Don Matteo

Don Matteo
Don Matteo
	From left, Don Matteo (Terence Hill) and Antonio Cecchini (Nino Frassica)
Genre	Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Created by	Enrico Oldoini
Starring	Terence Hill; Nino Frassica; Flavio Insinna; ; Maria Chiara Giannetta; ; ;
Country of origin	Italy
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	255 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Gubbio (1−8); Spoleto (9−12)
Running time	60−120 minutes (per episode)
Production company	Lux Vide for Rai Fiction
Release
Original network	Rai 1
Original release	7 January 2000 –; 19 March 2020

Don Matteo (English: Father Matthew) is an Italian television series that has been airing on Rai 1, Italian national television's first channel, since 2000.

History[]

The protagonist of the series is Father Matteo (portrayed by Terence Hill), a Catholic priest in a parish of the town of Gubbio, Perugia, who is also known for his unrivalled talent in investigating local crime stories. Father Matteo is a wise and respected person who really manages to understand people's problems, and always appears to be willing to help. Thanks to his charm and positivity, he often helps criminals on their way to redeeming and he always convinces them to confess their crimes and to accept their responsibilities.

Comedian Nino Frassica portrays Marshal Antonio Cecchini, a middle-aged Carabiniere who also happens to be Matteo's best friend. Cecchini is one of the main co-protagonists and often provides the humour and comic relief in the series. Other notable cast members include Flavio Insinna, who portrayed Captain Flavio Anceschi from 2000 to 2006, Milena Miconi, who played Laura, the mayor of Gubbio as well as Anceschi's love interest and who has been playing the role of Captain Giulio Tommasi, successor to Anceschi, since the sixth season.

From season 8, Don Matteo is filmed in HDTV 1080i.

The series has a Polish version Ojciec Mateusz produced by TVP.

Syndication[]

The series is syndicated in the United States by MHz Networks.^[1]

Synopsis[]

The plot primarily revolves around the titular Matteo, a Catholic priest with an impressive insight in human nature, aiding the Carabinieri, the national as opposed to local police force personnel in solving crimes (usually murder cases). In this he usually finds support in marshal Antonio Cecchini, a warrant officer who often shares with him important details and clues, but also hostility, in the figure of Cecchini's direct superior, captain Flavio Anceschi (and later Giulio Tommasi and Anna Olivieri), who has little tolerance for the priest's continuous interference with the investigation.

Cast and characters[]

