo's house to ensure her silence. But after her fiancé dies too, she decides to take revenge and shoots Nuzzo's little nephew and his mother. Various intrigues among the dons and mafiosi ensue, embroiling high-profile business people such as Olga Camastra, judge Conti, and the police. Conti's investigation ruffles feathers and the Mafia use their influence to have her transferred to a UN post, which she refuses. As the noose begins to tighten around Camastra, both from the side of the mobsters and Conti's investigation, it is revealed that it was the countess who ordered the assassination of Cattani, partly due to instructions she herself received, and partly due to their unsuccessful love affair. She is eventually jailed again, and dies in her cell, killed by a mob henchman.


Season eight

The eighth season of ''La Piovra'', which was released in 1997, was a radical departure from the previous seven. The new director,
Giacomo Battiato Giacomo Battiato is an Italian film director and writer. One guide to Italian cinema says he:''The History of the Italian Cinema'' (Princeton University Press, 2009), p. ?? Born in Verona and married to Anna Zaneva since 1999, he began his car ...
, took the show in a new direction, returning to the origins of the Sicilian mafia in the 1950s in a prequel to the action of previous seasons. This new plot line would continue into the ninth season, which was set in the 1960s. Season eight contained only two episodes, a trend which would continue for the remainder of the long-running series. Audience response was generally positive, and the show won several international prizes. The number of viewers was 7.5 million and 8.8 million viewers respectively, and at 100 minutes each, the episodes of the eighth and ninth seasons were the longest in the series to date. New screenwriters were hired as well, with Alessandro Sermoneta and Mimmo Rafele joining the project. The only personal connection to previous seasons was the story of the young Tano Cariddi (
Primo Reggiani Primo Reggiani (born 5 November 1983) is an Italian actor. Born in Rome to Tuscan actor Aldo Reggiani and Apulian actress, Caterina Costantini, he appeared in more than thirty films since 1996. Selected filmography Film Television Referen ...
) and his sister Maria (
Ana Torrent Ana Torrent Bertrán de Lis (born 12 July 1966) is a Spanish film actress. Early life and career Her debut came in 1973 with the starring role as "Ana" in the film ''El espíritu de la colmena'' (''The Spirit of the Beehive''), directed by V ...
). The male lead role was played by
Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971) is an Italian actor. Bova's European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include ''Under the Tusca ...
as Carabiniere Carlo Arcuti. The choice was unusual in that Bova had appeared as young commissioner Gianni Breda in season seven (40 years later in the series). Other actors from previous seasons also reappeared, most notably
Renato Mori Renato Pietro Mori (May 29, 1935 – August 22, 2014) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Milan, Mori started his career in the 1950s, appearing on several television series and acting on stage. Starting from the 1970s, he wa ...
, once in the role of Vice-Commissioner Giuseppe Altero, partner to Corrado Cattani, now as the aging mafia boss Don Calogero Albanese. The actor
Tony Sperandeo Tony Sperandeo (born 8 May 1953) is an Italian actor of cinema and television. Sperandeo is notable for frequently playing the roles of tough characters from his native region, Sicily. As of 2011, he was working on ''La Nuova Squadra'', a police ...
on the other hand, did not change sides: previously killer Santino Rocchi in season six, now mafia henchman Turi Mondello. The female leading role of Baroness Barbara Greenberg Altamura was given to German actress
Anja Kling Anja Kling (born 22 March 1970) is a German actress. She is the younger sister of actress Gerit Kling. Selected filmography * ' (1989) * ' (1994, TV series) * ' (1995) * ' (1995, TV miniseries) * '' From Hell to Hell'' (1997) * '' La piovra ...
. The story begins with a brutal power struggle within the local mafia of a small Sicilian town. The power-hungry Pietro Favignana (
Luca Zingaretti Luca Zingaretti (; born 11 November 1961) is an Italian actor and film director, known for playing Salvo Montalbano in the '' Inspector Montalbano'' mystery series based on the character and novels created by Andrea Camilleri. Zingaretti is a na ...
) kills the aging Don Albanese and rapes his daughter Rosario ( Daniela "Mietta" Miglietta), forces her to marry him, and thus becomes the new mob boss. Favignana then goes head to head with the leader of a planned development project, Baron Francesco Altamura (
Claudio Gora Claudio Gora, '' Emilio Giordana '' (27 July 1913 – 13 March 1998) was an Italian actor and film director. He was particularly prolific, making some 155 appearances in film and television over nearly 60 years (from 1939 to 1997). In the 1950s ...
), who refuses to allow the Mafia to get involved in the deal. In order to blackmail him and his wife Baroness Barbara Greenberg Altamura (
Anja Kling Anja Kling (born 22 March 1970) is a German actress. She is the younger sister of actress Gerit Kling. Selected filmography * ' (1989) * ' (1994, TV series) * ' (1995) * ' (1995, TV miniseries) * '' From Hell to Hell'' (1997) * '' La piovra ...
), Favignana kidnaps their son Paul and has the young Tano "Tanuzzo" Cariddi guard him on an abandoned estate. With the help of the German consulate and the undercover police captain Carlo Arcuti, the boy is rescued and the entire Favignana gang arrested. Favignana himself escapes to New York, however, where he hones his drug-smuggling skills. His accomplices in Sicily receive light sentences and the boss soon returns home. With unprecedented brutality, Favignana sets out to bring the region back under his control. Opponents and employees suspected of cooperation with the state are liquidated. Baron Altamura, facing increased pressure to comply with the Mafia, eventually capitulates and agrees to make a deal with Favignana. During this time, the Baroness has been having an affair with the young Arcuti. During Favignana's trial, the truth about their relationship is revealed and the captain is recalled to Rome to face an official investigation. The Baroness feels compelled to continue living with her husband Francesco for the good of their child, knowing that he had commissioned a failed assassination attempt against her lover Arcuti. When Rosaria Favignana learns from Tano that her father Don Albanese was forced to commit suicide by her husband, she stabs Pietro in front of the courthouse, killing him. Finally, eager to learn and grow, Tano convinces Francesco Altamura to send him to a prestigious school and look after his half-sister Maria; in a season-finale twist, it is revealed that her father was Pietro Favignana himself.


