Pampanini, Silvana

(1925-)

   Actress. One of the first of the large-bosomed starlets who came to dominate the Italian screen in the immediate postwar period, Pampanini briefly studied singing at the Conservatorium of Santa Cecilia in Rome but was drawn to acting in films following her win in the 1946 Miss Italia contest. After a small part in Giuseppe Maria Scotese's L'Apocalisse (Apocalypse, 1946), her first significant role was in Camillo Mastrocinque's Il segreto di Don Giovanni (When Love Calls, 1947), which was followed by a host of popular films that attempted to exploit her pinup qualities. In the early 1950s she extended herself in a number of more dramatic roles, as in Luigi Zampa's Processo alla citta (The City Stands Trial, 1952), Giuseppe De Santis's Un marito per Anna Zaccheo (A Husband for Anna, 1953), and Luigi Comencini's La tratta delle bianche (The White Slave Trade, 1955) and also appeared in French films such as Abel Gance's La Tour de Nesle (Tower of Nesle, 1954) and in the Mexican melodrama Sed de amor (Thirst for Love, 1958), directed by Alfonso Corona Blake. However, unlike other maggiorate such as Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, Pampanini's career declined sharply in the early 1960s, and one of her last substantial roles was, ironically, that of a fading Italian fim starlet in Dino Risi's Il gaucho (The Gaucho, 1964). After appearing sporadically in the odd lightweight comedy during the 1970s, she has reappeared more recently on the small screen, playing the role of a mother in the television miniseries Tre stelle (Three Stars, 1999) and hosting the variety program Domenica In in 2002.

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira