Synopsis

Virginius, a Roman soldier, leaves his daughter Virginia under the protection of her betrother, Icilius. Apiius Claudius, a patrician, tells his friend Marcus Claudius of his love for Virginia. She has refused his love and Marcus tries to claim her as his slave in order to give her to Appius, but she is saved by an indignant populace. Icilius rushes to tell Virginius who immediately leaves his camp to return to Rome to save his daughter. They ask for the protection of the Roman people and Virginius and his daughter are escorted to a tribunal presided over by Appius. The unscrupulous Appius decrees that Virginia is Marcus' slave. Preferring to see his daughter dead rather than a slave, Virginius snatches a knife and stabs Virginia in the heart (740ft). Note: English titles. The scene of the Roman camp is the same as the one in NICCOLO DE'LAPI (1909, Itala). References: Maria Adriana Prolo, Storia del cinema muto italiano Vol.1 (Milan, 1951), p.132. (Shotlist)