Have you heard of this expression? I guess so. Who hasn’t heard of it?
I’ve always associated this phrase with the sea, the sun, the Italian music, the antique Italian cities, the delicious food, and everything else I love about this wonderful country.
So I made the decision to investigate more and discover the origins of this phrase and to understand the explanation of its popularity.
The expression “dolce vita” refers to the historical era of republican Italy between the late 1950s and the early 1960s in Rome, the capital of ” la dolce vita”.
Rome between the ’50s and the ’60s
Italy was prosperous during this time period. As it recovered from the pain and sorrow of World War II, Rome was in the heyday of its glory. These are the years of the economic boom, the desire to live and enjoy the beauty, climate and entertainment of one of the most beautiful cities in the world increases.
Due to the presence of the most luxurious hotels and clubs open until morning, Via Veneto was known as the salon of the world and quickly became the meeting place for all nightlife lovers.
Cinecittà was known as “Hollywood on the Tiber.”
Aside from Italian movies, Cinecittà primarily made American movies because the cost of production was lower than in Hollywood.
However, the legal system in Italy prohibited the export of the money made from the filming. Due to this, the major American film studios felt obligated to use their profit margins to finance Italian film production before distributing them to the rest of the world.
Rome was a hub for success-seeking artists, nobles, explorers, and philosophers in addition to film producers, actors, and directors.
During these years, the class structure of Italian society underwent significant change. Economic expansion fueled a productive push centered on private consumer goods, particularly luxury items. Public consumer goods, on the other hand, did not grow in a similar manner. As a result, this process produced significant gaps in society.
However, economic expansion resulted in a significant upheaval of societal lifestyles: Cars began to proliferate on the streets, and the introduction of television radically changed how Italians spend their spare time and how the news was spread.
credit: https://www.quartamarcia.it/auto-anni-50-quando-facevamo-gli-americani/
Along with the growth in the economy, the building development also defined this time period. Following the war, Italy’s housing stock expanded quickly, largely due to boosting economic and social conditions that prompted a rise in population growth and per capita income. Another driver of this growth was the decline in interest rates.
Despite the negative repercussions of this rapid economic growth, Rome was portrayed as the pinnacle of a worldly existence full of delights. It was the era of the Dolce Vita.
“La Dolce Vita” – the movie
The expression “La Dolce Vita” comes from Federico Fellini‘s 1960 film of the same title, which is primarily set in Rome. This film accurately portrays the city in the early 1960s, capturing with great immediacy the vibrancy and appeal, the frantic creativity, and the indisputable splendor that defined it at the time.
In the film’s opening sequence, as helicopters are flying, you can see a large number of work sites, demonstrating the rise of the construction sector.
The numerous episodes in this film, which are unrelated to one another, are a form of documentary that attempts to build an image of Rome at the turn of the 50s and 60s, in the midst of the economic boom, by showing different realities.
In “La Dolce Vita,” Italy also represents the myth of the “Bel Paese,” which attracts foreigners, particularly Americans. We can see this in the character of Anita Ekberg, who plays an American actress who falls in love with Rome. Anita is greeted at the airport by a massive pizza, one of Italy’s greatest symbols.
credit: https://www.viv-it.org/schede/dolce-vita-1960
The film is structured between sequences, with Marcello (played by Marcello Mastroianni) as the main protagonist. Marcello is a journalist who deals primarily with controversial information and aspires to be a writer.
He always plays the journalist-paparazzo in each of these episodes, tempted in by the fine things in life, the nobility, and the attractive women.
Marcello spends his evenings searching for a scandal or a rumor to work on outside the premises of the iconic Via Vittorio Veneto, a favorite meeting place for celebrities and wealthy people.
We examine the third episode in particular because it contains the movie’s most iconic moment.
In this episode, we meet Sylvia (played by Anita Ekberg), a gorgeous and famous actress. A crowd of paparazzi is waiting for her at the airport.
The actress is having a good time at a club that evening, but she leaves after a fight with her partner.
Marcello joins her. The most famous scene from the movie follows, in which we see the actress taking a bath in the Trevi Fountain.
The phrase “Dolce Vita” then came to connote a carefree and worldly existence, and it entered the global language.
