MOVIE SETS IN ROME - MAGNA GRECIA PARKING

Some time ago I was having dinner at a restaurant close to the St. John Villa. At the end of the dinner, while going out from the restaurant, I was stopped because outsiede they were filming a movie.
After few minutes, when they finished, I was left to go.

Months later I had the opportunity to see the scene that had been filmed that day.
It belonged to the Episode 2 of a TV series that has had a great success at the end of 2016, The Young Pope, directed by the Academy Award winner Paolo Sorrentino and interpreted by great actors such as Jude Law interpreting the Pope, Diane Keaton, Silvio Orlando, James Cromwell, Scott Sheperd, Javier Camara, Cecile De France and others.

In that scene the personal secretary of the Pope, Sister Mary, interpreted by Diane Keaton, the personal secretary of the Pope, follows the Secretary of State, Cardinal Voiello, interpreted by Silvio Orlando, out of the Vatican trying to discover his secret life, if any. Cardinal Voiello enters into an apartments building  and Sister Mary climbs the ramp of a parking in front of it to look inside. She starts thinking that Voiello has a lover when she sees him greeting a woman. With her big suprise, immediately after, she realizes that Voiello has gone there to deliver comfort to a disabled boy that he consider his best friend.

 

Magna Grecia market

The ramp of the parking can be briefly seen at second 19 of the recap. That parking is located just in front of the restaurant where I was having dinner, at the corner between Via Amiterno and via Magna Grecia. Actually it is rather far from the Vatican, on the opposite side of the historical center, behind the Basilica of St. John Lateran 

The building of the parking is an important piece of the architecture if the late 50's of the XX century, designed by Riccardo Morandi. on the ground floor there is a market and on the upper levels the parking. 

Unfortunately the conditions of the building are, nowadays, very poor. The market is sparsely attended by customers and most of the counters are not in use. the parking is closed since few years because of water seepage. Currently there is no clear project for the recovery of the building. Local markets have lost attendance sinnce the supermarkets made available also the fresh products and the parking has suffered by a poor management.

Like all the inhabitants of the area I hope a good project will come soon to bring the building tho the new life that it deserves.

Vincenzo