

01/03/1913
During the latter years of the reign of the tyrannical Roman emperor Nero, Marcus Vinicius, one of Nero's officers, falls in love with a young Christian named Lygia, attempting to enslave her. Lygia's protector, the noble and burly Ursus, works to save her from Vinicius' clutches. Pursuing Lygia, Vinicius finds himself at a catacomb prayer meeting led by the apostle Peter and finds his conscience stirring-- just as Nero orders Rome burned. A landmark in epic film, Enrico Guazzoni’s grand-scale masterpiece laid the foundations for what colossal Italian spectacles would become. The film had tremendous influence on Giovanni Pastrone’s Cabiria (1914) and D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).

Amleto Novelli
as Vinicius

Gustavo Serena
as Petronius

Bruto Castellani
as Ursus

Amelia Cattaneo
as Eunice

Carlo Cattaneo
as Nero

Lea Giunchi
as Lygia

Augusto Mastripietri
as Chino

Cesare Moltini
as Tigellinus

Olga Brandini
as Poppaea

Ignazio Lupi
as Aulus

Giovanni Gizzi
as Saint Peter

Lia Orlandini
as

Ida Carloni Talli
as
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