Summer 1950.

The glittering Tyrrhenian coast, a pale ribbon of dust and sun-warmed asphalt seeming to breathe in the heat of the afternoon.

Near the coastal town of Santa Marinella, with the scent of oleander on the breeze and the shadows of sun-parched cedars all around, you catch a glimpse of a headscarf framing familiar cheekbones and a porcelain complexion behind the wheel of a passing convertible.

Could it be the Swedish-born Hollywood star of Casablanca , Ingrid Bergman? Well, you have just passed the villa retreat she shares with renowned Italian director Roberto Rossellini, the place where they would spend the most intense years of their story.

Could that have been the Stabilimenti Farina FIAT 1500 D that Italy’s most famous film director purchased for her in 1949? – Well, the car in question would be worthy of any screenplay of this most famous of partnerships of the golden age of film.

The Italian film director and one of the most famous women in the world — the Hollywoo...