Shakespeare in Italy with Francesco da Mosto

The historian concludes his tour of the country beginning with a visit to Venice, where he meets actor Ciaran Hinds to discuss why the Bard chose the city as the setting for The Merchant of Venice. Francesco is then joined by Mark Rylance in Rome as they explore how the playwright used the Italian capital for the plots of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra to avoid Elizabethan censors. Finally, on the island of Stromboli, off the northern coast of Sicily, Francesco uncovers the location for Shakespeare's late masterpiece - The Tempest

Monday, 19 October 1 airing
00:45
BBC Four
S1 E2 · Land of Fortune