Inspector Montalbano (TV series)


Inspector Montalbano is an Italian police procedural television series based on the detective novels of Andrea Camilleri. The protagonist is commissario Salvo Montalbano, and the stories are set in the imaginary town of Vigàta, Sicily. The music for the soundtrack was composed by Franco Piersanti.
Inspector Montalbano has been produced and broadcast by RAI since 1999 to critical acclaim. It originally premiered on Rai 2, and later on Rai 1 since the fourth season. Over 65 countries have broadcast the series, including on BBC Four in the United Kingdom, MHz WorldView in the United States and SBS in Australia. In 2012, the series generated a spin-off, The Young Montalbano.

Synopsis

Inspector Salvo Montalbano is in charge of the state police station in Vigàta, a fictional town in the fictional province of Montelusa based on the Province of Ragusa in Sicily, Southern Italy. Montalbano investigates criminal acts which he always manages to solve by reconstruction thanks to his intelligence and the help of his team which includes his deputy, Domenico 'Mimì' Augello, Giuseppe Fazio, Galluzzo, and Agatino Catarella. Salvo has a long-distance, tempestuous relationship with Livia Burlando who lives in Genoa.
Among his external collaborators are:

Main characters

SeriesEpisode #Original Italian broadcastOriginal Italian titleEnglish novel translationEnglish TV title translationOriginal BBC Four broadcastUK ratings
Series 1016 May 1999"Il ladro di merendine"The Snack Thief"The Snack Thief"11 February 2012640,000
Series 10213 May 1999"La voce del violino"The Voice of the Violin"The Voice of the Violin"18 February 2012721,000
Series 2032 May 2000"La forma dell'acqua"The Shape of Water"The Shape of Water"25 February 2012744,000
Series 2049 May 2000"Il cane di terracotta"The Terracotta Dog"The Mystery of the Terracotta Dog"3 March 2012664,000
Series 3059 May 2001"La gita a Tindari"Excursion to Tindari"Excursion to Tindari"10 March 2012680,000
Series 30616 May 2001"Tocco d'artista""The Artist's Touch"17 March 2012628,000
Series 40728 October 2002"Il senso del tatto""The Sense of Touch"24 March 2012719,000
Series 4084 November 2002"Gli arancini di Montalbano""Montalbano's Croquettes"31 March 2012629,000
Series 40911 November 2002"L'odore della notte"The Scent of the Night"The Scent of the Night"7 April 2012773,000
Series 41018 November 2002"Gatto e cardellino""The Goldfinch and the Cat"14 April 2012677,000
Series 51122 September 2005"Il giro di boa"Rounding the Mark"Turning Point"25 August 2012937,000
Series 51229 September 2005"Par condicio""Equal Time"1 September 2012926,000
Series 6137 March 2006"La pazienza del ragno"The Patience of the Spider"The Patience of the Spider"8 September 2012681,000
Series 61413 March 2006"Il gioco delle tre carte""The Game of Three Cards"15 September 2012713,000
Series 7152 November 2008"La vampa d'agosto"August Heat"August Flame"22 September 2012790,000
Series 7163 November 2008"Le ali della sfinge"The Wings of the Sphinx"The Wings of the Sphinx"29 September 2012821,000
Series 71710 November 2008"La pista di sabbia"The Track of Sand"The Track of Sand"6 October 2012701,000
Series 71817 November 2008"La luna di carta"The Paper Moon"Paper Moon"13 October 2012810,000
Series 81914 March 2011"Il campo del vasaio"The Potter's Field"The Potter's Field"3 November 2012898,000
Series 82021 March 2011"La danza del gabbiano"The Dance of the Seagull"The Gull's Dance"27 October 2012838,000
Series 82128 March 2011"La caccia al tesoro"The Treasure Hunt"Treasure Hunt"10 November 2012874,000
Series 8224 April 2011"L'età del dubbio"The Age of Doubt"The Age of Doubt"20 October 2012867,000
Series 92315 April 2013"Il sorriso di Angelica"Angelica's Smile"Angelica's Smile"19 October 2013910,000
Series 92422 April 2013"Il gioco degli specchi"Game of Mirrors"Hall of Mirrors"26 October 2013960,000
Series 92529 April 2013"Una voce di notte"A Voice in the Night"A Voice in the Night"2 November 2013980,000
Series 9266 May 2013"Una lama di luce"A Beam of Light"A Ray of Light"9 November 20131,080,000
Series 102729 February 2016"Una faccenda delicata""A Delicate Matter"19 August 20171,161,000
Series 10287 March 2016"La piramide di fango"The Pyramid of Mud"The Mud Pyramid"26 August 2017999,000
Series 112927 February 2017"Un covo di vipere"A Nest of Vipers"A Nest of Vipers"2 September 2017931,000
Series 11306 March 2017"Come voleva la prassi""As Per Procedure"9 September 2017965,000
Series 123112 February 2018"La giostra degli scambi"The Overnight Kidnapper"Carousel"19 May 2018
Series 123219 February 2018"Amore""Love"2 June 2018
Series 133311 February 2019"L'altro capo del filo"The Other End of the Line"The Other End of the Thread"1 June 2019
Series 133418 February 2019"Un diario del '43"Un diario del '43 and Being here feature in Un mese con Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri"A Diary from ‘43"8 June 2019
Series 14359 March 2020"Salvo amato, Livia mia"Salvo amato, Livia mia is in Gli Arancini di Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri"Except my beloved Livia"
Series 143616 March 2020"La rete di protezione"The Safety Net"The Safety Net"