Season nine

The ninth season of ''La Piovra'', released in 1998, was a continuation of the eighth. The director was
Giacomo Battiato Giacomo Battiato is an Italian film director and writer. One guide to Italian cinema says he:''The History of the Italian Cinema'' (Princeton University Press, 2009), p. ?? Born in Verona and married to Anna Zaneva since 1999, he began his car ...
again, and the script was written by Andrea Porporati, Mimmo Rafele, and Alessandro Sermoneta. The season contained two episodes, at 100 minutes each.
A few years after Barbara Altamura was questioned in court about her relationship with police captain Carlo Arcuti, she returns from a psychiatric clinic to her husband, Baron Francesco Altamura. A lot has changed during her absence, however. The couple's country villa has been sold and the Altamuras now live in the city. The baron has founded a "bank for development", which is to be used for laundering of drug money. Francesco Altamura's house is run by his lover, who is officially introduced as his "cousin". The baroness lives in the house like a prisoner. Carlo Arcuti is again recruited to investigate the drug trade in Sicily, and he and the baroness begin seeing each other romantically once more. Barbara helps the police in their efforts to uncover the criminal dealings that her husband is involved in but her spying is uncovered by the new regional mob boss, lawyer Torrisi ( Sebastiano Lo Monaco). Events take a surprising turn, as the baron tries to get rid of his wife with the help of his "cousin". An accident is staged, and later two charred bodies are found in a burned-out car wreck at the foot of a mountain. The police assume that it is Baron and Baroness Altamura. In reality, Barbara is rescued by the lovestruck mafioso Turi Mondello (
Tony Sperandeo Tony Sperandeo (born 8 May 1953) is an Italian actor of cinema and television. Sperandeo is notable for frequently playing the roles of tough characters from his native region, Sicily. As of 2011, he was working on ''La Nuova Squadra'', a police ...
), who then holds her captive. The bodies from the crash are later identified as being Francesco Altamura and his lover. A violent power struggle develops between Mondello and Torrisi, with Mondello eventually coming out triumphant after a bloody massacre at a wedding party. Arcuti manages to free the baroness and put Mondello behind bars, but he doesn't survive his success for long, as a hit is put out on him and he is crushed to death by an automobile. The local judiciary closes the investigation against the Mafia despite overwhelming evidence but a young judicial assessor, witnessing the investigator's cowardly retreat, promises Barbara Altamura that he will continue Carlo Arcuti's work.


