Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe
Season 1
Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe was a four-part BBC television series hosted by Francesco da Mosto and originally shown on BBC2 from 18 June to 2 July 2006. In the series, da Mosto drives his Alfa Romeo Spider the length of Italy, from North to South, exploring the architecture and traditions in different regions.
This series was rebroadcast by The Travel Channel in January 2007 and repeated on BBC2 in May 2007 and BBC Four in October-November 2007. The series was rebroadcast in Canada on the Knowledge channel during July and August 2011.
During Episode 1, "The Romantic North", da Mosto left his native Venice and his family, and visited the Fiat Factory in Turin, Romeo and Juliet's balcony in Verona and the city of Milan.
During Episode 2, "The Garden of Italy", da Mosto visited a 19th century reproduction of Michaelangelo's David in Florence, the city of Siena and the town of Assisi.
In Episode 3, entitled "The Heart of Italy" da Mosto visited the Trevi Fountain, explores Italians love/hate relationship with Mussolini, visiting the city of Sabaudia, Rome and Naples, its underground secrets and the beautiful Chapel of St. Severo.
In the fourth episode, "The Land of My Mother", da Mosto travelled to Sicily where he climbed to the summit of Mount Etna, visited the Trulli buildings and explored the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo with its array of mummified bodies – before being reunited with his family at last.
This series was rebroadcast by The Travel Channel in January 2007 and repeated on BBC2 in May 2007 and BBC Four in October-November 2007. The series was rebroadcast in Canada on the Knowledge channel during July and August 2011.
During Episode 1, "The Romantic North", da Mosto left his native Venice and his family, and visited the Fiat Factory in Turin, Romeo and Juliet's balcony in Verona and the city of Milan.
During Episode 2, "The Garden of Italy", da Mosto visited a 19th century reproduction of Michaelangelo's David in Florence, the city of Siena and the town of Assisi.
In Episode 3, entitled "The Heart of Italy" da Mosto visited the Trevi Fountain, explores Italians love/hate relationship with Mussolini, visiting the city of Sabaudia, Rome and Naples, its underground secrets and the beautiful Chapel of St. Severo.
In the fourth episode, "The Land of My Mother", da Mosto travelled to Sicily where he climbed to the summit of Mount Etna, visited the Trulli buildings and explored the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo with its array of mummified bodies – before being reunited with his family at last.
Where to Watch Season 1
4 Episodes
- The Romantic North
E1The Romantic NorthIn the opening episode, he gets romantic in Juliet's home town of Verona; witnesses the birth of Western art; has a fashion makeover from Giorgio Armani; is invited into a closed convent to see the tomb of the most notorious woman in European history and goes deep-sea diving in pursuit of a childhood dream. - A British Love Affair
E2A British Love AffairDa Mosto enters Tuscany and Umbria to look at the long love affair that Britain has had with the area. He learns how to be the perfect courtier in Urbino; goes grape harvesting in Chianti; discovers the romantic inspiration at the heart of Puccini's operas; travels to Assisi to find out why he was named after St Francis; and takes Dame Maggie Smith on a sightseeing tour of Florence. - The Heart of Italy
E3The Heart of ItalyTravelling via the fantastic water gardens of Villa d'Este and the royal seat of the Bourbon dynasty, he arrives in Naples. After an encounter with Italy's most astonishing sculpture and a lesson in Neapolitan pizza making, Francesco descends deep into the caverns of underground Naples and discovers an eerie cult of the dead. - The Land of My Mother
E4The Land of My MotherHe visits the south and Sicily, home of his mother's family for more than 500 years. Easter celebrations in the south involve the streets running red with celebrants' blood and the locals indulge in frantic dances to ward off the threat of the tarantula. On Sicily, the brooding majesty of Etna terrifies Francesco as he stares into the volcano, but there's beauty and art at the Villa Bagheria and at Noto an explosion of baroque decadence.
