Terence Hill's Don Matteo

Don Matteo, the popular Italian television series starring Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti), is a lighthearted show about a parish priest who solves crimes.

Terence Hill is wonderful as Don Matteo - he brings warmth and kindness to the role, while still being physically formidable, and outwitting both the police and the perpetrators of the crime in every episode. Don Matteo is backed up by a great cast of characters – the youthful police captain (Anceschi), his ambitious Sicilian lieutenant (Cecchini), the gorgeous lady mayor (Laura), the excitable housekeeper (Natalina), the charming orphan (Camilla), and the hapless sexton (Pippo). Each crime story is interspersed with humorous scenes revealing the all too human foibles of the characters.

About Terence Hill

The son of a German mother and an Italian father, Terence Hill was born in Venice but spent his early years in Germany. The stunning young actor made his name in a series of tongue-in-cheek Italian westerns with his friend Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli). Their most popular movies – the Trinity series – are all available in various formats.

Terrence Hill is still attractive and athletic at 70. One of the pleasures of watchingDon Matteois seeing him ride his bike while wearing a cassock, coming to a quick standstill and dismounting with agility and ease. His eyes are still a mesmerizing shade of blue, and the twinkle in them suggests that being a priest has done nothing to suppress Don Matteo's sense of humor or ability to make mischief.

The Setting of Don Matteo

The series is set in the beautiful medieval town of Gubbio, in the central Italian region of Umbria. The small town setting imparts a close knit community feeling to the show, as well as offering a scenic backdrop to the events.

The town square (left) is featured in most episodes, both as the location of police headquarters and also as a setting for the action.


Language Issues

The Australian multicultural television network, SBS, produced subtitles for Series Four, which was broadcast on their network throughout Australia.Don Matteo has been running on Italian television from 2000 to 2009, but to date Series Four is the only one available with English subtitles.

If you're learning the Italian language, watching this series is a great way to get used to hearing spoken Italian, in a more pure form than that used in the Commissario Montalbano series set in Sicily. But if you speak or understand Italian, you can watch all the Don Matteo episodes on Rai Uno.

Episodes 1-6	Episodes 7-12
Episodes 13-18	Episodes 19-24

To purchase Don Matteo Series 4 DVDs in Australia, visit any ABC Shop.