Tonight on Rai 1 “Livatino – The judge and his assassins” arrives on the story of the blessed judge killed by the mafia: the filming locations

The dramatic and luminous human and professional parable of Rosario Livatino arrives on the small screen with the television miniseries Livatino – The judge and his assassinsbroadcast on two evenings – Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November – on Rai 1 and available in streaming on RaiPlay. The narrative, concentrated in particular on the last years of his activity from 1988 to 1990, reconstructs the work of a mild but inflexible young magistrate serving at the court of Agrigento.

In a historical period marked by the ferocious rise of the Stidda – a criminal organization created to counter the excessive power of Cosa Nostra through a new generation of unscrupulous young Stiddari – the magistrate chose to hit the clans not only with criminal sentences, but by attacking their assets, confiscated assets and illicit economic interests, effectively anticipating the investigative methods of the future Sicilian Tangentopoli.

His firm incorruptibility and profound spirituality, summed up in the Latin motto Sub tutela Deithey decreed the death sentence. The tragic ambush occurred on September 21, 1990, when a fire commando intercepted his small car along state road 640 while he was on his way to court without an escort, shooting him dead. In 2021 Pope John Paul II defined him as a martyr of justice and indirectly of faith, leading him to become the first magistrate in the history of the Church to be proclaimed blessed.

The set between authentic Sicily and Rome: the filming locations

The production of the fiction, born as a co-production between Rai Fiction and Goldenart Production with the support of the Sicilia Film Commission and the Ministry of Culture, was divided into 10 weeks of overall work, choosing to shoot strictly in the real places linked to the life and sacrifice of the magistrate. The troupe spent 42 days in Sicily, moving between the territories of Agrigento, Canicattì – the judge’s hometown -, Naro, Palma di Montechiaro and Favara.

On the big screen the public will recognize authentic views such as the Palace of Justice in Agrigento and the tragic road section of the 640 state road. Filming then concluded in Rome after 18 days on set in the capital, for an overall production commitment which saw the participation of 72 professionals in the crew.

An exceptional cast starting with director Michele Placido

Directed for the first time in a television drama by Michele Placido and written by the director himself together with Angelo Pasquini and Fidel Signorile, the work develops through a choral narrative structure that contrasts legality with blind violence. The protagonist role is entrusted to the actor Giuseppe De Domenico, supported by a first-rate cast that includes Leonardo Maltese, Nino Frassica, Michela De Rossi, Ninni Bruschetta and Brenno Placido. The series recalls the genesis of territorial conflicts, the murder of judge Antonino Saetta, the solitary investigations conducted together with Marshal Giuliano Guazzelli and the tragic epilogue of a servant of the State who chose to be credible even before winning.