Nerone, also known as Nerone o l’incendio di Roma (Nero or the Burning of Rome in Anglophone distribution), directed by Luigi Maggi and Arturo Ambrosio in 1909, should be regarded as one of the true ‘gems’ of early Italian cinema. In a period that predates the triumphs of Cabiria (1914), Quo vadis? (1913), and other grand colossal or epics, Nerone stands out as a particularly striking example of a cinema whose strength lay in its power of synthesis. How do you capture, in just a quarter of an hour, the defining moments in the life of history’s most bloodthirsty emperor? How do you evoke the grandeur of ancient Rome using nothing more than painted backdrops? Fortunately, we have at our disposal a beautifully restored print of the film, allowing us to reflect on these questions. Yet the restoration process, too, holds its own mysteries…

This analysis gives some background to the holdings of the BFI National Archive - how the films came to be in the collection, the physical nature of films during the silent period and how conservation and preservation practice affects them (particularly regarding completeness, titling and colouring). Some context is provided on antiquity as a theme in the various types of films in the archive (such as drama, comedy, interest film, and newsreels) that were produced over the period from the 1890s to the late 1920s, when sound film became the industry norm. This analysis is written from the perspective of the history of silent film, what was being screened in Britain, and what survives in the BFI’s collection.