Don Matteo

The Catholic Church has complained about many TV shows but there is one Italian series which should make it very happy. Don Matteo features former Spaghetti Western star, Terence Hill, as a modern day Father Brown, i.e.a priest who investigates crimes. Don Matteo, although only middle-aged, is a slightly world-weary figure who brings wisdom and comfort to his parishioners and solves crimes in a very logical way with a touch of religion thrown in. He tends to annoy the town police with his hobby, especially when he usually turns out to be right.

Terence Hill carries the show with his great charm (good looks and baby-blue eyes help!) but the other characters are amusing and well-acted. The two policemen in the series are especially good. The handsome Flavio Ansinna as Captain Anseschi plays the part of a stern policeman in charge who becomes softer because of his unrequited love for the beautiful mayor with lots of panache. Nina Frassica is his comical and disorganized sidekick as Officer Cecchini. The arrival of the little orphan, Camilla (Sara Santostasi), who is disappointed to find Don Matteo is not her father, was an excellent addition to the series. Both outsiders, she and the priest understand each other and he becomes a mentor to the struggling girl.

The Austrian-Italian actor says in an interview at his website that there is, surprisingly, not that much difference between Father Matteo and his former characters. “He has an adventurous side to his personality, that's what I look for in every character I play, since the times of 'Trinity'. I am accustomed to adventurous roles and stories. They are part of my personality now. Actually, there is not much of a difference between the duster coat and the priest's robe. Both are worn by mysterious characters.”

The setting of the series, Gubbio, is almost like a character itself. A mountain town with attractive medieval buildings and romantic Perugian scenery, many people want to travel there because of the show. It is not an easy place to travel to from Rome without a car, however, so I didn’t go there, unfortunately.

Don Matteo is a family show, and like most of these it has been criticized for being sentimental and saccharine. John Exshaw of Retro Cinema, found himself watching the program at the Venice Film Festival this year and wrote that 'watching Don Matteo was ‘rather like being mugged by Bing Crosby (though without the songs)!'

Lisa-Anne Sanderson

Grazie mille Daydreamerbeliever. Sei molto gentile. Complimenti.

This is one of the programs I watched a lot in Perugia this past summer in my apartment.

Can somebody send me a DVD of this program?

"Don Matteo" (2000)Created by Alessandro Bencivenni, Alessandra Caneva, Alessandro Jacchia. With Terence Hill, Nino Frassica, Natalie Guetta. Visit IMDb for Photos, Showtimes, ...
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"The setting of the series, Gubbio, is almost like a character itself. A mountain town with attractive medieval buildings and romantic
Perugian scenery, many people want to travel there because of the show. It is not an easy place to travel to from Rome without a car,
however, so I didn’t go there, unfortunately."

Grazie tanto. The first time I read what you wrote didn't notice the setting for the series is Gubbio.
Dio mio! Sono andato a Gubbio this past summer con un amico. It a nice bus or pullman ride from Perugia. So if you
ever go to Perugia from Rome by train you can then go by pullman(bus)to Gubbio. You can make the trip
in just one day with plenty of time to see the town.

Would watch this program what would seem many times a week in my apartment in Perugia without a clue
that it was taking place in Gubbio. But now that I think back on it can remember a few things I saw in Gubbio.
And if I would have known that the show took place in Gubbio probably would have gone sooner or
paid little more attention.

Although Gubbio is a very medieval town it also has a great Roman ruin just before you enter the town. A Roman type arena.

YouTube - Sbandieratori Gubbio Italy
Sbandieratori Gubbio Italy. 05:08 From: pocaciccia. Views ...

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YouTube - Sbandieratori Gubbio Italy
La bandiera come vessillo di page tra i popoli....

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Don Matteo is a great show. John Exshaw's criticisms are ridiculous. It was (is) either one of (if not the most) watched television shows in Italy. People are hungry for genuine emotions and human relationships. This show provides both. I saw all of the Trinity movies and Don Matteo is superior in every regard. I am sure this is what accounts for its popularity. Exshaw sounds like a bitter Catholic or someone who had a miserable childhood; fantasizing while watching spaghetti westerns. To refer to Don Matteo as a "seemingly endless series" means he watches all of the shows or knows of its extraordinary popularity, but certainly means that others WANT to watch them ... come noi!

Mario Girotti (aka Terrence Hill) was born in Venice, Italy of a German mother and Italian father. He lived in Germany. I don't believe there is any Austrian connection.

Amazingly, Terrence is 69 years old. Amazingly because I think most people would like to be as healthy and fit as he is at that age. He would be thrilled to hear he is considered middle-aged as that would mean he would live to be close to 140!

I think the show would do well in the U.S. even with subtitles.

Sarebbe bello se fosse possibile vederlo alla televisione americana. Speriamo bene.