1950

For years D'Artagnan has been stubbornly pursuing his dream of discovering who his real family is. He travels frequently between Venice and Treviso for this purpose. Finally, after years of research, on July 18, 1950, D'Artagnan discovers the name of the woman who gave birth to him and who immediately consigned him to an orphanage because she was unwed: Her name was Elena Lombardi, born in Venice in 1888. She was a harpist with the Orchestra of la Scala in Milan at the time of his birth. From the day of this discovery forward, D'Artagnan will assume the surname Lombardi as his own, even though he will never succeed in officially registering the name. He will furthermore constantly write out the date of his discovery. His maniacal search for his father and family eventually leaves him psychologically frail, susceptible to visions, and afflicted by a persecution complex. In reality, the Lombardis were a wealthy family, related by marriage (through D'Artagnan's blood sister) to a politicianóan Italian minister in the Christian Democrat Party. It is easy to see why the story of a poor orphan/actor who shows up at the door of a powerful minister with all of his documentation in hand might not have been listened to. True or not, D'Artagnan's story would have threatened family wealth, not to mention the scandalous effect the story would have had on the honor of a minister belonging to the ruling political party. This tale/detective story - his mother, the surname Lombardi, inheritance, rejection of the false name "stinelli" (whenever he was forced to sign the name, D'Artagnan would use the lower case), and. later, in the 70s, with the addition of the name Toscanini to Lombardi (it appears that his mother the harpist had an affair with Arturo Toscanini) - all of these will become the dominant themes of his everyday existence for the rest of his life. His signature identifies him as the son of Elena Lombardi and, later on, of Toscanini. Perhaps this was a sign of need for family affection, a home, and a hearth that he never had.

1951

Another woman will be the cause of D'Artagnan's celebrity in the newspapers and fan magazines of the day: in 50s Italy, Edy Campagnoli was discovered and launched as the first woman personality on (then nascent) Italian TV. D'Artagnan's role in establishing her career is documented in a declaration signed by Campagnoli in 1951 and by four letters salvaged from a damp cave. An article in a fan magazine of the same year announces D'Artagnan's arrival in Rome in order to conquer Cinecittà, which at the time was in full swing and on its way to becoming an international center of film during the 60s. D'Artagnan appears in three films during this period: Messalina, by Carmine Gallone, Il Miracolo di Viggiù , directed by Luigi Giachino, and The Three Musketeers for Palmas Espagnol film, from which he took his nom d'art, D'Artagnan.

1952

Back in Rome, D'Artagnan takes the State Film Commission's qualifying exam, presided over by Prof. Casagrande. He passes the exam with flying colors and is officially qualifies as "Generic Extra." He begins to acquaint himself with the world of cinema: not only Cinecittà but places where directors and actors hang out: the bars of Via Veneto, Canove and Rosati in Piazza del Popolo, and the trattorie and osterie of Trastevere. Everyone gets to knows D'Artagnan. In addition to the film crowd, he meets politicians, bureaucrats, nobles, high priests, merchants, and common people. D'Artagnan's unique style contributes to his growing popularity in Rome. He is full of charm and energy, and tells fanciful and visionary jokes. Unique and ingenious, he is like no one else. A part comes up for him in Carmine Gallone's Puccini, starring Gabriele Ferzetti and Nadia Grey. At the end of 1952, on St. Silvester's Day, D'Artagnan shows up at the Gallina household, near the Forum on Via in S. Giovanni Decollato. He is there to inquire about a room for rent in the home of a mother of six who is struggling to supplement her income (her ill husband will die a short time afterward). D'Artagnan's arrival brings a breath of hope to this family: An actor who works at Cinecittà! A world of fairy tales and wealth in contrast with postwar Rome, which at the time has collapsed into poverty, unemployment, and deprivation. These are the years of neo-realism, years which produced films like Paesa' and The Bicycle Thief. Here he will live, on and off, until 1957. He will continue to be a part of the Gallina household even after he leaves: when first he moves down the street, and later, after considerable travail, when he finds a place near the Vatican Museums. D'Artagnan will remain a family friend until the end of his life, making regular visits, often out of need.

1953

In the Gallina household D'Artagnan finds a family, even though their hope of sudden wealth in conjunction with his arrival begins to fade. D'Artagnan picks out little Pietro Gallina to accompany him in his rounds throughout the city. Pietro is five years old and he will accompany D'Artagnan for years to come, after school and all through the summer. During their excursions together, the two of them come in contact with priests, movie stars, politicians, merchants, journalists, etc. Pietro is D'Artagnan 's squire and student, as well as a companion enraptured by his tales and a witness to his actions. This five-year-old is furthermore an accomplice who can inspire pity in priests, politicians, aristocrats, and shopkeepers, who in turn hand over a little money or assist in finding work for the members of the family. Pietro will continue to roam at D'Artagnan's side until 1963, when D'Artagnan is arrested and jailed in Regina Coeli prison for 43 days and subsequently extradited to Milan. In 1953 D'Artagnan appears in two films: Tullio Covaz's La Figlia del Reggimento and Sul ponte dei Sospiri (Leon Viola), begun in '52 at Cinecittà. His relationship with his friend/confidante/lover, Edy Campagnoli, continues. From Milan she sends him news of various jobs and fashion shows.

