Lino Capolicchio was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter, born in Merano in 1943 and who died in Rome in May 2022. He was one of the most important faces of Italian cinema in the 1970s, especially known for intense and melancholic roles.
The film that made him famous was The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, directed by Vittorio De Sica and based on the novel by Giorgio Bassani. For that performance he won the David di Donatello award.
Another of his best-known films is The House with Laughing Windows by Pupi Avati, which became a classic of Italian thriller and horror cinema.
Capolicchio also worked extensively in theatre and television. He studied at the Silvio D’Amico Academy in Rome and began his career with Giorgio Strehler at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano.
In later years he taught acting and also devoted himself to film and theatre directing. In Lucca, for example, he staged works by Giacomo Puccini at the Teatro del Giglio.
After a difficult and unhappy love affair, Capolicchio became a close friend of my future wife, Alexandra, before we were married. Their friendship grew during an emotionally difficult period in his life and remained warm and affectionate. Sandra introduced him to new artistic and musical circles and once took him to a concert where he met Donovan. Those friendships and encounters formed part of the rich cultural world that surrounded Capolicchio beyond cinema and theatre.
Years later, I was able to rediscover a number of snapshots of Lino, many of them taken around Belgrave Square in London, where Sandra spent the first part of her life while her father served as Secretary General of the Italian Cultural Institute London. With a little help and careful restoration work, I managed to recover something of their original beauty and atmosphere. The photographs now preserve fleeting moments from that time: Lino in conversation, at ease among friends, and moving through the artistic and cultural world that linked London and Italy during those years.
It is moving to remember that it was in this same month of May that Lino left us in 2022 — already four years ago now — yet these photographs and memories still retain something vivid of his presence, sensitivity, and quiet charm.

The following news item reports on Lino Capolicchio, who was photographed in London with my future wife. The article highlights several details about the 25-year-old actor: It says that despite having planned a trip to Russia to recover from a failed romance, it seems that Lino quickly moved on, suggesting his sentimental disappointments are short-live Lino had recently achieved notoriety through his roles in the films Escalation and Metti, una sera a cena….Before his success, Lino spent many years trying to establish himself in the industry. His training included studies at the Piccolo Teatro academy, and he previously appeared in television dramas such as Davide Copperfield and Il conte di Montecristo, as well as performing in theatre with the Brignone company.