This article examines San Paolo, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s unfinished screenplay, as an autonomous cultural object and a paradigmatic case at the crossroads of screenwriting studies and shadow cinema. After reconstructing the editorial history of the text — from its conception with Sampaolo Film to the final version in 1974 — the essay explores the various forms of “remediation” the work has undergone in the decades since, including adaptations for radio, theatre, and opera. Far from being a marginal fragment, San Paolo emerges as a text in a constant state of potentiality, capable of generating new interpretations across the media landscape. Though never realized as a film, the screenplay reveals an independent vitality that challenges traditional categories of authorship, work, and medium, and stands out as one of the most vibrant and prophetic contributions of Pasolini the intellectual.
Chiarulli, R. R., La sceneggiatura come prodotto culturale. "San Paolo" di Pier Paolo Pasolini nell'universo dei media, "...E quanto più sapore possibile". Comunicazione, media, industria culturale. Studi in onore di Fausto Colombo, Vita e Pensiero Pubblic University:Largo Gemelli 1, I 20123 Milan Italy:011 39 02 72342310, 011 39 2 72342370, EMAIL: redazione.vp@unicatt.it, Fax: 011 39 02 72342974, Milano 2025: 55-63. 10.26350/9788834359686_000007 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/318097]
La sceneggiatura come prodotto culturale. "San Paolo" di Pier Paolo Pasolini nell'universo dei media
Chiarulli, Raffaele Rosario
2025
Abstract
This article examines San Paolo, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s unfinished screenplay, as an autonomous cultural object and a paradigmatic case at the crossroads of screenwriting studies and shadow cinema. After reconstructing the editorial history of the text — from its conception with Sampaolo Film to the final version in 1974 — the essay explores the various forms of “remediation” the work has undergone in the decades since, including adaptations for radio, theatre, and opera. Far from being a marginal fragment, San Paolo emerges as a text in a constant state of potentiality, capable of generating new interpretations across the media landscape. Though never realized as a film, the screenplay reveals an independent vitality that challenges traditional categories of authorship, work, and medium, and stands out as one of the most vibrant and prophetic contributions of Pasolini the intellectual.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.