Season ten

Season 10, which appeared in 2001, picked up from the end of season 7 and completed the series. After the 8th and 9th seasons, it was initially unclear whether another one would be made. Producer Sergio Silva spoke of a "creative crisis". It turned out that it was difficult to pick up the thread again after the flashback to the 50s and 60s, while maintaining continuity within the series. There was also some amount of political resistance to the continuation of the show, and the final season of ''La Piovra'' lost its pride of place on Rai's premier channel
Rai Uno Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...
by being relegated to secondary sister channel
Rai Due Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, talk ...
. The number of viewers, at around 4 million, remained below the usual average.
Luigi Perelli is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
returned to direct the final chapter of the series, and the screenplay was written by producer Sergio Silva, with Mimmo Rafele and Piero Bodrato; the soundtrack was again composed by
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
. The season begins with Professor Ottavio Ramonte (
Rolf Hoppe Rolf Hoppe (6 December 1930 – 14 November 2018) was a prolific German stage, cinema, and television actor, who played in more than 400 films in a career which spanned over six decades. To international audiences Hoppe is perhaps best known f ...
), head of the Mafia-affiliated Thule secret society, being acquitted on appeal. Investigative judge Silvia Conti ( Patricia Millardet) watches Ramonte giving his first television interview on the steps of the courthouse, in which he openly threatens his enemies. Conti, who had put Ramonte behind bars in the seventh season, is meanwhile withdrawing from political work. She is married, wants to adopt a daughter, and has just applied for a transfer to the juvenile court. Ramonte does not hesitate for a moment to take his place at the head of the Thule organization again. For this he needs Tano Cariddi, however, who lives in a castle ruin on
Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...
. Cariddi begins to position himself to take over the organization by slowly poisoning Ramonte with arsenic. Tano soon becomes the leader of Thule, a position of unprecedented power. Giulia Mercuri (
Elena Arvigo Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
), daughter of Thule's chief financial officer, finds out about her father's criminal dealings and about Ramonte's involvement in Corrado Cattani's murder, and she reveals this to Silvia Conti. Giulia is kidnapped and held in Tano's custody to silence her and blackmail her father. Conti, against the advice of her husband and her superiors, decides to get involved once more and begins to investigate. As she delves deeper into the case, and as the criminal dealings of Cariddi continue, Conti barely survives an assassination attempt against her. Tano becomes gradually more delusional and he begins to imagine that Mercuri is his ex-wife Ester, whom he strangled in season four. In his madness, Tano tries to strangle Mercuri but fails. In the end, as Conti closes in on the archvillain, Tano sees no way out, so he drives to the top of the volcano and enters the crater holding a disc which contains a complete database of his criminal organization and business holdings. He waves to Conti one last time, and the show ends.


Filming and reaction

The last scene in season 4, in which the Mafia kills Commissioner Cattani, generated an incredible number of reactions from all over the world. A mysterious letter was allegedly sent from the US, in which an unnamed billionaire offered several million dollars to the creators of the show to film more episodes. Michele Placido had already turned down the role at that point. Audiences continued asking for more, so the filmmakers decided to make another season. Without Placido, however, the show was a commercial disappointment. Despite this, six more seasons were filmed. After the launch of the first season, the filmmakers and Placido himself received threatening letters from the Mafia to stop filming immediately. For security reasons, the second season was filmed mainly in secret locations outside Italy, including in Germany, Switzerland, Britain, and Greece.


