All Roads Lead to Fellini

A recent trip by rail through Italy re-connected me with my love for the great Italian director. One night in Rimini seemed like an odd choice at first but my wife had carefully chosen accommodation in the area where Federico Fellini had grown up, Borgo San Giuliano. Originally a village populated by sailors and fishermen, the houses are now brightly painted and feature murals depicting scenes from Fellini’s films. Crossing the Augustus’s Ponte di Tiberio built between AD 14 – 21 and currently being restored we entered the heart of the city, passing Cinema Fulgor where Fellini saw his first film. We arrived at the main site of the Fellini museum housed in the imposing Castel Sismondo 20 minutes before closing so we did a quick whizz through the impressive displays that beautifully illustrate Fellini’s work and creative processes. I’m coincidently currently reading Olivia Laing’s brilliant The Silver Book where Fellini’s long-standing costume designer and art director Danilo Donati is…