For Shakespeare, Italy was the stage on which to play out his greatest themes: politics and war, fidelity and betrayal and, above all, love.
In this new two part series, historian and broadcaster Francesco da Mosto visits spectacular locations in Italy that fired the bard’s imagination. From Juliet’s balcony in Verona and Desdemona’s bedchamber in Venice to Caesar’s streets of Rome, Francesco visits these inspirational cities, tracing the Italian myths that stimulated some of Shakespeare’s greatest works.
Revealing a rich and unexpected slant on some of Shakespeare’s best-known stage creations, Francesco reveals how the playwright’s imagination continues to influence real Italian cities today. Drawing also on the expertise and comments of actors and historians, Francesco explores Italy’s rich theatrical tradition which provided inspiration for Shakespeare’s works, as well as uncovering how the exotic setting of Italy repeatedly acted as a cloak for Shakespeare’s most dangerous observations about Elizabethan London.
BBC Productions
AT