“Il metodo Catalanotti” was filmed in 2019 and will be shown in 2021. “Il metodo Catalanotti” will appear in English as "The Sicilian Method" by Andrea Camilleri,, published 6 October 2020 by Penguin Books: New York.

Production

Given the success of the Andrea Camilleri novels, published by Sellerio, RAI with, commissioned a television series, in co-operation with Sweden's SVT, Sveriges Television, of most of the novels and short stories. Each closely follows the plot of the novels, in some cases joining several short stories. :it:Alberto Sironi|Alberto Sironi, who died suddenly in early August 2019, had directed the entire series up till then. He was taken ill during the filming of three new episodes in 2019 and Luca Zingaretti took over the direction. Camilleri was teaching at the same time as when Zingaretti was studying at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico. Luca Zingaretti had to adjust his accent to Sicilian having been born in Rome. Inspector Montalbano was initially launched on Rai 2. It moved to Rai 1 after the second series.
Austrian actress Katharina Böhm, then :sv:Lina Perned|Lina Perned, both dubbed by Claudia Catani, and now Sonia Bergamasco plays his girlfriend, Livia. Cesare Bocci plays his deputy and Peppino Mazzotta plays his most trusted detective Fazio.

Filming

Although Camilleri set his books in a fictionalised province of Agrigento, much of the series is filmed in the province of Ragusa. The exteriors of de la Mànnara were filmed in Sampieri. Montalbano's offices are in Scicli, as are the offices of Commissioner Bonetti-Alderighi. Filming is in Ragusa Ibla, Modica, Donnafugata Castle and the Donnalucata, Pozzallo and Scoglitti ports, Marina di Ragusa, Comiso, Santa Croce Camerina, and other places in south-eastern Sicily. The opening shots in the series include the Guerrieri Viaduct in Modica. The Coast Guard office in Scoglitti, in reality, is the small lighthouse museum.

List of main locations

The BBC holds the United Kingdom transmission rights. "Excursion to Tindari" and "Montalbano's Croquettes" were shown in the UK on BBC Four in December 2008. On 11 February 2012, "The Snack Thief" was broadcast in its 9 p.m. Saturday evening slot. On 25 August 2012, BBC Four began to broadcast a series of 12 episodes. From 19 October to 9 November 2013, the four series nine episodes were broadcast but referring to them as Series 3. In June 2014, BBC Four began a re-run of all existing episodes and this time in the correct running order.
In the US, the series is retitled Detective Montalbano and broadcast on MHz Networks' WorldView Channel.
In Australia, the series was shown on Special Broadcasting Service in Italian, subtitled in English by SBS staff.
In France, it was shown in winter 2013 on France 3 on Sundays titled, Commissaire Montalbano. In Spain, on La 2 on Saturdays and in Argentina on Europa channel.

DVD release

distributes the Detective Montalbano series on TV, DVD, TVOD and SVOD.
In the UK, the earlier episodes are currently available in both a collection and series format, with the series numbering following BBC Four's. These titles are distributed by Acorn Media UK.
In the Nordic countries the first 18 films are available as Box 1, Box 2 and Box 3. All were released in 2009 with Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles. They were released by AtlanticFilms AB on license from RAI Trade.
In Spain, there is a confusing situation where episodes are dubbed in Spanish, as well as Italian with Spanish subtitles being available in both box sets containing six episodes each and overlapping mini box sets containing two films each. Both are labelled, Colección Montalbano in identical boxes just to add to the confusion. Distribution is by Track Media SL.

Awards