The 2008 edition of the National Film, Theatre and Television Festival of the Municipality of Villa Basilica (Lucca), entrusted by the Municipal Administration to the Artistic Direction of Journalist Franco Mariani and to the technical organization of the Association Firenze Promuove, paid homage to the memory of the actress Ave Ninchi. The actress is buried in the cemetery of Pomino, in the municipality of Rufina, province of Florence, and here the Mayor of Villa Basilica, together with the Mayor of Rufina, with the Artistic Director of the Festival, Franco Mariani, during the days of the Festival laid a bouquet of flowers on the tomb of the great actress, in the presence of her daughter Marina and the population of Pomino. Ave Ninchi was born in Ancona to a family of theatre actors on 14 December 1915, but moved to Trieste at just 7 months, a city to which she will always remain attached. Cousin of the great Annibale and Carlo Ninchi, at just five years old, thanks to them, she made her debut in Morselli's 'Glauco'. She attended the German-language elementary school and the classical high school "Dante Alighieri" and after graduating she moved to Pesaro where she was hired as an employee at the Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni (INA). At twenty years old, in 1935, she decided to undertake an artistic career, enrolling in Rome at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica and her characteristics allowed her to immediately carve out a prominent space for herself in the world of entertainment of those years. After the Academy, in fact, she joined the prose company Betrone-Capodaglio-Carini and, subsequently, was part of the best formations. Her versatility allowed her to interpret brilliant parts, roles of the classical theater such as "Medea" in 1949, and of the dramatic theater "Dialoghi delle Carmelitane" in 1952, as well as of the Rivista. Her debut on the big screen took place in 1944 in “Circo equestre Zabum”, by Mario Mattoli, where she acted alongside Aldo Fabrizi. She soon became the most sought-after supporting actress in our cinema. This led her to act alongside the greatest performers of the period: Anna Magnani, in “Un uomo ritorna” and “L'onore Angelina”, with Amedeo Nazzari in “Un giorno nella vita” and with Vittorio De Sica in “Cuore” and “Natale al campo 119”. She also played lively and good-natured roles, which gave her the opportunity to highlight her full-blooded qualities as a character actress and the colorful and exuberant expressiveness of her acting and she also proved her acting skills in dramatic films. With “Vivere in pace” by Luigi Zampa, in 1946 she won the Nastro d'argento. Her popularity also grew thanks to the comedies she performed with Totò and Aldo Fabrizi, such as “Guardie e ladri”, “Totò cerca moglie” and “I pompieri di Viggiù” but also with Paolo Stoppa, Nino Taranto, Peppino De Filippo, Carlo Dapporto and Alberto Sordi, always and only under the direction of authors such as Monicelli, Emmer, Steno and Mastrocinque. At the theatre, Garinei and Giovannini wanted her as a regular presence at the Sistina in “Un mandarino per Teo”. On the stage she also dedicated herself to classic texts such as “I dialogueghi delle carmelitane” and “La Mandragola”. Thanks to her participation in some of the great dramas of the Sixties, including “Il mulino del Po'”, “Le anime morte”, “Le sorelle Materassi” and “L'Acqua cheta”, she also achieved deserved success on TV. In addition to her TV series, she also starred in Antonello Falqui's variety show "Speciale per noi", with Aldo Fabrizi, Bice Valori and Paolo Panelli. In the Saturday night show, she and Valori give life to hilarious sketches, in which they take on the roles of wives of high-profile figures, politicians, singers, billionaires, footballers and clan leaders. Her good-natured smile and wise housewife look make her the ideal protagonist for a famous TV commercial, as well as for a cooking recipe column. In 1981, her husband, with whom she had lived happily for 45 years, passed away, deciding to spend some time in Verona before moving permanently, in 1986, to her hometown of Trieste. Ave Ninchi also spent a lot of her life in the municipality of Rufina, in the Florentine hills of Chianti, where she rests in the Pomino cemetery. She still finds time to work in 1988, hosting a children's program "Il sabato dello Zecchino", while the following year Rai dedicates to her the biographical program in four episodes "Confidenzialmente Ave". A long illness, caused by a serious form of diabetes, forces her to long periods of hospitalization. Ave Ninchi leaves us on November 10, 1997 in her home in Trieste. All rights reserved to Franco Mariani and Firenze Promuove © 2008 - 2016