Roberto Benigni returns to television with an extraordinary new monologue dedicated to Saint Peter. “Peter. A man in the wind” is broadcast on Wednesday 10 December in prime time on Rai 1, in a Stand by me and Vatican Media production distributed by Fremantle.
He was entrusted with the greatest task ever given to a human being: to open or close the doors of Paradise,
declares the Tuscan actor and director, describing the figure of the first Pope with his characteristic ability to combine spiritual depth and accessible communication.
From the Vatican, place of martyrdom
The television event stands out for its exceptional location: the Oscar winner for “Life is Beautiful” speaks from the Vatican, right from the place where Peter found his martyrdom. The stage was set up in the Vatican Gardens, behind St. Peter’s Basilica, while the video narration begins from inside the Basilica itself, following Benigni’s steps along the central nave, near the apostle’s tomb, up to the suggestive Vatican Necropolis.
The preview with Pope Leo XIV
On Thursday 4 December, Pope Leo XIV previewed some extracts of the monologue. The meeting between the Pontiff and Benigni was full of conversations that ranged from the life of Saint Peter to cinema – in particular “Life is Beautiful”, which the Pope recently included among his four favorite films – up to “It’s a Wonderful Life” by Frank Capra. There was no shortage of references to Dante and Saint Augustine, to the Divine Comedy and to the Confessions.
“I fell in love with Pietro”
«I fell in love with Pietro», confides Benigni, confirming his evolution from irreverent comedian to communicator capable of dealing with spiritual themes with lightness and depth. For two hours, alone on stage, the artist builds a living and contemporary portrait of the Galilean fisherman to whom Christ entrusted the Church.
One of the most surprising revelations of the monologue concerns the age of the apostle:
But did you know that when Peter meets Jesus he is more or less his age? Not even thirty years old. Yet he is always represented as a very old man, with wrinkles and a white beard. It seems that Pietro was born already old. Instead, when he knows Jesus he is a young man, like him: they are boys. This is a story about kids!
The meeting that changes everything
The most important things in life are not learned or taught: they are encountered,
explains Benigni, describing that decisive moment in Galilee when the gaze of Simon, son of John, met that of Jesus. An encounter that would change history.
After reading the Gospel you look at people differently, the actor reflects in the monologue: it turns out that people are treasure chests, custodians of immense value. Peter thus becomes the perfect example of fragile but redeemed humanity, the “best friend of Jesus” in his continuous falling and getting up again.
A universal tale
The story of the apostle, from Capernaum to Rome, is crossed by what Benigni defines as “an irresistible wind”: the wind of human transformation. The monologue explores the theme of friendship, loyalty and personal growth through the figure of an ordinary man who finds himself facing extraordinary challenges.
«It is a story of real people, of doubts and choices», concludes the Tuscan actor, who with this new work confirms his ability to make stories of the past accessible and current, transforming them into narratives that speak to contemporary man.
