Luisa Ranieri - actress

Naples-born star of The Hand of God

Luisa Ranieri in a scene from The Hand of God,
which won her a Best Supporting Actress award

The actress Luisa Ranieri, who received a Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated 2021 movie The Hand of God, was born on this day in 1973 in Naples.

Ranieri, who is married to Inspector Montalbano actor Luca Zingaretti, was honoured with a prestigious Nastro d’Argento for her portrayal of Patrizia, the troubled aunt of The Hand of God’s central character, Fabietto.

Among more than 30 films in a big screen career that began with a leading role in Leonardo Pieraccioni’s Il principe e il pirata (The Prince and the Pirate) in 2001, Ranieri is also well known for her performances in Michelangelo’s Antonioni’s Eros in 2004, in Pupi Avati’s Gli amici del Bar Margherita (The Friends of the Bar Margherita) in 2009 and Gary Winick’s final film, Letters to Juliet (2010).

Ranieri, whose latest movie, Diamanti, (Diamonds) directed by Ferzan Özpetek, premieres in Italy this week, also boasts a string of successes in television. 

In 2005, she won plaudits for her portrayal of the opera singer Maria Callas in a Canale 5 miniseries Callas e Onassis, and for playing the entrepreneur Luisa Spagnoli in the Rai fiction of the same name in 2016. Since 2021 she has filled the title role in the Rai crime series, Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco, (The Investigations of Lolita Lobosco) in which she plays a deputy commissioner of police in the southern Italian city of Bari. 

Ranieri won acclaim for her
portrayal of Maria Callas

It was while making another Rai miniseries, Cefalonia, in 2005 that she became romantically involved with co-star Zingaretti. The couple married in Sicily in 2012 and have two children. 

Ranieri spent her early years in the Vomero district of Naples, an upmarket suburb which occupies an elevated position that offers commanding views over the city. She enrolled in the Faculty of Law in the city’s university but gave up her studies to devote herself to acting, building the foundations of a career as a theatre actress before quickly landing the part in Il principe e il pirata in 2001, in which she also gained considerable exposure thanks to a starring role on a TV advertising campaign for Nestea, a major player in Italy’s lucrative iced tea market.

She quickly established her reputation as an actress of considerable talent, gaining significant recognition through TV roles, including playing Assunta Goretti, the mother of the child saint, Maria Goretti, who was murdered at the age of 11, in Giulio Base’s 2003 miniseries, and two years later Maria Callas opposite the Aristotle Onassis of French actor Gérard Darmon under Giorgio Capitani’s direction.

In 2009, the same year that Avati’s Gli amici del bar Margherita brought more critical acclaim, she demonstrated her versatility with a return to the stage, acting in the theatrical production of L'oro di Napoli (the Gold of Naples), directed by Gianfelice Imparato and Armando Pugliese, based on the stories of Neapolitan life by Giuseppe Marotta.

The terrace at the Castello di Donnafugata will
be familiar to fans of the Montalbano TV series

Back on screen, Letters to Juliet further solidified her reputation in the film industry, which was taken to another level by The Hand of God - È stata la mano di Dio in Italian - in which her performance as Patrizia, the voluptuous aunt for whom main character Fabietto has an adolescent crush, and who escapes an abusive husband by admitting herself to a psychiatric hospital, attracted much acclaim and turned her into something of an icon for many Italian women.

As a further recognition of her standing in the acting profession, Ranieri was chosen to host the opening and closing nights of the 71st Venice International Film Festival in 2014.

Her marriage to Zingaretti caught the public imagination. After living together for several years, the couple tied the knot at the Castello di Donnafugata, a castle near Ragusa in Sicily where scenes were filmed in several episodes of the long-running Inspector Montalbano series. 

The Castel Sant'Elmo and the Certosa di San
Martino tower above Naples on Vomero hill

Travel tip:

The Vomero district of Naples is widely-regarded as the most upmarket area of the city in which to live. Perched on a hill overlooking the city and the Bay of Naples, it is known for its elegant architecture, beautiful parks, and a more relaxed atmosphere compared to the sometimes chaotic nature of the southern Italian city’s centre.  Highlights include Castel Sant'Elmo, a mediaeval fortress offering stunning panoramic views of the city and the bay; the adjoining Certosa di San Martino, a former monastery that now houses a museum; the lively Piazza Vanvitelli, Vomero’s central square; and the Villa Floridiana, a beautiful park with gardens, fountains and another museum. Three funicular railways connect Vomero to the city centre. The district boasts a mix of high-end and local shops and a similar variety of restaurants. 

The magnificent Duomo di San Giorgio is one
of the main attractions of Ragusa Ibla

Travel tip:

The city of Ragusa, at the centre of the area of southeastern Sicily where Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano mysteries were filmed, is set in a rugged landscape with a mix of mediaeval and Baroque architecture. It has two parts - Ragusa Ibla, a town on top of a hill rebuilt on the site of the original settlement destroyed in a major earthquake in 1693, and Ragusa Superiore, which was built on flatter ground nearby in the wake of the earthquake.  A spectacular sight in its own right and affording wonderful views as well, Ragusa Ibla attracts visitors to its maze of narrow streets and to see the Duomo di San Giorgio, the magnificent 18th century Sicilian Baroque church that stands at the top of a wide flight of steps at the head of the sloping Piazza Duomo, the wide square that, with Corso XXV Aprile, comprises Ragusa Ibla’s central thoroughfare. Designed by Rosario Gagliardi, the cathedral is characterised by a monumental façade which incorporates the bell tower beneath a bulbous spire.

Also on this day:

1899: The founding of AC Milan football club

1944: The birth of businessman Santo Versace

1945: The death of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli

1952: The birth of footballer Francesco Graziani

1954: The birth of pop singer Ivana Spagna

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