1954

D'Artagnan works in two more films: Guai ai Vinti!, by Raffaele Materazzo (with Lea Padovani and Anna Maria Ferrero), and Accadde al Commissariato, by Giorgio Simoncelli (with Walter Chiari, Alberto Sordi, Lucia BosË, and Nino Taranto). These are small parts which provide him enough to live on for two to three months at a time.

1955

This is an important year in D'Artagnan's life. He meets Federico Fellini and acts in Il Bidone, with Giulietta Masina. For D'Artagnan, Fellini is his "divine master." Fellini reciprocates by inserting D'Artagnan into his album of bizarre and dreamlike characters, and will call upon him to appear in four other films. For D'Artagnan, another big dream is realized during this period: His darling Edy Campagnoli becomes the number one television star on Italian TV as hostess of Lascia o Radoppia with over 10 million viewers. (The American composer John Cage will appear on the show, as an expert mycologist.) According to D'Artagnan, given her position, Edy could have helped lift him out of the life of a struggling actor and into the glamorous world of "La Dolce Vita," but this didn't happen. Instead, she cast aside the man who discovered her and launched her career by marrying (almost immediately) a famous soccer player. In letters to D'Artagnan, Edy implores him to leave Rome and the cinema behind and to find a good job in Milan, where she has connections. Not only does D'Artagnan refuse this offer, he is convinced that Edy has somehow been threatened, isolated, or somehow forced to the point of humiliating him so enormously: he who knew his own potential for becoming a great actor! D'Artagnan is completely crushed by her rejection, and fills his letters to her with insults. This stops at the threshold of a lawsuit threatened by the star's lawyers. In addition to Il Bidone with Fellini, he appears in La Cortigiana di Babilonia, directed by Carlo Bragaglia, and works with Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren in Blasetti's La Fortuna di Essere Donna. Despite his poverty, D'Artagnan is always elegantly dressed and frequents Rome's most fashionable nightspots: Via Veneto, Rosati, art openings, parties, galas. 1956 A lean year for D'Artagnan: Works only in Le Schiave di Cartagine. 1957 is not much better. He resumes his research into the wealthy Lombardi family. Despite his pride, he does not disdain monetary assistance offered to him by members of his favorite political party, the Savoyard Monarchy . As in a fairy tale, D'Artagnan is a faithful knight who serves his king, who in turn distributes Justice and Truth. D'Artagnan agrees to generate publicity for the Monarchy Party and befriends the Honorables Covelli and de Lauro, from whom he receives a small stipend from time to time. He continues his forays into the fashionable scene on Via Veneto.

1957

Edy Campagnoli makes a brief triumphant visit to Rome in April. D'Artagnan meets his old flame and the two of them clear up the past. He prepares to depart for Milan in July in order to see his friend again. While in Milan, he gathers more documents regarding his true family. The Corriere Lombardo publishes an article entitled "The Bitter Story of a Poor Actor: D'Artagnan in Search of His Father." Back in Rome, after an epic fight with a local Mafioso, D'Artagnan is escorted from the Gallina household down the street to a neighborís place "for public safety reasons." Here he will rent a (more expensive) room.

1958

In Rome the doors to television finally begin to open for D'Artagnan. He meets the director Anton Giulio Majano, who takes a liking to him and gives him a role in a television series: Capitan Fracassa. He meets Elmo de Sica, who introduces him to the celebrated Vittorio. D'Artagnan then returns to the film set, this time in Carlo Lastricati's Anna di Brooklyn, with Amedeo Nazzari, Vittorio de Sica, and the marvelous Gina Lollobrigida, with whom D'Artagnan is photographed. From 1958 to 1961, D'Artagnan 's life proceeds with less economic struggle. He speaks often of a certain "Jaqueline," a diplomat's daughter: he is madly in love.

1959

At RAI TV, D'Artagnan manages to find work in numerous TV series: I figli di Medea with Enrico Maria Salerno (directed by Majano), Il Romanzo di un Maestro, with Calindri and Zoppelli (Landi director); Ragazza Mia Sempre, with Lea Padovani and Shilla Gabel (Landi); Gli Oggettti d'Oro, with Cosetta Greco and Fosco Giachetti (Landi); and the celebrated Isola del Tesoro, in the part of Harry, with Foà, Moschin, Garrani, Pani, Lay (Majano). In addition, he makes two appearances in Gallone's Cartagine in Fiamme, and in Giovanni Paolucci's Il Corsaro della Tortue.

Translation from Italian by Kate Dejardins, Mary Norris and Pietro Gallina