Lights, camera, action!
La Legge
On several occasions the Gargano railway has made it onto the silver screen, thanks above all to its natural scenery and its status as a minor line well away from prying eyes. Setting aside the short newsreel of the inauguration ceremony filmed by Istituto Luce operators, its first appearance on screen is in the film “La legge” (original title “La loi”), directed by Jules Dassin and starring, among others, Gina Lollobrigida, Pierre Brasseur, Marcello Mastroianni and Yves Montand.
It is an Italian-French co-production comedy from 1959, whose plot revolves around the law — not the written kind, but the unwritten one that everyone must obey — which governs life in a small farming village. The village elder is Don Cesare, who lives in a large house surrounded by women. Among them stands out Marietta, daughter and granddaughter of Don Cesare’s household servants, notable both for her beauty and her independent spirit. An agronomist from the mainland falls in love with her, though she has caught the eye of others too… A brief scene is set at Carpino station, disguised as what it truly is — the station of a small southern village.
La stazione
But the true moment of glory came in 1990, when an entire film crew settled at San Marco in Lamis station to shoot “La stazione”. Produced by Fandango and directed by the then-debut filmmaker Sergio Rubini, the film follows Domenico (Rubini himself), a young stationmaster at a small station in a southern village — a job inherited from his father. On a cold and rainy night, everything seems to be running as usual at the little station. Then, suddenly, Flavia (Margherita Buy) arrives. Tall, beautiful, dressed in an evening gown.
She has left her fiancé Danilo (Ennio Fantastichini) at a party in a nearby villa and taken refuge at the station, waiting for a train back to Rome. Domenico is so overwhelmed that he can no longer carry out the duties he knows so well. Then Danilo suddenly appears, determined to take Flavia back to the party in order to extract financial guarantees from her for a shady deal of his. The situation takes a dramatic turn, but the dangerous Danilo is cleverly outwitted, and Flavia has no choice but to board the train to Rome, leaving a bewildered Domenico to his usual routine.
Figli di Annibale
In 1998, “Figli di Annibale”, starring Diego Abantantuono and Silvio Orlando. The film tells the story of two very different men, Domenico and Tommaso, thrown together after a botched robbery in which Domenico is the robber and Tommaso the hostage. Their journey, which takes them from Como towards Africa, becomes an opportunity for both to come to terms with their lives and their families: Tommaso grows closer to his young daughter, while Domenico mends his broken relationship with his sister.
Un amore possibile
In August 2003, Amanda Sandrelli, serving on this occasion as director of the short film “Un amore possibile”, chose San Severo station as one of the filming locations for the project, shot entirely in the Province of Foggia. For the occasion, Ferrovie del Gargano’s E52 locomotive received some cosmetic attention to its external livery and the refurbishment of a single interior compartment. The film tells the story of a friendship between Antonio, a nine-year-old boy, and Anna, a twenty-five-year-old woman — a bond that springs up in an instant, like a bolt from the blue. A journey into the mysterious inner world of children.
Baciato dal sole
In September 2014, the RAI television drama “Baciato dal sole”, produced by Pepito Produzioni of Agostino Saccà and directed by Antonello Grimaldi, arrives in Manfredonia and Monte Sant’Angelo. Among those who actively contributed to the production is Foggia-based Daunia Production, which handled location management. The lead role is played by Guglielmo Scilla, who portrays Elio, a YouTube personality known as Willwoosh. The cast also includes Nina Torresi, Barbora Bobulova, Pietro Bontempo, Catherine Spaak and Giuseppe Zeno. The drama follows the story of Elio, a 25-year-old young man from Puglia who dreams of fame and moves to Rome to take part in the talent show “Re per una sera”. Viewers are treated to sweeping shots of Monte Sant’Angelo, glimpses of Manfredonia and the Tremiti Islands, as well as the hills of the Gargano, the villages, the squares, the bars — and the buses of Ferrovie del Gargano.
Questo è il mio paese
Ischitella station, a FerGargano train and glimpses of the most evocative corners of the promontory also featured in the RAI flagship network drama “Questo è il mio paese”, starring Violante and Michele Placido. After an initial production phase (3 November – 20 December 2014), filming of the TV series resumed on 16 March 2015 and continued for 6 weeks. Produced by Cross Productions and Rai Fiction with logistical support from Apulia Film Commission, the drama was filmed across Vico del Gargano, Manfredonia, Ischitella, San Marco in Lamis and the Umbra Forest. “Questo è il mio paese” is an imaginary and symbolic portrait of Anna, an ordinary woman who discovers an unexpected strength within herself and becomes a civic heroine, determined to fight organised crime in defence of institutional integrity and the wellbeing of the community she represents.
In viaggio con Adele
It was 2017, and on the set assembled along the historic Ferrovie del Gargano railway line, at the level crossing on state road 272, not far from San Marco in Lamis station — once again in the spotlight on the big screen after the filming of ‘La Stazione’ (1990). Cameras rolled to shoot several scenes from the film ‘In viaggio con Adele’, directed by Alessandro Capitani. The starring cast included Alessandro Haber, Sara Serraiocco and our very own Ale80.02, looking its finest for the occasion. Also featured in the cast were Isabella Ferrari and Patrice Leconte.
Adele, a 25-year-old young woman with psychiatric difficulties, has never known her father and has always lived under the protective wing of her mother Margherita. Everything changes when her world is turned upside down by the sudden death of her mother. Abandoned by all her relatives, who have no intention of taking care of her, Adele will meet Aldo, an ageing 65-year-old actor who has come to Puglia to pay his last respects to the late Margherita… And they find each other along our tracks too.
Compagni di Viaggio
It was April 2019, and another clapperboard snapped on the tracks of Ferrovie del Gargano: once again in the starring role, the Ale 80 — no stranger to life on set. Cameras were rolling to shoot several scenes from the short film ‘Compagni di Viaggio’, starring Bari-born actor Paolo Sassanelli, who played the role of a FerGargano train conductor. The filming locations included several points along the Apricena–San Nicandro route, in particular the new Monte Tratturale tunnel.
The short film was produced by Lumen Films and Mediterraneo Cinematografica for a touring show produced by Ingenius. ‘Compagni di Viaggio’ was among the 10 film projects selected in the first edition of the ‘Social Film Fund Con il Sud’ call, launched from the shared interest of Fondazione Apulia Film Commission and Fondazione ‘Con il Sud’ in ‘telling the story of the South through images’, exploring the social phenomena that define it.