Carla Cipriani

Carla Cipriani (Tinta Brass) (30th March 1930, Verona - 9th August 2006, Merano; 76 years old) was a script writer and supervisor; she was married to director Tinto Brass for many years.

She worked extensively with her husband on his films and he credited her with the inspiration of many. She had known him since childhood and they married in 1957.

As well as working in film, Cipriani also worked in the family restaurant business and took over the family business on her father's death, the Locanda Cipriani. Her brother was Arrigo Cipriani, the restaurateur.

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Tinto Brass wrote this about her:

Paraphrasing Dante, I would say the following about Carla: Galeotto was lunch - but who cooked it!

On thousands of occasions I have personally been blessed with the chance to indulge in the seductive nature of her culinary talents. And not just me, but anyone lucky enough to have their senses aroused by her delicacies.

From the very first time I saw her handling the shaker behind Harry's Bar in Venice, winding her way around the tables of a snack bar on the beach at the Venice Lido, cleverly managing a hotel in Val Sugana or inventing delicious dishes and recipes at Locanda Cipriani on Torcello.

She oozed sensuality in each and every one of these actions - not just in the kitchen. This was a talent that her father Giuseppe was perfectly aware of and rightly proud of, so much so that he considered her to be his most precious partner and entrusted her with the trickiest tasks. Watching her prepare lunch or dinner instantly reminds me of how much her painstaking hunts through the food at the market stalls are like all the effort that goes into finding the right shots for a film and how the hours she spends over the stoves are like shooting a film in slow motion. She has a relationship with food that sometimes escapes the bounds of reality but this is how her creative flair submits to the tastes and demands of her sensuality.

It is this sensuality that is the very secret behind her dishes, whether it's her famous 'Scampi alla Carlina' or the sumptuous 'Risotto alla Boni', the legendary 'Polpettone per Tinto' or her simple but unique 'Pasta e Fagioli'. They are all an invitation to sensual delights that promise to share her 'joie de vivre'.

I can say with absolute certainty and full knowledge on the subject that Carla's culinary talents can be compared to those of many other chefs in the same way that erotic films can be compared to pornographic movies. What I mean by this is that it is the quality of a film that decides whether it is erotic or pornographic and the same holds true with food because, like sex, food gains flavour, depth and importance depending on the way it is prepared and presented.

In the same way that it is impossible to refuse Dante's irresistible Galeotto, many producers have been unable to refuse financing one of my films when faced with a dish prepared by my wife. In fact, it is thanks to my 'delicious' wife that I found the inspiration to make my film 'Elogio della Carne' which was featured in a retrospective of my work at a cinema in Paris!

I am proud to see my son Bonifacio in the kitchen preparing dishes for Locanda which combine Carla's blissful and fragrant sensuality with the slightly erotic touch of my films.

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