Terence Hill as Father Matteo Minelli-Bondini: The series' protagonist and a Catholic priest with an impressive insight into human nature, aiding the carabinieri (police) station in solving crimes (usually murder cases). (seasons 1-present)
Nino Frassica as Marshal Antonino "Nino" Cecchini: Marshal of Gubbio and Spoleto Carabinieri military police stations and best friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 1-present)
Flavio Insinna as Captain Flavio Anceschi: Captain of Gubbio Carabinieri military police station. (seasons 1–5)
as Captain Giulio Tommasi: Captain of Gubbio and Spoleto Carabinieri military police station, successor of Anceschi. (seasons 6-10)
Maria Chiara Giannetta as Captain Anna Olivieri: Captain of Spoleto Carabinieri military police station, successor of Tommasi. (seasons 11-present)
as Natalina Diotallevi: Father Matteo's housekeeper. (seasons 1-present)
as Pippo Gimignani-Zerfati: Father Matteo's sacristan. (seasons 1-present)
as Caterina Cecchini: Wife of Marshal Cecchini. She died of a hitherto unknown illness. (seasons 1-11)
as Patrizia Cecchini: First daughter of Marshall Cecchini and wife of Captain Giulio Tommasi, she was killed in a car accident. (seasons 2–8)
, and as Assuntina Cecchini: Second daughter of Marshall Cecchini. (seasons 2-present)
as Brigadier Piero Ghisoni: Carabiniere in Gubbio and Spoleto Carabinieri military police stations. (seasons 1–3; seasons 5-present)
as Appuntato Severino Cecchini: Nephew of Marshal Cecchini and carabineer in Gubbio and Spoleto police station. (seasons 6-10)
as Andrea Conti: Public minister (prosecutor) of Gubbio. (seasons 8)
Giorgia Surina as Bianca "Bibba" Venezia: Public minister of Spoleto and friend of Tommasi that becomes a rival in Lia's love. (season 9)
as Gualtiero Ferri: New public minister of Spoleto which replaces Bianca Venezia. He leaves Spoleto when he discovers that Captain Tommasi get engaged to Margherita, and then return when the captain refused to marry her after falling in love with Lia. (seasons 10)
as Lucrezia Volpi: New public minister of Spoleto which replaces Gualtiero Ferri (seasons 10)
as Marco Nardi: New public minister of Spoleto which replaces Lucrezia Volpi. (seasons 11-present)
Simona Marchini as Clara Tommasi: Mother of Captain Giulio Tommasi (seasons 6-10)
as Lia Cecchini: Niece of Marshall Cecchini who falls in love with Captain Tommasi. (seasons 9-10)
as Martina Tommasi: Daughter of Captain Giulio Tommasi and the late Patrizia Cecchini. (seasons 9-10)
as Sister Maria: Friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 6-present)
as Laura Belvedere: 16 years old pregnant girl hosted in Father Matteo's rectory, daughter of Antonio Belvedere, old friend of Matteo. She falls in love with Tomàs Martinez. (seasons 8-10)
Andrés Gil as Tomàs Martinez: Young boy who is serving a year in prison in Father Matteo's rectory; he is looking for his sister Alma. He falls in love with Laura. (seasons 9-10)
as Ester Natalina Belvedere: Little daughter of Laura Belvedere and Giuliano Rovati. (seasons 9-10)
as Nerino Bertolacci: Children who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (seasons 1–4)
as Grandma Elide: Sprightly grandmother of Nerino (seasons 1–3)
Sara Santostasi as Camilla: Bolivian little-girl who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (season 4)
as Tommaso: Another child who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (season 5)
as Agostino: Another child who lived in Father Matteo's rectory (seasons 7–8)
as Sabrina Esposito: Former convict who thanks to Father Matteo goes to work alongside Tomas. (season 10)
as Alberto Torre: Boyfriend of Laura for a short period. (season 10)
as Appuntato Linetti: Carabiniere in Gubbio police station. (season 4)
as Andrea Conti: District attorney of Gubbio police station. (season 8)
as Gualtiero Ferri: District attorney of Spoleto police station. (season 10)
Milena Miconi as Laura Respighi: Mayor of Gubbio and wife of Captain Anceschi. (seasons 4–5)
Ilaria Spada as Amanda Patriarchi: Former girlfriend of Captain Tommasi. (seasons 6–7)
as Lorenzo Tarquini: young sinful boyfriend of Father Matteo. (season 8)
as Daniele Orsini: Former boyfriend of Lia Cecchini. (season 10)
as Margherita Colognese: Girlfriend of Gualtiero Ferri who shortly falls in love with Captain Tommasi. (season 10)
Gastone Moschin as Guido: Bishop of Gubbio and friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 1–2)
Renato Carpentieri as Bishop of Gubbio: Successor of Guido. (season 3)
Philippe Leroy as Mons. Benelli: Bishop of Gubbio and friend of Father Matteo. (seasons 6–7)
Sydne Rome as Susi Dallara: Principal of Gubbio and Spoleto high school. (season 7-present)
Bruno Cabrerizo as Fernando: Spanish friend of Patrizia Cecchini. (season 8)

Episodes[]

	Episodes	Premiere	Finale
1	16	January 7, 2000	February 20, 2000
2	16	October 21, 2001	December 9, 2001
3	16	September 27, 2002	November 15, 2002
4	24	February 19, 2004	May 6, 2004
5	24	February 1, 2006	April 27, 2006
6	24	January 17, 2008	April 10, 2008
7	24	September 10, 2009	November 26, 2009
8	24	September 15, 2011	December 8, 2011
9	26	January 9, 2014	April 10, 2014
10	26	January 7, 2016	April 14, 2016
11	25	January 11, 2018	April 19, 2018
12	10	January 9, 2020	March 19, 2020

Reception[]

The series received two awards at the 42nd Monte-Carlo Television Festival in 2002: Terence Hill won the award for Best Actor and Alessandro Jacchia won the award for Best Producer.^[2]

References[]

^ MHz Networks. "The Young Montalbano Premieres Exclusively on MHz Next Week". Retrieved Jan 31, 2013.
^ "Terence Hill named best actor of the year". it.terencehill.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved Feb 2, 2013.

External links[]

Don Matteo at IMDb

[1] MHz Networks. "The Young Montalbano Premieres Exclusively on MHz Next Week". Retrieved Jan 31, 2013.

[2] "Terence Hill named best actor of the year". it.terencehill.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved Feb 2, 2013.

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