Discovering the Light and Shadows of Naples: Trudie Styler Discusses ‘Posso?entrare? An Ode to Naples’

Multi-hyphenate and Worcester, England native Trudie Styler and her legendary rock star husband Sting have lived between New York and Tuscany, Italy for many years. Recently, Trudie got a chance to connect with the southern region of Italy when she did the documentary Posso entrare? An Ode to Naples (2023).

Initially inhabited by the Greeks, Naples means “new city.” It’s the capital of the Campania region and is a city of contrasts. After immersing herself in Naples, Trudie could intrinsically assess the differences between Naples and Tuscany. “I think that the joyfulness of the South is very particular. Tuscans tend to be quite reserved, conservative people. Tuscany is an exquisite, bucolic region. Naples is not bucolic. There aren't loads of trees and hills. It's a city in the most spectacular setting. The minute that you leave the port, you're surrounded by absolute beauty. But the city itself is a thriving hive of activities with so many different areas. The DNA of the people is remarkably different from the north of Italy and the Tuscans.”

“Posso entrare” means “Can I come in?” Trudie meets a variety of inhabitants who welcome her into the fold. The documentary highlights the innate distinctions of the city by showcasing locals who are young and old and in-between. The film opens with Italian rapper Clementino giving us a rundown of the history of the region through his rap. The film unfolds like a billowing curtain – delicately providing us glimpses of Naples’ texture and makeup.

During a cultural movement called the Grand Tour, numerous poets were introduced to Naples, including Byron, Keats, and Shelley. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote “Ode to Naples” because he was so enamored of the sublime cosmopolis. Trudie discovered her own poetry in the region by uncovering it in a people whose DNA has been formed by many factors and a countryside that is magnificent but also formidable.

In Posso entrare? An Ode to Naples Trudie explores the historical and socio-economic wounds of this ancient metropolis and how it heals itself and survives through its people’s resilience, ideals, and creativity. The documentary has won numerous awards, including Best Documentary (Migliore Documentario) at the Italian Golden Globes and is the first feature documentary that Trudie has written and directed. Trudie recently spoke with Script Magazine about finding the soul of Naples while filming.

On the DNA of Neapolitans

Sonya Alexander: I noticed there are various generations of Neapolitans represented in the film. How did you choose who you were going to interview?

Trudie Styler: That's a good question. As the movie was starting to make sense to me because of the questions I was asking of some random people and one particular priest who I was directed to give me all the local politics of his region where he has five parishes, it just became really clear to me that I needed to do a deep dive into 'Who do I want to interview? What do I want to know?' 

Don Antonio Loffredo’s advice was, "Speak to the women. The women of this area are most important to me because our endeavor is to protect the young people of this area where there is a great presence of organized crime.” His goal is to keep people off the street by opening his parish doors to encourage them to do theater and orchestra and to learn instruments. He even has a boxing ring in his sacristy because some kids aren’t interested in music and drama, but they want to participate in some activities that Don Antonio considers safer than being tempted by the organized crime gangs. They have the kids go running to universities with drugs. That's the beginning of their life in crime.

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Don Antonio pointed me to some of the characters that you meet in the film. Vincenzo Pirozzi, whose father was involved in a massacre and is in jail for the rest of his life. Alessandra Clemente, whose mother was murdered in front of her. She did a mayoral campaign and is now a counselor. There's a great endeavor to champion all areas of Naples. Francesco Di Leva put his back into making an abandoned gym into a theater space as an alternative for kids who might be tempted to get into organized crime. He's such a famous actor now that he can get any director to come and do workshops. I see on his website that every evening of the week there's a workshop or a performance at his theater that's called Nest.

Sonya: What is something you learned from each person you interviewed, whether it was something personal or something you can use towards your next documentary?

Trudie: As you mentioned, it was important that I covered the multi-generations and covered something more recent than the Greek invasion. And WW II with Nora Liello, the swimmer speaking about her life during the occupation of the Nazis who were their allies at the beginning of the war but left them starving. She also witnessed the last time Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1944. All these different demographics shed light onto various eras and that impacted me profoundly. What all these people have in common. Their tenacity. Their ability for resistance. It's palpably there.

Sonya: Music plays an important role in the documentary. How big of a role does music play in the resilience of Neapolitans?

Trudie: Music is fantastically important in the South. They're singing and listening to music all day long. There's a script that's out about the most famous opera house in Europe, San Carlo, which was bombed by the Brits. There was one British soldier who felt so badly that this ancient, spectacular theater had been damaged by friendly fire that he set about restoring it with the locals, with the Americans and Brits. There were many opera singers in the 40s, during the occupation period, in the opera world who hadn't been able to perform because of the war. They got together in 1943 on Christmas Eve and mounted La Boehme. That was followed by a hundred operas held during a short span of time. The Neapolitans were getting their musical fix that they'd been deprived of during the war years.

On Capturing the Inherent Beauty of Naples

Sonya: Had you worked with cinematographer Dante Spinotti before?

Trudie: Yes, I had. I worked with him in 2017 on Freak Show, a film I directed that starred Alex Lawther and Bette Midler. But Dante and I go back to 1987 when I was an actress working in Cinecittà. We worked on Fair Game. It was about a young woman who was locked in an apartment with a very dangerous snake. It was a twelve-week shoot. That's where I got to know Dante and formed a great friendship that I'm happy to say extends to today.

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Sonya: How do you feel he enhanced the vision of this documentary?

Trudie: He's a total artist. He didn't know Naples, so it was a voyage of discovery of what that city was. Dante is a cold man of the North, mountain country. So, to discover the light of Naples...we climbed Vesuvius together. I don't know if you remember that shot where we go out to the Castel dell’Ovo that’s on the Lungomare, and this skyscape opens up. It's the beginning of a thunderstorm. We didn't enhance that at all. We didn't need to. You saw people stopping their cars and getting out with their cameras to capture this pre-storm skyscape. We were given a gift that day. I've never seen a skyscape like that before or since. And neither had he. Even for the man of light, this was something. It's a very telegenic city. The light of the South is something of dreams really.

Posso entrare? An Ode to Naples will start streaming on Hulu on February 24, 2025.