We know that it was the producers who suggested this semi-documentary episode on the distinctive Urbe district; they felt that in such a visionary film dominated by the past, international spectators enamoured with local colour would appreciate an episode set in modern, working-class Rome […]. Every year, the Trastevere district holds festivities with a significant name: the Festa de Noantri [Our Festival] […]. Fellini concludes the Trastevere episode with a very brief homage to the actress who, more than any other, embodies the city: Anna Magnani. The mythic heroine of Roma città aperta is entering her home, in Palazzo Altieri (although the scene is shot near there, in Piazzetta Mattei, close to the ghetto). The actress died two years later, in September 1973, and so this fleeting appearance became her slightly melancholic farewell to the cinema. “Anna… do you want to say anything about Rome? You are virtually its symbol… She-wolf and vestal virgin… What do you think you most resemble in this city?” A quick word. “Federico, go to bed…. I don’t trust you! Ciao! Goodnight!” She cuts him short and closes the door. No, Anna Magnani will definitely not be the one to disclose to Federico the secret of this city, which for nearly three thousand years has “refused to reveal itself”.

Aldo Tassone, Fellini 23½. Tutti i film, Edizioni Cineteca di Bologna, Bologna 2020