Maria Cumani Quasimodo
| Maria Cumani Quasimodo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
7 January 1908 Milan, Italy |
| Died |
22 November 1955 (aged 47) Milan, Italy |
| Occupation | Actress |
Maria Cumani Quasimodo (7 January 1908 - 22 November 1995) was an Italian actress and dancer.
Born Maria Cumani in Milan, she studied classical dance under Jia Ruskaja.[1] In 1936 she became the companion of the poet Salvatore Quasimodo, with whom she had a son, Alessandro.[1] In 1937 she made her professional debut as a ballerina, and shortly later she specialized in "poetic dance", a personal style in which dance was combined with poetic verses.[1] She was married to Quasimodo from 1948 to 1960.[2] In the meanwhile Cumani Quasimodo abandoned dance, and started a double career as a choreographer and a stage and film character actress.[1] Shortly before her death, she released an autobiography, L'arte del silenzio, which particularly focuses on her years alongside Salvatore Quasimodo.[1]
Selected filmography
- Pardon, Are You For or Against? (1966)
- The Subversives (1967)
- The Laughing Woman (1969)
- Ballad of a Bounty Hunter (1968)
- All the Colors of the Dark (1972)
- The Nun and the Devil (1973)
- Two Missionaries (1974)
- Nostalghia (1983)
- Vampire in Venice (1988)