Liquirizia (1979) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Fulvio travels to Milan specifically to convince the famous singer Adriano Celentano to perform at their end-of-year celebration. However, he fails to meet Celentano directly and instead encounters a boastful rock singer named Flynt. Fulvio decides to invite Flynt to perform, thinking he could bring rock charisma to the event. This decision proves problematic when Flynt's performance falls flat and he is eventually kicked out of the show.

Foreshadowing: The timeline notes that Fulvio was chasing the latest trends, rock music included, which foreshadows his willingness to settle for a rock performer when the bigger name proved unreachable.

• flynt
• celentano
• milan
• rock singer
• show booking

Carletto, feeling responsible for the show's failure, asks Raffaella to accompany him to Rome as he pursues his dream of becoming a theater director. Raffaella politely declines. This rejection is rooted in practical reality, Raffaella is older, has a young son, and understands that such an impulsive departure would not be feasible for her. Her decision reflects the film's theme of growing up and accepting the limits that come with adulthood.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Raffaella encourages Carletto to believe in himself and stay focused, showing her supportive but realistic perspective on his ambitions.

• raffaella
• carletto
• rome
• declined
• theater director

The show collapses due to multiple compounding failures. First, the ballet, opera, and Shakespeare performances are booed by the audience, undermining the students' hard work. Then Flynt's rock performance fails and he is kicked out. Finally, a group of former students led by Tonazzi, known as Be-Bop-A-Lula, storms the stage and takes control, turning the event into a violent brawl. The combination of audience rejection and external disruption destroys the celebration entirely.

Foreshadowing: The timeline notes tension between the high school and accounting students from the beginning, hinting at underlying conflict that would surface under stress.

• riot
• be-bop-a-lula
• tonazzi
• stage invasion
• show failure

After the disastrous outcome of the show, Carletto's ambitions appear to be derailed. Rather than leaving for Rome to become a theater director as he had planned, he remains in Padua. The final scene shows him visiting Fulvio at Bartolozzi's shop during summer break, suggesting he has accepted a more grounded future rather than pursuing his theatrical aspirations. His request for Raffaella to join him in Rome, which she declines, represents his final attempt to escape the disappointment.

Foreshadowing: Carletto's classical education and bourgeois background set him apart from the practical world his friend Fulvio inhabits, making his eventual grounding in reality feel inevitable.

• carletto
• rome
• theater
• dreams
• failed show

Tonazzi, nicknamed Be-Bop-A-Lula, is a former student who returns with a group of alumni to disrupt the end-of-year celebration. His intrusion represents the older generation of students crashing the younger ones' event, turning the celebration into chaos. The film depicts him as infamous, the name itself suggests a rebellious, rock-and-roll attitude that clashes with the more refined high school performances. His takeover signals the moment when the show fully collapses into violence.

• tonazzi
• be-bop-a-lula
• former students
• stage invasion

Fulvio comes from a working-class family attending an accounting institute, obsessed with sports, cars, rock music, and women. Carletto is from a wealthy bourgeois family at a classical high school, dreaming of Rome and theater. Despite their contrasting worlds, they share a common goal: organizing an end-of-year celebration that brings together students from both schools. Their friendship represents the film's theme of different social classes attempting to collaborate, though their differing priorities eventually create friction in how they approach the show.

Foreshadowing: The setup explicitly contrasts their worlds, Fulvio's father pushes socialism while Fulvio ignores it, and Carletto's refined ambitions stand in contrast to Fulvio's practical interests.

• fulvio
• carletto
• friendship
• class differences
• working class
• bourgeois

In the closing scene, Carletto visits Fulvio at Bartolozzi's shop where Fulvio now works after summer. The elder Bartolozzi watches them with a knowing smile while chewing a licorice stick. This moment carries bittersweet symbolism, licorice (liquirizia in Italian, which is also the film's title) represents both the sweetness and the lingering taste of youth. The older man's smile suggests he understands the romantic tension between his daughter Bartolozzi and Fulvio, and perhaps sees Carletto's hint about giving into a girl's advances as a sign that life continues with new relationships forming as old dreams fade.

• licorice
• liquirizia
• ending
• bartolozzi
• symbolism

Two accounting students named Maiale and Coen clash with their peers, injecting rivalry and humor into the behind-the-scenes dynamics. Their conflict represents the tension between different student groups, the practical accounting students versus the more culturally oriented high schoolers. Rather than being enemies, their rivalry adds comedic punch to the ensemble and highlights the challenges of uniting diverse groups under a single vision.

• maiale
• coen
• accounting students
• rivalry
• conflict

After the failed show and the end of the school year, Fulvio has found employment at Bartolozzi's shop, the family business of the redheaded girl who was infatuated with him. This practical job represents Fulvio's transition into working-class adult life, contrasting with Carletto's unfulfilled theatrical ambitions. The setting becomes a meeting point for the two friends in the film's final scene, grounding the story in everyday reality.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Bartolozzi's daughter is described as utterly infatuated with Fulvio, setting up the relationship that leads to his employment at their shop.

• fulvio
• bartolozzi
• shop
• employment
• adult life

Gian Galeazzo Lo Cascio is portrayed as a naïve, wealthy heir who is engaged to Marina, with their romance threading through the preparations for the show. While the engagement is mentioned as part of the cast dynamics, the film does not focus heavily on their relationship's outcome. Their engagement appears to remain intact throughout the chaos of the show, representing one of the more stable elements amid the surrounding turmoil and failed ambitions.

• gian galeazzo
• marina
• engagement
• wealthy heir