Page 8 - Italian-American Herald - September 2023

8 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | SEPTEMBER2023 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ACHIEVER
Petrillo: Filmmaker documents ancient pilgrimmage in ‘Quo Vadis Templar?’
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do." —Leonardo da Vinci
EXT. POGGIBONSI, SIENA. DAY
A windy and misty day in November 2018 on Via dei Templari. UGO PETRILLO nears the Castello della Magione, an 11th century castle along the Via Francigena. The drawbridge lowers itself, and the dim light of candles arouses his curiosity to enter the castle. Petrillo, converted to un Cavaliere Templare, heads to the medieval archives.
INT. PHILADELPHIA. EVENING
The trailer of “Quo Vadis Templar?” is planned to be presented in October at the Consulate General of Italy
in Center City Philadelphia. Petrillo explains that this important story of pilgrims and their protectors will take 90 minutes to tell in full. He turns on a projector and the scene flickers to life ...
Continued from front page
the trailer.
Petrillo, who turns 68 in October, moved
to Philadelphia when he was 11, when his father was transferred for work. He didn’t know a word of English. Luckily, cousins of the same age and other family members introduced to the language and American culture. His brother, Steve, still lives in Philadelphia.
After graduating from Father Judge High School in Philadelphia, he earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Miami in Florida, which also included studying Spanish, Portuguese
and Arabic.
All those skills led him to a job in counter-intelligence (yes, he was a spy) for the American Defense Intelligence Agency, operating throughout the Mediterranean through its office in Sicily. After the base closed in 1990, he transferred to Aviano, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. To stay near his family, he switched careers to working as a freelance international commercial consultant and then a consultant for Progetto Trinacria, marketing Sicilian products internationally. Since 2016, he has worked for Tuscan Treasures Tours, which provides upscale, small-group tours along the roads less traveled in Tuscany.
One tour it offers is titled “Quo Vadis Templare? Along the Via Francigena in Tuscany,” which his company plans to offer 11 times in 2024. For details, email info@ TuscanTreasuresTours.US.
Starting before 1000, the Via Francigena was a path for pilgrims from Canterbury, England, through France and Italy to Rome. Some pilgrims devoted even more effort journeying to Jerusalem. The Via Francigena covers 212 kilometers in Tuscany, and over the course of a year, Petrillo covered the entire distance.
His work as a spy introduced him
to the Ordu Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani – Priorato d’Italia. The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of
Jerusalem aims “to serve peace, to help the oppressed, to assist our Brothers and Sisters in harm’s way, to promote education, and to promote and propagate those values that represent the best of the Christian, humanistic, and chivalrous traditions.”
“Quo Vadis Templar?” tells of a time when the pious needed help, and the film is both
a literal journey, shot entirely in Tuscany, but also a mental one of searching for self. He gave the English translation as “Where Are You Going, [Knight of] Templar?”
After coming up with the idea, Petrillo was connected by a friend to Alberto Cavallini, who polished the script and directed it. Many performers are historical re-enactors. Petrillo – whose only prior
acting experience was as an extra in 1977’s “Black Sunday” – has two roles. One is un Cavaliere Templare, and the other is as friar St. Thomas, torn between his faith and his growing feelings for a pilgrim named Reny Siddu. In the trailer, filmed at the end of 2022 and edited to run nearly seven minutes, the journey of the pilgrims and the knights is framed by a modern dream.
For the trailer, Petrillo offered special thanks to director Alberto Cavallini and his staff; Accademia Templare Valdarno - Ordu Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymilitani OSMTH – *Grand Prior of Italy; Comenda TENET Valdarno, Ordu Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymilitani OSMTH - Grand Prior of Italy; Compagnia del Lupo Rosso,
Ugo Petrillo plays two roles in “Quo Vadis Templar?” – un Cavaliere Templare and friar St. Thomas. | PHOTO COURTESY OF UGO PETRILLO
“Quo Vadis Templar?” tells of a time when the pious needed help, and the film is both a literal journey, shot entirely in Tuscany, but also a mental one of searching for self.