Emanuela Tittocchia, an actress from Turin, a well-known TV celebrity, and a historical commentator for Mediaset and RAI broadcasts, is in love with Totò and the city of Naples. As soon as she can, even if only for a few hours, she runs away to the slopes of Vesuvius and enjoys the place’s climate and its people’s warmth.
“I feel like a Neapolitan to all intents and purposes, even if I have northern origins. I love the Neapolitan temperament; I also had the pleasure of living in Naples for four months when I played a role in the Neapolitan TV soap Un posto al sole. If Naples calls me, I’ll run straight away. I’d like to move here permanently, ” says a beaming Emanuela.
In Naples, Emanuela spends most of her time visiting the city’s picturesque spots, natural, scenic and architectural beauties. She often goes to the neighbourhood known as Rione Sanità to closely explore the places where her legend, the actor Antonio De Curtis, aka Totò, lived.
“My love for Totò comes from long ago; I have always loved him. My mum says that ever since I was a child, I would look for him, run to the television, point at him and say: mamma Totò. It was strange for her, as we are from Turin, and no one has Neapolitan origins: mine was just an obsession. When I was 8 years old, I remember writing down phrases from Totò’s films and forcing my friends to repeat them with me in the back of Mum’s shop. My passion for Totò has always accompanied me.
I started collecting all his films, books about him and newspaper articles early on. Totò is present as he can in everything; he keeps me so much company. He is a genius, above everything and everyone, exceptional as an actor and a man. I grew up with him, with his philosophy and his jokes: they are inside me. I would like to do a fantastic show about him. It’s my biggest dream.
I often dream about him. Once he told me: “Be a good girl and see you in Paradise“. It was a strong emotion for me when I woke up”, she concludes. Emanuela has also recently visited the Poggioreale cemetery at the tomb of the legendary actor. This a visit that we recommend to all tourists coming to Naples, for many renowned men are buried here, including the tenor Enrico Caruso, the actors Eduardo Scarpetta and Nino Taranto, the authors Salvatore Di Giacomo, Libero Bovio, Raffaele Viviani, Ernesto Murolo, Edoardo Nicolardi, the philosopher Benedetto Croce and the sculptor Vincenzo Gemito.
