Anna (Italian TV series)

Lore & Background

Guest cast includes Corrado Fortuna as Damiano, a man who takes care of Astor for a time (not his biological father); Chiara Muscato as Anna's teacher; and twin brothers Danilo and Dario Di Vita as Mario and Paolo. Tommaso Ragno plays the twins' father. Additional guest roles include Miriam Dalmazio as Ginevra, Sara Ciocca as 'Snow White', Oro De Commarque as 'Cinderella', Elisa Miccoli as 'Red Riding Hood', and Sergio Albelli as Il Papa (a local figure nicknamed 'The Pope', not the actual Pope). The series is listed among Italian television series and has an IMDb page for external reference.

Reader's Guide

Anna represents a notable entry in Italian television as a direct adaptation of Niccolò Ammaniti's own post-apocalyptic novel, a relatively rare case of an author adapting their own work for the screen. The series contributes to the growing body of Italian genre television, particularly post-apocalyptic drama, and features a young female protagonist in a survival narrative. Its significance lies in its fidelity to the source material and its casting of largely lesser-known actors, which grounds the story in a naturalistic style. The series also showcases a range of Sicilian and Italian talent, from child actors to established performers. As a television adaptation of a 2015 novel, it demonstrates the continued interest in dystopian themes in Italian media. Its legacy is tied to Ammaniti's broader literary and cinematic work, and it serves as a reference point for discussions of Italian post-apocalyptic storytelling.

Did You Know?

• The series is written and directed by Niccolò Ammaniti, who also wrote the original novel.
• The novel was originally published in 2015.
• Giulia Dragotto plays the lead role of Anna Salemi, a 13-year-old Sicilian girl.

Origin & Creative Vision

Anna is an Italian drama television series that brings Niccolò Ammaniti's literary world to the screen. Ammaniti serves as both the writer and director of the adaptation, giving the project a singular authorial voice that spans from page to screen. The series is based on his post-apocalyptic novel of the same name, which was first published in 2015. This means the television adaptation carries the weight of a fully realized literary universe, one that imagines a world reshaped by catastrophe. By handling both the screenplay and the direction himself, Ammaniti ensures that the tone, pacing, and thematic concerns of his original prose are preserved in the visual medium. As an Italian production, it joins the broader landscape of the country's television output, and it has earned a dedicated entry on IMDb, reflecting its recognition within the wider television community. The fact that a novelist took full creative control of the adaptation speaks to a deeply personal investment in how his characters and world are translated for a new audience.

The Family Core

At the heart of the series is a young Sicilian family navigating a post-apocalyptic world. The protagonist, Anna Salemi, is a thirteen-year-old girl played by Giulia Dragotto, whose perspective anchors the narrative. Her little brother Astor, portrayed by Alessandro Pecorella, represents the vulnerability of childhood in a world stripped of normalcy. Their mother, Maria Grazia, is played by Elena Lietti, serving as the emotional center of the family unit. The father figures add further layers: Corrado Fortuna appears as Damiano, identified as Astor's father, while Giovanni Calcagno plays Marco Salemi, Anna's father. The presence of both a maternal and paternal lineage, with two distinct father figures, suggests a complex family dynamic that the series explores. The show also includes Viviana Mocciaro as a younger version of Anna and Nicola Mangano as a baby Astor, indicating that the narrative reaches back into the children's earliest memories. This family structure, set against a backdrop of societal collapse, gives the drama its emotional gravity and grounds the speculative elements in deeply personal stakes.

Factions & Mysterious Figures

Beyond the central family, the series populates its post-apocalyptic world with a cast of enigmatic and powerful figures. Clara Tramontano plays Angelica, a teenage girl who commands authority over two rival groups known as the Blues and the Whites, suggesting a fractured society organized around factional loyalty. Roberta Mattei brings to life Katia, a mysterious woman who goes by the nickname Picciridduna, hinting at a Sicilian cultural reference woven into the character's identity. The guest cast further enriches this world with characters drawn from fairy-tale archetypes: Sara Ciocca as Snow White, Oro De Commarque as Cinderella, and Elisa Miccoli as Red Riding Hood. These names evoke a lost innocence and a world where old stories have become new identities. The twin brothers Mario and Paolo, played by Danilo and Dario Di Vita, along with their father portrayed by Tommaso Ragno, add another familial thread to the broader social tapestry. Together, these characters paint a picture of a community that has reorganized itself around new hierarchies, new names, and new codes of belonging after the world as they knew it has fallen apart.

The Young Cast & Supporting Ensemble

The series places remarkable trust in young performers to carry its emotional weight. Giulia Dragotto leads as the thirteen-year-old Anna, while Alessandro Pecorella embodies her younger brother Astor, and Giovanni Mavilla portrays Pietro, a teenage boy who becomes Anna's friend. Clara Tramontano, as the teenage Angelica, brings a commanding presence to the role of a faction leader. The production also casts child actors to depict earlier moments in the characters' lives: Viviana Mocciaro as a young Anna, Nicola Mangano as baby Astor, Matilde Sofia Fazio as a child Angelica, and Ludovico Colnago as a young Pietro. This dual-casting approach allows the narrative to span time, showing how these individuals grew into the people they become. The broader guest ensemble rounds out the world with figures like Chiara Muscato as Anna's teacher, Adele Perna as Pietro's mother, and even Sergio Albelli in the striking role of the Pope. Supporting characters such as Nucci, Saverio, and Ginevra flesh out the community, while the twins' family unit adds yet another relational thread. The depth of this ensemble underscores Ammaniti's commitment to building a fully realized social world around his young protagonists.

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