Reaction in Italy

The series, whose first episode was screened on 11 March 1984, triggered intensive journalistic examination of the phenomenon of the Mafia. Several outlets published cover stories on the topic. The discussion engendered by the show included widows of murdered police officers and bankers from Palermo. Comparable programs were also shown in connection with later seasons, and these continued to be accompanied by great national interest. One of the debates centered around whether the series glorified the mafia or whether it contributed to Italians' no longer accepting organized crime as a normal part of life. An analysis of audience ratings during season 4 was revealing. Viewership and audience response in the south, the actual area of origin of the Mafia, was lowest, at only 12%. The largest group of viewers was demographically similar to the figure of Corrado Cattani himself: "a man of average age from the big cities of northwestern Italy", especially Milan and Turin. Political reactions and criticism were rife as well, and though several politicians praised the show for the way it exposed the Mafia's connections to Italian politics and the corridors of power, critical voices were vocal in their opposition to the storyline. Conservative politician
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
and others from
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
as well as representatives from
Democrazia Cristiana Christian Democracy ( it, Democrazia Cristiana, DC) was a Christian democratic political party in Italy. The DC was founded on 15 December 1943 in the Italian Social Republic (Nazi-occupied Italy) as the ideal successor of the Italian People's ...
claimed that shows like ''La Piovra'' were responsible for "Italy's negative image abroad" and demanded that it cease filming. DC officials argued that the South was being criminalized, that the State was being depicted as a loser, and that public confidence in government institutions was being undermined. Due partly to this type of pressure, production work on the 5th and 6th seasons was temporarily halted. After the 7th season, political controversy came to a head again. Seven Sicilian bishops protested what they perceived as discrimination against Sicily. Luigi Perelli replied that a culture of silence would benefit no one. Clashes before the broadcast of the 10th and last season reached a new climax. The cause of the conflict was an interview with leading actor
Remo Girone Remo Girone (born 1948 in Asmara, Eritrea) is an Italian film and stage actor. He is best known for the role of Tano Cariddi in the epic TV mini-series '' La piovra'' (''The Octopus''). He appeared as an Italian-American mob boss in ''Live by Ni ...
, who explicitly made a connection between the final season's plotline, in which the boss of a secret criminal organization is acquitted of his crimes, and the pressure exerted in Italy on judges in mafia trials. In 2009, during his party's youth convention in the city of
Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
, former Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
lashed out at authors of books and films about the mafia, saying that if he found out who the author of ''La Piovra'' was, he would strangle them. It is worth noting that Berlusconi himself has been investigated for Mafia ties, and in 2012, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison for tax fraud.


Seasons

The following ten seasons of ''La Piovra'' were produced by:


