DP Italo Petriccione has been a part of more than 50 feature films since 1986. Over the years, he often joined forces with director Gabriele Salvatores on set and beyond. I started working with him on Marrakech Express' in 1988 and since then our collaboration has never stopped, says Petriccione. If we add that our friendship has now exceeded half a century, there is no need to emphasize our professional understanding. For a long time, I've been trying to get Gabriele to use black and white. As a young man I was passionate about photography and I used to shoot and print strictly in black and white. With Il ritorno di Casanova ( The Return of Casanova ), Petriccione finally succeeded in convincing director Salvatores to implement this special color design. The new film, starring Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Toni Servillo, and Sara Serraiocco, features a story in two different time periods-one captured in color, the other one in black and white.
Copyright Indiana Production S.p.A
The Return of Casanova features a story with two different time periods and color designs
The Return of Casanova is set in two time periods. How did you manage the visual style?
The film tells the story of Oscar-winning director Leo (Toni Servillo), who, having finished shooting his last film, is in the grip of anxiety, frightened by the return to his complicated daily life. Age and fears are the same as those of the protagonist of his new film, a mature Casanova (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who also suffers from his life declining due to the passing of time. As old age approaches, his capacity for seduction vanishes, just as the aging director's hold on the public vanishes; audiences are now attracted to a young director who is popular with critics. They are two mirror characters with the same anxieties, who see the youth of others as a constant threat to their status. Although separated by almost three centuries, the two are very close emotionally. Gabriele and I discussed for a long time about how to interpret the different time periods. In the end, we decided to use color for the costume scenes and black and white for the modern-day scenes.
Copyright Italo Petriccione
DP Italo Petriccione and director Gabriele Salvatores have worked together on projects for more than 30 years
Were you given any particular references?
For the color part, with its candlelit atmospheres, the sumptuousness of the locations and costumes and a density of the image inspired by film, we had Barry Lyndon in mind, but not only. For the contemporary part, characterized by a dry, etched black and white, with strong contrasts and declared compositional symmetries that revive the discomfort of everyday life, we drew inspiration from the black-and-white cinema of Gordon Willis with Woody Allen or that of Martin Scorsese. Another reference were the beautiful images of great Italian DPs of the 1950s and 60s, such as Leonida Barboni, G.R. Aldo, Peppino Rotunno, and many others of that fantastic era of our cinema.
Copyright Indiana Production S.p.A
Captured in color: The costume parts of The Return of Casanova
How many weeks of shooting did you do for The Return of Casanova ? Which locations did you choose?
With a budget of seven million euros, we shot five weeks in the Veneto region, between the provinces of Verona and Venice, and four in Milan. An important set for environments and days of shooting was Villa Dionisi in Cerea, a beautiful eighteenth-century mansion with a large park where we set many interiors and exteriors of the costume part.
Copyright Italo Petriccione
DP Italo Petriccione had nine weeks of shooting for The Return of Casanova at different locations in Italy
Were there any particular practical difficulties in filming at certain locations?
There is a scene in which Casanova returns to Venice at dawn in a gondola, and one in which the director is visiting the Venice Film Festival. Shooting in Venice is complicated in itself but having a whole scene at dawn, and, whats more, with an eighteenth-century setting, made everything even more difficult. We only had about 40 minutes to shoot before we would be invaded by tourists and boat traffic. We had to follow Casanova who, in a gondola, admired his Venice after years of exile. In the end, we finished shooting just in time, using a support boat on which a modular crane was mounted and a second camera on land to film the passage of the gondola from the bridges and between the streets. Once the last take was over, all hell broke loose among the tourists, vaporettos, and cruise ships! We then filmed the finale of the modern part on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival. There, in addition to a strict protocol with cameramen and assistants in suits and ties and a meticulous police check, we had to adapt to the situation. A part of the shoot was rebuilt after midnight when the screenings were over. I had a Chroma Key put in the big screen that showed the film trailers and I had the collaboration of the festival's lighting manager, who allowed me to turn off or adjust the existing system, to which I made small additions.
Copyright Indiana Production S.p.A
In one scene of the film, Casanova returns to Venice at dawn in a gondola
What lenses did you use?
For the contemporary shots I used ARRI Signature Primes on large format, while for the costume parts I used a series of vintage Cooke Pancro on Super 35 format. To differentiate the two eras with color and black and white, using sensor formats and lenses with such different optical designs seemed the right approach to me. I was familiar with the Cooke Pancro, since I had shot my first three films with it. The Signature Primes struck me for their refined optical quality and the wonderful bokeh they create in the focal planes. The black-and-white part gave us great satisfaction. Th
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
DP Italo Petriccione has been a part of more than 50 feature films since 1986. Over the years, he often joined forces with director Gabriele Salvatores on set and beyond. I started working with him on Marrakech Express' in 1988 and since then our collaboration has never stopped, says Petriccione. If we add that our friendship has now exceeded half a century, there is no need to emphasize our professional understanding. For a long time, I've been trying to get Gabriele to use black and white. As a young man I was passionate about photography and I used to shoot and print strictly in black and white. With Il ritorno di Casanova ( The Return of Casanova ), Petriccione finally succeeded in convincing director Salvatores to implement this special color design. The new film, starring Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Toni Servillo, and Sara Serraiocco, features a story in two different time periods-one captured in color, the other one in black and white.
