Farewell to Claudia Cardinale, the rebel anti-diva who dreamed of being an explorer and loved animals

Claudia Cardinale died and one of the last real rebels of the big screen goes away with her, a woman who has never surrendered to the stereotyped role of the plasticized diva. Behind the magnetic gaze and the step by the Mediterranean queen, there was a restless soul who dreamed of forests, wild spaces and free animals.

Those who met her far from the sets tell a strong and discreet passion for animals: saved stray puppies, small wounded birds welcomed at the last moment, improvised refuges for cats. In his gestures, never a show: only an authentic love, which did not ask for applause. In 2011 he lent his voice to the Disney documentary “African Cats”, a documentary that tells the adventures in the African savannah, narrating African felines and it was perhaps only then that he cleared his passion for nature.

Since girl – that period in which, according to her biographies, she nourished the dream of becoming an explorer, to hover between rare plants and distant animals – felt that the link with the natural world was an indelible part of her identity.

When her life as an artist brought her to sets in wild places – dunes, hills, rural environments – it was not uncommon that she entertained with local flora and fauna, curious behind the scenes to understand plants or screeching bird or caressing a cheetah. He never spoke so much about his side – too poor in clamor for the newspapers – but those who have had the good fortune to know it remember him as a discreet custodian of the “abandoned” animal.

In his “being an actress” he never gave up to be also moral custodian of nature: choosing to be with animals meant, for her, not betraying her more intimate part.

Between light and shadow: the woman behind celebrity

Cardinal was much more than an iconic face: he was a woman who crossed success, a deep pain, that of rape, and a desire for freedom with a grace that did not cancel her scars. Behind the sparkling career, there was a secret story that has kept for many years.

What makes his path even more powerful is the will to transform his silence into testimony. Talking about it was not easy: she waited for years, resisted the judgment, but then she chose to break the taboo and give voice to those who did not have it. In that gesture, not only personal pain has made itself a guarantor.

And that son, Patrick, who for long time was presented as “brother” for image reasons, represented, for Claudia, a reason for life and a choice of courage. He did not give in to shame, he didn’t give in to oblivion.

She, hovering between clash and dream, has been able to reshape her way, subtracting from imposed roles and looking for a freedom that was proper, authentic. Goodbye, Claudia, discreet custodian of beauty, silent warrior of the soul.