Cast and characters

*
Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco ...
as Corrado Cattani * Patricia Millardet as Silvia Conti *
Remo Girone Remo Girone (born 1948 in Asmara, Eritrea) is an Italian film and stage actor. He is best known for the role of Tano Cariddi in the epic TV mini-series '' La piovra'' (''The Octopus''). He appeared as an Italian-American mob boss in ''Live by Ni ...
as Gaetano "Tano" Cariddi (inspired by the real-life convicted mafioso
Michele Sindona Michele Sindona (; 8 May 1920 – 22 March 1986) was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due (#0501), a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connecti ...
) *
Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971) is an Italian actor. Bova's European film breakthrough was in the 1993 film ''Piccolo grande amore'', and he's played romantic male leads the following years. His American film credits include ''Under the Tusca ...
as Gianni Breda (season 7) and Carlo Arcuti (seasons 8 and 9) *
Vittorio Mezzogiorno Vittorio Mezzogiorno (16 December 1941 – 7 January 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Mezzogiorno was born in Cercola, the youngest of seven children. His older brother Vincenzo, who wanted to become a director, introduced him to the thea ...
as Davide Licata *
Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New ...
as Frank Carrisi *
Florinda Bolkan Florinda Bolkan (born Florinda Soares Bulcão; 15 February 1941) is a retired Brazilian actress and model. Biography She was born in Uruburetama and lived in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro until she moved to Italy. A former flight inspector fo ...
as Countess Olga Camastra * Daniela "Mietta" Miglietta as Rosaria Albanese *
Luca Zingaretti Luca Zingaretti (; born 11 November 1961) is an Italian actor and film director, known for playing Salvo Montalbano in the '' Inspector Montalbano'' mystery series based on the character and novels created by Andrea Camilleri. Zingaretti is a na ...
as Pietro Favignana *
Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters, ...
as Filippo Rasi *
Jean-Luc Bideau Jean-Luc Bideau (born 1 October 1940) is a Swiss film actor. Personal life Jean-Luc Bideau is married to Marcela Salivarova, a director of Czechoslovak origin. Together, they have two children: Nicolas, head of Presence Switzerland, and Martin ...
as Davide Faeti *
François Marthouret François Marthouret (born 12 September 1943) is a French actor. Selected filmography Theater References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marthouret, Francois 1943 births Living people Male actors from Paris French male film actors ...
as Senator Ernesto Conti *
Barbara De Rossi Barbara De Rossi (born 9 August 1960) is an Italian actress who has combined a career in international cinema with longstanding popularity in Italian television. Biography Barbara De Rossi was born in 1960 in Rome to an Italian wine importer and ...
as Marchesa Raffaella "Titti" Pecci Scialoia *
François Périer François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles. He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...
as Attorney Terrasini *
Angelo Infanti Angelo Infanti (; 16 February 1939 – 12 October 2010) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1961 and 2010. He was born on 16 February 1939 in Zagarolo, Italy. He died on 12 October 2010 in Tivoli, Italy due t ...
as Sante Cirinnà *
Pino Colizzi Giuseppe "Pino" Colizzi (born 12 November 1937) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Rome, Colizzi started his career on stage and in 1960 he got his first major role, playing the title role in a badly received television ad ...
as Nanni Santamaria *
Paul Guers Paul Guers (19 December 1927 – 27 November 2016) was a French film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1955 and 1996. He starred in the 1963 film '' Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance''. He was born in Tours, France and died in Montsoreau. ...
as Professor Gianfranco Laudeo *
Renato Mori Renato Pietro Mori (May 29, 1935 – August 22, 2014) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Milan, Mori started his career in the 1950s, appearing on several television series and acting on stage. Starting from the 1970s, he wa ...
as Giuseppe Altero *
Massimo Bonetti Massimo Bonetti (born 28 March 1951) is an Italian actor and director. Life and career Born in Rome, Bonetti after several years as character actor debuted in a leading role in 1981, in Aurelio Chiesa's ''Bim Bum Bam''. Then, he obtained role ...
as Leo De Maria * Jacques Dacqmine as Professor Sebastiano Cannito *
Geoffrey Copleston Gerald Geoffrey Copleston (18 March 1921 – 1999) was an English actor, voice actor, and translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The Englis ...
as Alfredo Ravanusa *
Flavio Bucci Flavio Bucci (25 May 1947 – 18 February 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film producer. Biography Born in Turin, Bucci began appearing in film and television in 1971, making his debut appearance in the film ''The Working Class G ...
as Don Manfredi Santamaria * Michele Abruzzo as Ruggiero *
Renato Cecchetto Renato Cecchetto (28 October 1951 – 23 January 2022) was an Italian actor who specialized in dubbing. Life and career In the 1970s, Cecchetto attended the Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career working with f ...
as Achille Bordonaro *
Vittorio Duse Vittorio Duse (21 March 1916 – 2 June 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. Biography One of Duse's first roles was in Luchino Visconti's debut feature ''Ossessione'' (1942). Outside Italy, Duse is known for his role ...
as Professor Cristina *
Sergio Fantoni Sergio Fantoni (7 August 1930 – 17 April 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor and director. Biography Fantoni was born in Rome to the actor Cesare Fantoni. He began his career appearing in films, radio dramas, television and theatrical pro ...
as Colonel Ettore Ferretti *
Daniel Ceccaldi Daniel Ceccaldi (25 July 1927 – 27 March 2003) was a French actor. He was born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France. The mild-mannered Daniel Ceccaldi is famous as Claude Jade's father ''Lucien Darbon'' in François Truffaut's movies ''Stolen Kis ...
as Dr. Nicola Sorbi *
Lara Wendel Lara may refer to: Places * Lara (state), a state in Venezuela *Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia * Lara, Antalya, an urban district in Turkey * Lara, Victoria, a township in Australia * Lara de los In ...
as Ellis Sorbi *
Victor Cavallo Victor Cavallo (birth name Vittorio Vitolo, 8 May 1947 in Rome – 21 January 2000 in Rome) was an Italian actor and underground writer. He started his acting career on stage in 1974, in cinema worked for directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci ...
as Alvaro Maurilli *
Al Cliver Pierluigi Conti (better known as Al Cliver) (born 16 July 1951) is a retired Italian actor who is perhaps best known for starring in horror and exploitation films, especially ones by directors Lucio Fulci and Jesús Franco. Career Cliver was ...
