The Pisorno Film Studio

The coastal strip between Pisa and Livorno had already been discovered by Hollywood in the 1920s, so much so that in the 25th some scenes of a silent Ben Hur were filmed at the Molo Novo.

In 1933 the Autonomous Tirrenia body built the Tirrenia Film factories based on a project by Antonio Valente. The following year, Giovacchino Forzano took over the structure, which stands in a swamp of reptiles and mosquitoes, where there is only a fort of the Guardia di Finanza called Mezzaspiaggia. Refurbished with 500,000 lire, the fruit of the Agnelli family’s sharing of the expenses, and of Persichetti, later founder of a dubbing house, he transformed it into the Pisorno Establishments, so-called because they are equidistant between Pisa and Livorno.

Forzano is a theater author, librettist of Gianni Schicchi, theater and film director and stages many of his own works but above all he is a friend and collaborator of Mussolini, who already strongly wanted Tirrenia as a pearl of fascist architecture and seaside delights. The establishments must also serve to produce propaganda and attract consensus.

It is no coincidence that one of the first films shot is, significantly, “Black Shirt”.

The sea, the long beach of fine sand, the small rivers, the pine forests and the hills make the area attractive to Americans as an ideal location for many…