that he marry one of the three princesses. Although at first Romualdo is hesitant to agree, when he sees Fantaghirò dressed up as a woman, the two kiss happily. Cast Alessandra Martines as Fantaghirò Mario Adorf as King Kim Rossi Stuart as Romualdo Ángela Molina as the White Witch (White Knight/White Goose) Jean-Pierre Cassel as The General Stefano Davanzati as Cataldo Tomáš Valík as Ivaldo Ornella Marcucci as Catherine Kateřina Brožová as Caroline Stanislava Bartošová as Governess Production and release Fantaghirò was inspired by one of Italian fairy tales collected by Italo Calvino and was shot in locations at Bouzov Castle, Pernštejn Castle, and Lednice in Czechoslovakia. The director Lamberto Bava recalled: "My father (Mario Bava) wanted to make an adaptation of Calvino's fairy tale, but he didn't have the opportunity. I took it back and with Mediaset we decided to co-produce it together. It was a risky and ambitious job, just think that for their part I didn't have a lira more than the initial budget. Many costumes that you see were from the inventory then we went to shoot in the castles of Prague where it was cheaper." Initially Fantaghirò was to be a single film but the production costs were excessive and so it was decided to make it into a miniseries. The first film was finished in 1990, but it was then shelved for a whole year; the sequels were approved when it turned out to be a success. The film was originally aired on Canale 5 on 22 December 1991. Upon its Italian premiere, it was the most watched program of that evening, with over six and a half million viewers (27.50% market share). Kim Rossi Stuart's role as Romualdo gained him a national popularity. Sequel In the 1992 sequel, the love of Fantaghirò and Romualdo is opposed by the evil Black Witch (Brigitte Nielsen), who steals the prince for herself and plots to eliminate the princess. Both films and the third sequel were later recut (reduced and intersected with each other) into a 200-minute compilation film titled La meravigliosa storia di Fantaghirò ("The Wonderful Story of Fantaghirò") in 1995. References External links 1991 fantasy films 1991 television films 1991 films Fantaghirò films Fantasy adventure films Films directed by Lamberto Bava Italian television films Films about witchcraft Films shot in the Czech Republic