as Pierluigi Conti *
Dagmar Lassander Dagmar Lassander (born as Dagmar Regine Hager on 16 June 1943) is a German actress. The character of Lassander Dagmar in the Italian-influenced 2015 horror film '' We Are Still Here'' is named after her. Early life and career She was born in ...
as Manuela Cannito *
Cesare Barbetti Cesare Barbetti (29 September 1930 – 13 September 2006) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Barbetti began his career as a child actor in films during the Fascist era. He also worked as a voice actor, dubbing foreign-language films for th ...
as Reporter *
Tony Sperandeo Tony Sperandeo (born 8 May 1953) is an Italian actor of cinema and television. Sperandeo is notable for frequently playing the roles of tough characters from his native region, Sicily. As of 2011, he was working on ''La Nuova Squadra'', a police ...
as Ravanusa's Secretary *
Carlo Reali Carlo Reali (born 6 December 1930) is an Italian actor, voice actor and film editor. Biography Born in Padua, Reali was a frequent visitor of the many theatres across Rome before his career began. He eventually found his place in the cinema worki ...
as Diletti *
Giuliana De Sio Giuliana De Sio (born 2 April 1956) is an Italian actress, the younger sister of pop-folk singer Teresa De Sio. She won two David di Donatello for Best Actress and different Silver Ribbons for Best Actress. Biography and career Giuliana De Si ...
as Giulia Antinari *
Alain Cuny René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny (12 July 1908 – 16 May 1994) was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and Od ...
as Nicola Antinari *
Marie Laforêt Marie Laforêt (born Maïtena Marie Brigitte Doumenach; 5 October 1939 – 2 November 2019) was a French singer and actress, particularly well known for her work during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, she moved to Geneva, and acquired Swiss citize ...
as Anna Antinari *
Luigi De Filippo Luigi De Filippo (10 August 1930 – 31 March 2018) was an Italian actor, stage director and playwright. Born in Naples, the son of actors Peppino De Filippo and Adele Carloni, he studied literature at the university, leaving the studies on the ...
as Venturi *
Francisco Rabal Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Raba ...
as Abate Lovani *
Pierre Vaneck Pierre Vaneck (born Pierre Auguste Van Hecke; 15 April 1931 – 31 January 2010) was a French actor. During his career, he won a Molière Award in 1988 and received a César Award nomination in 2009. Biography Son of a Belgian army officer, ...
as Carlo Antinari *
Lino Capolicchio Lino Capolicchio (21 August 1943 – 3 May 2022) was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. He won a special David di Donatello acting award for his role in Vittorio de Sica's 1970 film, '' The Garden of the Finzi-Contini''. Capolicchio ...
as Professor Mattinera *
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as Dino Alessi *
Giampiero Albertini Giampiero Albertini (20 December 1927 – 14 May 1991) was an Italian film, television and voice actor. Biography Born in Muggiò, Albertini started his career as stage actor at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, under the guidance of Giorgio Strehle ...
as Senator Tarsoni * Nicola Di Pinto as Brother Bernardo * Simona Cavallari as Ester Rasi Cariddi *
Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...
as Salvatore Frolo *
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as Antonio Espinosa *
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as Lorella De Pisis *
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as Girgenti *
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as Sicilian Magistrat *
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as Consigliere Federico Canopio *
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as Giovanni Linori * Ray Lovelock as Simon Barth *
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as Gloria Linori *
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as Matilde Linori *
Orazio Orlando Orazio Orlando (14 June 1933 – 18 December 1990) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Naples, Orlando attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome for two seasons, in 1953-54 and in 1954-55, without ...
as Annibale Corvo *
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as Marta *
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as Riccardo Respighi *
Ana Torrent Ana Torrent Bertrán de Lis (born 12 July 1966) is a Spanish film actress. Early life and career Her debut came in 1973 with the starring role as "Ana" in the film ''El espíritu de la colmena'' (''The Spirit of the Beehive''), directed by V ...
as Maria Favignana Cariddi *
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as Friar Gillo / Dante Saverio Filò *
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as Stefano Pardi *
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as Prosecutor *
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as Lorenzo Ribeira * Pierre Mondy as Don Amilcare Attilio Brenno * Beatrice Macola as Agent Fede *
Ivano Marescotti Ivano Marescotti (4 February 1946 – 26 March 2023) was an Italian actor and theatre director. Life and career Born in Villanova di Bagnacavallo, province of Ravenna, Marescotti worked as a clerk in the urban sector of the Councillorship of ...
as Bellini *
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as Father Matteo *
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as Milos Danick *
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as Chief Procurator of Milan *
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Czech Police Agent *
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as Chiara Bronta * Renato De Carmine as Renato Rannisi *
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as Mario Altofonte * Anita Zagaria as Giulia Altofonte *
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as Don Nazzareno "Nuzzo" Marciano *
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as Procurator Michele Orione *
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as Lucio Panarea *
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as Bodyguard *
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as Edoardo Corinto *
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as Ninni Paradiso *
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as Police Superintendent *
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as Baroness Barbara Greenberg Altamura *
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as Don Calogero Albanese *
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as Young Tano Cariddi *
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as Maria Cariddi *
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as Turi Mondello * Sebastiano Lo Monaco as lawyer Torrisi * Luigi Maria Burruano as Favignana's Lawyer * Giovanni Esposito as Henchman


