L'ultima estate

1992 was a dramatic and crucial year, which changed the history of Italy forever. Judges Falcone and Borsellino, frontline of the legal war against mafia, were killed: their murder had a strong impact in Italy and abroad, changing the cultural perspective on the conflict with the criminal organization and questioning the relationship between politics, crimes, and civil society.

‘The Last Summer. Falcone e Borsellino 30 years later’ retraces the last months of life of the two Palermo anti-mafia judges: known and less known facts, public and intimate, delving into the story of two extraordinary men, their humanity, their strength and their deep sense of the State. But also their joy, irony, anger. And their isolation, in a battle with many, and sometimes unexpected enemies.

The Last Summer is a delicate mosaic of events of ironic and bitter, public and intimate moments. Far from rituals and mythologies, the two protagonists question themselves and tell their stories, confronting each other and with the viewers, leading them to relive fundamental moments of their friendship, as well as the history of Italy, starting from the end, their deaths.

Far from the celebrations, the story of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino is staged in the most authentic and daily dimension, which takes nothing away from the meaning of their battle, but completes them as human beings.

The text is written by Claudio Fava, politician and former Member of the European Parliament, writer and scenarist, author of several publications on the theme of mafia and of acclaimed Venice Biennale best screenplay 2001, for the movie One hundred steps (I cento passi), about the life and death of Antimafia activist Giuseppe Impastato.

The Last Summer has been supported by the Directorate for Public and Cultural Diplomacy in an international tour framed in 2022, 30th anniversary in memory of Falcone and Borsellino. It has been the first theatre piece ever performed at the Court of Justice of the European Union, for the Council of EU, June 2022.

The show has been presented in several countries and in different contexts, in theatres and cultural venues, pairing the show for general audiences with specific programs for high schools and university students. 

L’ultima estate – trailer from Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione on Vimeo.