We the Italians December 28, 2014 - 50 | Page 38

TH TH # 50 • DECEMBER 28 , 2014 # 50 • DECEMBER 28 , 2014 read more about #Great Italians of the Past GREAT ITALIANS OF THE PAST: VIRNA LISI V irna Lisi was one of the queens of Italian cinema, maverick figure of great talent, who never bent to the hypocrisies of the show biz and never shied away the challenges of time passing by. Virna Pieralisi was born in Ancona on November 8, 1936. Discovery of the young singer and actor Giacomo Rondinella, he is the one who introduces her to producer Antonio Ferrigno. At the age of fourteen she enters into the world of cinema, adopting the pseudonym Virna Lisi that made her famous. After starring roles in romantic movies, very popular in the fifties in Italy, she points toward comedy with “Le diciottenni”, directed by Mario Mattioli, or “Lo scapolo” with Alberto Sordi, both in 1955. In 1957 she will play Elisabeth Bennet in the historic RAI television drama “Orgoglio e pregiudizio” (Pride and Prejudice),