The War of the Volcanoes

In 1948 a fan letter arrived for director Roberto Rossellini from Ingrid Bergman one of Hollywoods biggest stars after a meeting in New York Rossellini invited Bergman to Italy to work on a project Meanwhile Anna Magnani one of Italys biggest stars and Rossellinis longtime lover was furious When the RosselliniBergman project was announced as a tale set on Stromboli one of the volcanic Aeolian Islands Magnani quickly set up her own Aeolian project financed by Hollywood to be called Volcano Italys tabloids simply went wild the prospect of these two great divas battling it out with rival productions was breathlessly followed especially as it became clear that the RosselliniBergman relationship was more than professional Francesco Patierno has created an engrossing revealing and highly entertaining chronicle of this cinematic battle royal