Leonardo (Aidan Turner) in front of 'The Last Supper'.
In much of the world, simply seeing the name of AidanTurner, It will be reason enough to get hooked on Leonardo (premiere in La 1 this spring). who was the protagonist of Poldark, the English period series that became a phenomenon by Turner (and the scenes of him without his shirt), returns to the screen transformed into the great artist of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci.
The series, divided into eight episodes and written by Frank Spotnitz, showrunner for The Man in the Castle; Y Steve Thompson, Sherlock's screenwriter, will not only cover the creation of some of the artist's masterpieces, such as the Mona Lisa, but also many other adventures.
Freddie Highmore, Aidan Turner and Carlos Cuevas.
"Is a International production, shot in English. It is a series historical, but there is a lot of action”, Explain Carlos Cuevas (Tell me, Merlí), one of the Spanish actors that make up the European cast. “I had never considered working in another language and this was a brutal cannon that they proposed to me. They asked me to do a casting at home, which I had never done before, and I jumped in and came out. And to Rome to shoot for six months in English”.
Carlos Cuevas plays Salaì. "A street rat, a kid who lives on the street and meets Leonardo Da Vinci in a market," explains the actor who has just premiered the second and final season of Merlí. Sapere Aude. “He asks him for a job, he starts working in his studio and Leonardo falls platonically in love with him and makes him his muse, his assistant and right hand man. My character It would be a bit like Da Vinci's Sancho Panza." But not only.
Before its premiere, controversies have already arisen around the series. One of them is about the plot of Leonardo's muse Caterina da Cremona (played by Matilda De Angelis), that art historians have been quick to point out as false because the artist preferred male company, a topic that, through the character of Carlos Cuevas, will also be discussed.
Carlos Cuevas is Leonardo's muse and assistant.
Aidan Turner plays Leonardo and the story will unfold from eight of his most famous works, painted at key moments in his life. From the Mona Lisa to The Last Supper that he commissioned Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan (played by James D'Arcy). In addition to his artistic life and his inventive genius, the plot will include mystery And Murder, with a fictional detective, Stefano Giraldi, to the one who gives life Freddy Highmore, that he suspects Leonardo's activities beyond the brushes.
RENAISSANCE ROME
The production, like so many other shoots, was one of those that was interrupted by the pandemic. Originally, the intention was shoot it between locations in Florence and Milan, but with the new circumstances, decided to place it in Rome, using as a base what ended up being one of the largest studios in the world: an area of almost 20,000 m2. Also, being in Rome they had no problem finding Renaissance buildings, and to that set they added a total of 50 natural locations.
Shot in Rome with an international cast.
Among some of those locations is Villa d'Este in Tivoli, near Rome . A 16th century palace UNESCO world heritage, they pose as the court of the Duke of Milan. In the series you will see the main floor and also its garden of fountains and the cloisters.
Other buildings of the time that will appear in the series is the Palazzo Farnese, It was owned by the family of Pope Paul III. Close to the city of Viterbo, north of Rome , is famous for its late Renaissance mannerist style.
The city of Viterbo itself served as a set for the show. In its Piazza del Commune, the Basilica of Santa Maria della Quercia and in the cloister of the old Church of Santa Maria Nuova Aidan Turner and some of the cast were seen during filming.
Leonardo, muse and detective.
Locations contributed by Rick Jordan for Condé Nast Traveler UK