Three Documentaries by Lorenzo Gigliotti:
“I Gigli di Nola” (30 minutes)
“I Misteri di Taranto” (30 minutes)
“Il Liscio” (18 minutes)

Lorenzo Gigliotti, writer and director, was born in Salerno, Italy.  After teaching philosophy, he was the Television Director for the Ministry of Italian Culture in the Department of Anthropology and later the Television Director at the Italian National Broadcasting (RAI). He has written essays on Italian cinema and folklore. He also published a collection of his poetry. As a film director, he has made several documentaries, some of them awarded at international film festivals. He currently lives in Rome.

“I Gigli di Nola” — The feast in Nola (Naples) celebrates the legendary return of Saint Paulinus to his homeland in the fourth century.  Eight “gigli” (lilies), ceremonial towers, escort a ship, the symbol of the saint’s journey, through the town streets.  These structures are carried by groups of 120 men called “paranze” who, compete in the areas of strength and skill, moving to the rhythm of the music.

“I Misteri di Taranto” — Holy Week in the Catholic calendar represents the death and resurrection of Christ, and is also a symbol of eternal life and of the rebirth of nature. In Taranto, three penitential processions move slowly through the city streets for 36 hours in a mournful atmosphere, until the joyful sound of the church bells are heard on Easter Sunday.

“Il Liscio” — “Liscio” means “smooth”, smooth as the marble tile floor of the “balera,” the setting where man and woman meet to waltz and tango in the Emilio-Romagna region.