BELLISSIMA: For the Love of “La Lupa”

To understand why the sobriquet “La Lupa” (The She-Wolf) was bestowed upon Anna Magnani in her native Italy, you need look no further than her performance in Luchino Visconti’s 1951 melodrama Bellissima. A lesser-known gem in both its star and its director’s illustrious filmographies, Bellissima stars Magnani as a working-class