In the early 1950s, Grandmother Luisa, now back to using the surname Quintavalle, married Niccolò dei Marchesi Theodoli, a Roman nobleman of ancient lineage, in her second marriage; with him she had a daughter, Diana. One of Theodoli’s main occupations was that of film producer.
“The fortunes of (…) Luisa Quintavalle were squandered during her second marriage. Luisa and Niccolò Theodoli maintained an extremely lavish lifestyle, and their investments proved disastrous in both property and cinema, despite producing films by famous directors such as Mario Soldati and Gianni Franciolini, with whom Niccolò won the David di Donatello for *Racconti romani*.” (…).
Certainly, thanks to her husband, my grandmother came to know the great names of post-war Italian cinema. The image is a still from the film O.K. Nerone, produced by Niccolò Theodoli and released in 1951, in which my grandmother, on the left, is pictured with the leading lady, Silvana Pampanini, one of the most famous actresses of the time.
