In the heart of Naples, among the streets of the illustrious neighborhood of San Ferdinando located in the middle of the downtown, the famous story of the The Bastards of Pizzofalcone. Masterpiece of the Neapolitan writer and playwright Maurizio De Giovanni, the mystery novel is part of a story developed in as many as eleven books published between 2012 and 2020, the first of which is The Crocodile Method. After the huge success that captivated thousands of readers the story was later adapted to become one of the most famous fiction Italian television of our time aired on Rai 1 already for three years, and whose third season has just been released.

The Bastards of Pizzofalcone: an all-Neapolitan detective story.

I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone, tells the story of a group of policemen, precisely identified as "the bastards" of the Pizzofalcone Police Station, who find themselves together facing personal problems and investigations in a gripping and intriguing plot where adventure, murders and action, form the backdrop to a choral narrative, set in the streets of the Neapolitan city. This trend carries within it the characteristics of the Police Procedural (literally translated as Police Procedure), with which a particular type of the detective genre is identified. Although, in fact, the main protagonist is Inspector Giuseppe Lojacono, played by an attractive Alexander Gassman, the other characters appear as co-protagonists, and the narrative is also and above all developed under the human profile of the agents' own stories. Set among the streets and historic buildings that stand on the hill of Pizzofalcone (also known as Monte di Dio), the story fully reflects the beauty and complexity of a contemporary and thoroughly realistic Naples, consisting of lives led in imposing historic buildings and working-class realities where everyone gets by as best they can.

Follow scenes from the drama through the streets of Naples' historic center

The series of "The Bastards of Pizzofalcone" is set in the spectacular city of Naples. Thus, even the filming was shot precisely among the streets of the city. No fictitious or imaginary places: following this popular Italian fiction, also means being catapulted into the streets of beautiful Naples, although the stories naturally remain fictional tales from the pen of Neapolitan writer Maurizio De Giovanni. Walking through the streets of Naples you can relive all the scenes of the famous fiction.

Let's start with the Commissariat. This really stands in the area of Monte Di Dio i.e. Pizzofalcone, a few steps from the royal one and precisely in the headquarters of the State Archives, military section, in Palazzo Carafa di Santa Severina on Via Santa Egiziaca.

The footage was recorded among the streets around the Pizzofalcone area, so walking through the neighborhood of St. Ferdinand, Plebiscite Square and neighbors Spanish Neighborhoods at Lob you can experience the thrill of retracing the actions of the police team. Among the various routes also appears the wonderful San Gregorio Armeno, a tourist destination in the heart of the historic center, which stands in the middle of the network of ancient streets that are part of the majestic older portion of Naples. You will thus be able to get to San Domenico Maggiore Square and San Biagio dei Librai where Inspector Giuseppe Lojacono's apartment is located. The protagonist's house, however, is made to overlook the nearby Piazzetta Grande Archivio where the beautiful Selleria fountain stands.

For a lunch break, why not try the restaurant where the protagonist often goes to eat. This is the Taverna dell'Arte, located on the Ramps of San Giovanni Maggiore, near Mezzocannone.

Several scenes, especially from the fifth episode related to the first season, were then also filmed among the settings of the Church of Sant'Eligio Maggiore in the historic center. Others in the Church of Santa Caterina a Formiello near Porta Capuana.

After strolling far and wide through the streets of downtown, including Piazza Dante and Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, visit the futuristic and incredible subway station framed on the set, where the first shot was filmed. We are talking about the station of Toledo Street, one of the most beautiful in the world. This will lead you to the discovery of other streets of the scenes and you can choose by ranging from the areas of Posillipo (where PM Piras lives in Villa Gallotti), the scenic neighborhood Vomero, the chaotic Via Foria, the Nunziatella Military School, the Directional Center and the Villa Comunale in the Mergellina area.

The literary and television series

From the literary series born from the ingenuity of Maurizio De Giovanni, a TV series was produced, which is among the most beautiful and celebrated Italian dramas of our time.

The TV series consists of three seasons, one more intriguing than the other, all broadcast in prime time on Rai 1. Below are the plots of the First and Second seasons.

In the decadent Pizzofalcone police station, a new police team is formed with the replacement of four officers who were tainted by corruption. Thus alongside the two remaining policemen (Giorgio Pisanelli and Ottavia Calabrese), four new officers are placed, each of whom, has been discarded by his home police station because he was deemed inconvenient for some reason. A team, then, trying to do their best work in order to succeed in earning a second chance. It is in this way that Giuseppe Lojacono, the protagonist and brilliant Sicilian inspector played in the TV series by Alessandro Gassman, finds himself at the head of the team of the divorced and good-natured vice-police commissioner Luigi Palma, flanked by his new colleagues. Having unraveled the complicated case involving the death of Cecilia De Santis, the wife of notary Festa and a member of Neapolitan high society, the team gains points and the Pizzofalcone police station, which was supposed to close by the end of the year, is entrusted with several more complex cases.

Alongside hard work, Inspector Giuseppe Lojacono's life continues enriched by his troubled and special love affair with Laura Piras a young PM from the city played by the charming Carolina Crescentini. Meanwhile, Agent Francesco Romano's life also changes drastically as he unexpectedly becomes a father, adopting a little girl found near a garbage dumpster, and is thus confronted with the complicated case. Upon discovering the dead body of a young woman, one must investigate whether it is cruel abandonment or a shocking case of murder. The whole thing ends in an unsettling "big bang."

Soon to be released season III

Coming in the year 2021 is the highly anticipated third season of The Bastards of Pizzofalcone. For this one, too, there should be six episodes and viewing will take place in prime time on rai 1.

Few anticipations and plot information are available regarding this third season. However, it will pick up where it left off:

On a day of celebration, the team is having lunch at Letizia's, an excellent restaurant. Everything is going well when suddenly a car bomb placed right nearby explodes causing quite a bit of damage. The "big bang" is the beginning of total disarray, and a strong melancholy over the losses of friends and relatives invades the team. This, then, is completely powerless as they find themselves cut off from the investigation given their involvement in the bombing. The mystery and enmity that hovers among the colleagues will also be complicated by the arrival of a new commissioner: Elsa Martini. Lots of obstacles to be solved for our Giuseppe Lojacono, who will surely not fail to surprise us and come to grips with them flanked by his valuable colleagues.

Curiosity about The Bastards of Pizzofalcone

The ratings record-breaking series, which has registered up to 6 million viewers, is a Clemart and Rai Fiction production, directed by Carlo Carlei and Alessandro d'Alatri (for season II). This ratings-championing Italian-style drama is a realistic police procedural, made after consultation with the Ministry of the Interior and the local Neapolitan Maestranzes, in order to reproduce as correctly as possible the course of the investigations and procedures related to the various cases faced by our Pizzofalcone team. It should be noted that a total expenditure of as much as 8 million euros was incurred for the production of the drama.

The creator of the series is Neapolitan writer and theater composer Maurizio De Giovanni. Deeply in love with his hometown, the writer draws from Naples the inspiration for all his incredible stories. His great success began already with the events of Commissario Ricciardi in 1930s Naples. However, it was the series of novels of I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone, with its first book The Crocodile Method of 2012, earning him Scerbanenco and Fedeli awards as well as redoubtable fame on the Rai television network as well. On the channel other primetime television dramas, based on Maurizio De Giovanni's novels, include. Mina September and Commissioner Ricciardi.