The Biography

Armenia Balducci (4 July 1937 – 29 July 2022) was an Italian actress, screenwriter and director. She was elected Miss Testaccio and had a short acting career, under the pseudonym Bella Visconti, which spanned six films between 1953 and 1956; it was not until 1971 that she returned to the screen for an appearance in Sacco and Vanzetti. She also acted in the theatre, was active in various left-wing parties (with her long-time partner Gian Maria Volonté) and was twice Elio Petri's script assistant. In 1978 and 1980, she made two films that took a critical or satirical look at the bourgeoisie and its police representatives, but they were financial failures. From 1986 to 1993 and again in 2002, she worked as a scriptwriter on films by Giuseppe Ferrara. In the latter years, her film La rivincita, shot digitally, premiered at the Tierra di Siena festival.