New York is rolling out the welcome mat for Italy\u2019s greatest comedian, Antonio De Curtis \u2014 their version of Charlie Chaplin \u2014 with the US debut of \u201cTot\u00f2 and His Naples.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Curtis, also known as Tot\u00f2, is being celebrated in an exhibition showcasing the Neapolitan comic legend\u2019s nearly 100-film career at the Italian American Museum in Little Italy now through Aug. 29.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s considered in Italy one of the most amazing actors of the 20th century,\u201d Claudio Pagliara, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, told The Post. <\/p>\n
New York is finally rolling out the welcome mat for Italy\u2019s greatest comedian, Antonio De Curtis, or Tot\u00f2. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was portraying this face of Naples that was full of problems, but with an energy and an optimism about the future that made him so popular, not only [in] Naples, actually, but in Italy and among American and Italian-Americans that now live in New York,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n
The show \u2014 presented with the cooperation of the Italian Cultural Institute and Italy\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs \u2014 doubles as a love letter to Little Italy itself, which took in millions of immigrants from the south of Italy to New York to build a better life over two centuries. <\/p>\n
Born in Naples\u2019 gritty Quartieri Sanit\u00e0 neighborhood, Tot\u00f2 \u2014 nicknamed il principe della risata, the prince of laughter \u2014 dominated Italian comedy from 1922 until his death in 1967.<\/p>\n
Pagliara explained that Tot\u00f2 was known amongst the people as a comic, but was simply an afterthought to the critics until filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini cast him in a 1960s art film that moved him into a high-profile star.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first part of his life was loved only by the people,\u201d Pagliara said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the second part, critics recognized that he was a very great, exceptional actor,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Tot\u00f2, is being celebrated in an exhibition at the Italian American Museum in Little Italy through August 29. The Italian American Museum<\/p>\n
The exhibit features colorful costumes from his films, rare personal documents, photography and film clips spanning his storied career, and of course, Tot\u00f2\u2019s signature bowler hats.<\/p>\n
Similar to Chaplin\u2019s trademark cap, Tot\u00f2\u2019s hat is described as a legendary artifact that needs no introduction to anyone who knows him.<\/p>\n
The exhibit features colorful costumes from his films, rare personal documents, photography and film clips spanning his storied career, and of course, Tot\u00f2\u2019s signature bowler hats. Michael Nagle<\/p>\n
\u201cImmediately you look at that object and you think of Tot\u00f2,\u201d Pagliara said. \u201cHe was always wearing a hat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show, which also marked Naples\u2019 2,500th birthday, is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, and runs Thursday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. at 151 Mulberry St.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York is rolling out the welcome mat for Italy\u2019s greatest comedian, Antonio De Curtis \u2014 their version…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9012,5,6165,9011,617,4282],"class_list":{"0":"post-12228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-italy","8":"tag-charlie-chaplin","9":"tag-italy","10":"tag-little-italy","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-museums","13":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}