Fellini's eternal Rome: Paganism and Christianity in the films of Federico Fellini

In 'Fellini's Eternal Rome,' Alessandro Carrera explores the co-existence and conflict of paganism and Christianity in the works of Federico Fellini.

By combining source analysis, cultural history and jargon-free psychoanalytic film theory, Carrera introduces the reader to a new appreciation of Fellini's work.

Life-affirming Franciscanism and repressive Counter-Reformation dogmatism live side by side in Fellini's films, although he clearly tends toward the former and resents the latter.

The fascination with pre-Christian Rome shines through La Dolce Vita and finds its culmination in Fellini-Satyricon, the most audacious attempt to imagine what the West would be if Christianity had never replaced classical Rome.

Minimal clues point toward a careful, extremely subtle use of classical texts and motifs.