The Italian branch of the WWF, or World Wildlife Fund, has been rescuing sea turtles and finding ways to protect their habitats ever since the 1980s.

Educational outreach to fishermen is an important aspect of the WWF's project for saving sea turtles.

As Mimmo and Franca enjoy the beach and swimming in the clear water, he tells her about his childhood in the town they can see from where they are sitting.

This documentary about the life of Vittorio De Sica, Italian actor and film director, is narrated by Marco Paolini. We begin during the occupation by the Nazis. Vittorio is in Rome shooting a film.

Vittorio De Sica did different kinds of movies, both as an actor, and a director, and had great success, although critics appreciated his comedies more than his serious movies. Whatever kind of film he was directing, he laughed and cried along with the actors. They loved him.

When the Americans bombed Rome in 1943, Maria was shooting a film in the San Lorenzo area, right where the freight yards were, the target of the bombing. Vittorio, on the other side of town, rushed to the site. Life would soon become extremely complicated and dangerous for those in the film industry.

Vittorio De Sica, along with other filmmakers and actors, does not want to be transferred to Venice, as has been mandated by the State. There, he would have to shoot propaganda movies for the Fascists. Luckily a Catholic film company wants to make a movie about a train of sick and deformed people on their way to seek miracles at the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, a popular pilgrimage destination in the Marches region. The kind of train that carries pilgrims is called un treno bianco (a white train).

Our narrator describes what it was like working on the set of La porta del cielo (the Gates of Heaven): the extras, the dangers, the boredom, and the strategies for keeping the cast and crew safe. He also explains how they reconstructed the railway carriages that are featured so prominently in the film.

To recreate the environment of the San Loreto church, the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls was used for the final scene of the film. The crew was accustomed to working in a non-religious setting where they could do as they liked, so it was a full-time job trying to keep their bad habits (such as smoking) in check so they wouldn't get kicked out by their hosts.

During the filming of Heaven's Gate, there were some dicey moments where De Sica had to deal with the German troops and needed all his wits about him. At the same time his crew was cooped up in the basilica and didn't always behave as they should — in fact, tutt'altro (anything but). The narrator also mentions an anecdotal story Fellini told about his experience with the Germans.

Actors, including Alberto Sordi, who were performing at the Quattro Fontane (four fountains) theater on the fateful day of 23 March 1944 are in danger of being caught by the Germans. During the filming of his movie, De Sica leaves the safety of the basilica just once and is caught and questioned by a Nazi General about why the film is taking so long to be shot.

The general hands De Sica a letter from Goebbels himself but since De Sica can't read German, it is translated for him ad alta voce (out loud). It's an invitation to Venice, which De Sica does not want to accept.

Vittorio De Sica put himself on the line in order to save his cast and crew, and the film he was making. This final segment describes how he managed to complete La porta del cielo (The Gates of Heaven). The song we hear at the end of this documentary is very famous and was sung by Vittorio De Sica himself for the movie Gli uomini, che mascalzoni... in which he acted. Listen to the entire song here.

Pupia.Tv – Vibo Valentia [Calabria] – Mass evacuation in Maierato, a town of 2300 inhabitants in the province of Vibo Valentia, where on Monday 15th of February 2010 an entire mountain ridge collapsed, creating a landslide close to the town’s center, putting houses at risk.

Vera talks about her parents and how they met and fell in love. Her mother was a stage actress and her father a military commander.

Vera's daughter was a teenager when Giuliano began courting her mother. Giuliano tells some stories about World War II and how crazy things were.

Giuliano talks about his beginnings as a director. Vera threatened to leave him when he thought he might accept certain jobs.

Carolina Raspanti plays Dafne, a girl of 35 who leads a regular life until she loses her mother and has to take care of her father suffering from depression. Dafne has Down syndrome, as does the actress who portrays her.

Antonio is a teacher and we find him at Somma Vesuviana, on the slopes of Vesuvius, near Naples. For some time he has tending a small garden, where he grows vegetables, which he sees as miracles of the earth, with seeds developing into fruits.

For many Italians, putting up a presepe (manger scene or crèche) at Christmas time is as, if not more important than putting up a Christmas tree. Antonio talks about the traditions concerning its origins, two thousand and eleven years ago.

Antonio explains that the Italian tradition of constructing a nativity scene during the Christmas season had it origins in the thirteenth century, when Saint Francis of Assisi organized the first live re-enactment of the birth of Jesus. It soon spread to all of Italy, but above all to the Kingdom of Naples, where everyone got involved, from the poorest family to the King himself.

Even though the tomato is an immigrant in Italy, it has become synonymous with Italian cooking. The soil produced by Vesuvius and the mild climate of the area around Naples and Salerno have allowed the San Marzano tomato to become King.

Patrizia works as an agronomist collaborating with farmers who grow heirloom vegetables of the Campania tradition. She describes a couple of different kinds of tomatoes and what they're typically used for.

Watermelon is another product of this special terrain on the slopes of Vesuvius. In the north, this is called cocomero, but in the south, it's anguria. There are some sensational wines from Vesuvius, too.