Walter Veltroni knows Rome well, he was also its mayor. And, in imagining the scenario of his detective stories starring Inspector Buonvino (Marsilio editore), he “created” a police station in one of his most evocative places: the park of Villa Borghese, already thinking, who knows, of a future television transposition. Which duly arrived with the series Inspector Buonvino – The mysteries of Villa Borghesedirected by Milena Cocozza, in two episodes on Rai 1 on 7 and 14 May, for which Veltroni is editorial consultant. It is Giorgio Marchesi who gives the protagonist a face and beard, a commissioner who fell into disgrace due to excessive diligence, relegated to the public relations office and then brought back to manage a police station where nothing ever happens and where the agents are unmotivated and, apparently, inept. It is there that he meets a former colleague, Veronica (Serena Iansiti), who has relegated herself to that “hole” after the death of her husband, also a policeman. In short, a company of reprobates that Buonvino will be able to transform into a real team, bringing out their talents and the desire for redemption.
How did you find yourself in the shoes of this so rude commissioner?
«Buonvino behaves like a good father who doesn’t need to shout to be listened to and obeyed: determined about what he wants, but able to see and listen to whoever is in front of him, without judging. He is not a centralizer sick of protagonism: he is more like an orchestra conductor. He gets around in a vintage spider, his only “bourgeois” habit, because – he says – “it’s a beautiful car”. He also collects old vinyl records and is fond of objects for what they represented for him. I’m a bit like that: I kept the Vespa with which, when I was young, I took wonderful rides in the Euganean Hills and in Sardinia. I really like him as a character, except for his football faith: he is a Milan fan, while I, as a good native of Bergamo, support Atalanta.”
Beauty enthusiast and skilled chef. Does she also enjoy cooking?
«Not at all. Even though I often find myself living alone, I only cook very simple things. I’m fine with plain pasta, perhaps with quality raw materials.”
Another characteristic of Buonvino is his cinephilia: we see him enchanted by corners of Rome where famous scenes from old films were filmed…
«I really appreciated the director’s choice to juxtapose a shot from the series with a clip from the film in black and white, as in the restaurant where Buonvino takes Veronica to dinner, reviewing a scene from Beautiful by Luchino Visconti with Anna Magnani”.
Clearly the author of the books, Walter Veltroni, who is also a director, put a lot of himself into this character. Did you meet during filming?
«He came once to greet us on the set, but the opportunity to talk to him was before filming, when we met him with the director Milena Cocozza. He gave us some tips and confided that the series also pays homage to another passion of his: football. The surnames of many characters follow those of champions of the past, such as Re Cecconi, Nodari and Robotti”.
You started in the theatre, founding your own company at a very young age. But television is the area in which he now works most. Do you miss the stage?
«The demands of filming TV series are difficult to reconcile with theater tours. Also, when my children were little, I preferred not to be away from home for too long. They are now 13 and 19, an age that no longer requires constant presence. So every year I treat myself to a few mini-tours. Now I’m on stage with The lover by Harold Pinter, where my partner, Simonetta Solder, plays, who also has a role in the first episode of Buonvino: she is the wife of the man found dead. We met right on stage, acting in Dangerous Liaisons. The theater remains a unique experience because it allows me to have a direct relationship with the public and then allows me to travel around Italy and appreciate its beauty and good food.”