Soundtracks

* ''La Piovra'' 2–5 (Ennio Morricone)


Trivia

* The sixth season of ''La Piovra'' was filmed in cooperation with
Czech Television Czech Television ( cs, Česká televize, italics=no ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting seven channels. Established after the Velvet Revolution in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslov ...
and was shot entirely in Prague. * Several of the actors in the series were not Italian and thus their parts required Italian dubbing. * The series is inspired by several real-life events such as the murders of general Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa, and judges
Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
and
Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; scn, Pàulu Borsellino; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying t ...
, in the 1980s and 1990s.


Awards

*
Telegatto Telegatto (a composition of ''television'' and ''gatto'', meaning "cat", after the trophy, which is a little statue representing a cat), was an Italian television award first conceived in 1971 following the contest Gran Premio internazionale dell ...
, Italy, for Best Italian TV Series in 1984 (Season 1), 1986 (Season 2), 1989 (Season 4), and 1995 (Season 7). *
Golden Gong Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
, Germany, for Damiano Damiani as best director and Michele Placido as best actor in 1984 (Season 1). *
Golden Nymph The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, introdu ...
and International TV Critics' Award, Monte-Carlo Television Festival, 1998 (Season 8).


References


Further reading

1984
Damiani alone against the mafia
1986



1989





1990





1991



1992



1994 * ttps://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1994/10/17/spenta-la-piovra-resta-la-mafia.html Turn off La Piovra, the mafia remains 1995
La Piovra, the end of the saga




1997









1998





1999
Mafia again
2000

2001

2010
Interview with Michele Placido


External links

* (1984) 402 min * (1985) 384 min * (1987) 430 min * (1989) 600 min * (1990) 400 min * (1992) 420 min * (1994) 600 min * (1997) 220 min * (1998) 220 min * (2001) 200 min
''La Piovra'' on RaiPlay


{{DEFAULTSORT:Piovra, La Works about the Sicilian Mafia Italian drama television series Television series about organized crime Films scored by Riz Ortolani Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films directed by Damiano Damiani Films directed by Florestano Vancini Films directed by Giacomo Battiato 1984 Italian television series debuts 2001 Italian television series endings 1980s Italian television series 1990s Italian drama television series 2000s Italian drama television series Italian-language television shows RAI original programming