In the immediate post-war period, while attending the Faculty of Architecture in Florence, Zeffirelli acted in amateur theatre companies and worked as an assistant to the set designer Camillo Parravicini. His encounter with Luchino Visconti led him to make the definitive decision to abandon his studies and dedicate himself entirely to the performing arts.
In his Autobiography, Zeffirelli recounts:
“At the Teatro della Pergola, they were rehearsing a play that was set to debut in Milan: “Tobacco Road” by Erskine Caldwell. The company included great actors, and the director was Luchino Visconti, who was already a legend. For this reason, I took every opportunity to sneak backstage and watch the rehearsals. That’s how I found out that they were struggling to find the right actress for the role of an old grandmother.
I remembered Monte Domini, a hospice I had visited as a child with my aunt to see an elderly maid. Without hesitation, I went there and found a tiny, lively old woman who had worked in a circus in her youth. Virginia Garattoni, my little old lady, was hired, and since I had made the discovery, I earned an audition with Visconti. The next day, I also brought him a folder of my set design sketches.
Visconti looked at the drawings, listened attentively to my audition, said ‘well done’ and ‘thank you,’ and then left.
Almost a year later, I received a letter from Visconti offering me a role in his upcoming production: “Crime and Punishment”. The part was very small, but the company was outstanding, and my adventure began on a grand scale, with an exceptional master.