World Premiere of the restoration of ‘Roma ore 11’ by Giuseppe De Santis by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Cineteca Nazionale, in collaboration with Titanus S.p.A.
Venezia Classici – 82. Venice International Film Festival
Thirty years after the awarding of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to maestro Giuseppe De Santis, the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Cineteca Nazionale in collaboration with Titanus S.p.A. will present the world premiere of the restoration of ‘Roma ore 11’, in the Venezia Classici section of the 82. Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia.
Released in 1952 and produced by Titanus, ‘Roma ore 11’ one of the symbolic titles of Italian neo-realism, boasts an exceptional cast, including Maria Grazia Francia, Delia Scala, Massimo Girotti, Raf Vallone and Lucia Bosè, and retraces a tragic news story. Called up by an advertisement offering a job as a typist, several hundred girls rush from all over Rome to the company’s headquarters. The wait lasts several hours and at a certain point one of the girls tries to get past the others with a ruse, causing a violent agitation in the group and the consequent collapse of the staircase.
“Almost all my films are stimulated by the news or a particular environment. So, when I read the news story of the collapse of the staircase on which so many girls had gathered on the basis of an advertisement in the newspaper, of the job offer for a single typist, this seemed emblematic of a certain condition of female unemployment in a large urban centre like Rome and, relying also on the fact that I had been the director of a film like Bitter Rice, set in an all-women setting, I thought it was easy enough to make a film whose protagonist would be a chorus of women (…)”. Thus commented Giuseppe De Santis in ‘L’avventurosa storia del cinema italiano,’ edited by Franca Faldini and Goffredo Fofi.
The President of the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Gabriella Buontempo commented on the project as follows: “The restoration of the film “Roma ore 11” by Giuseppe De Santis is an important initiative that brings to light a fundamental work of Italian neo-realism. Made in 1952, the film offers a penetrating and critical look at the world of work and its injustices, highlighting the struggle of ordinary people. The restoration not only improves the visual and sound quality of the work, but also allows its historical and cultural value to be fully appreciated. Through a renewed film, today’s audiences can relive the energy and urgency of De Santis’ message, making the film accessible to new generations. This restoration project contributes to preserving the Italian film memory and to stimulating discussions on the still topical issues dealt with in the film, such as social inequality and the difficulties of urban life’.
“We are proud to bring to Venice, in the Venezia Classici section, the restoration of “Roma ore 11”, a 1952 Titanus production, a masterpiece of Italian neo-realism that represents not only Italian film history and memory, but also our commitment to the preservation of cultural heritage. This event, thirty years after the awarding of the Golden Lion to Giuseppe De Santis, restores light and colour to the collective memory and testifies to the continuity of our action as a bridge between epochs: celebrating, preserving and re-launching the masterpieces of the past for today’s generations,” says Titanus President Guido Lombardo.
The restoration of “Roma ore 11” was carried out in 2025 by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia- Cineteca Nazionale in collaboration with Titanus S.p.A. The original negatives cannot be found, so a sound dupe was used for the restoration. The scans were carried out by the CSC Digital lab. The restoration work was entrusted to Laboratorio Video Master Digital S.r.l.
Venezia Classici presenta dal 2012 capolavori provenienti da cineteche, istituzioni culturali e produzioni di tutto il mondo. La selezione è curata da Alberto Barbera con la collaborazione di Federico Gironi.
Photo Credits: Roma ore 11 — Osvaldo Civirani © Archivio Fotografico Cineteca Nazionale CSC
