**Benares**, the revered sacred city on the Ganges River (officially known today as *Varanasi*), has been an important source of inspiration for artists, travelers, and filmmakers — including within the world of **Italian poetic cinema**. In this city, the sacred and the profane intertwine in a continuous interaction, creating an atmosphere of mysticism and spirituality that has deeply influenced the more sensitive Western gaze.
Although **not many Italian films are directly set in Benares**, some documentaries, literary works, and poetic films have evoked its spiritual and metaphysical essence.
Pierre Loti: The First Poetic Gaze
One of the most significant references is **Pierre Loti**, French writer and naval officer, who in 1897 published *”Pèlerinage à Bénarès”* (*Pilgrimage to Benares*). In this book, Loti recounts his journey along the Ganges and his visit to Benares with a deeply emotional, spiritual, and often contradictory gaze. His testimony influenced many European intellectuals and contributed to building the poetic imaginary of the holy city.
Benares in Italian Cinema and Documentaries
In the Italian panorama, although **there are no films by Pier Paolo Pasolini set directly in Benares**, the director traveled to India several times and addressed spiritual and religious themes — especially in his notes for unrealized films and in reflections contained in his travel writings. His vision of the sacred, the body, death, and rebirth would have been perfectly suited to the setting of Varanasi.
More recently, Italian documentaries and European co-productions have explored sacred India and the city of Benares through ethnographic and spiritual lenses. Some noteworthy examples include:
“India” (1959)** – a documentary shot by *Roberto Rossellini* in collaboration with the Indian broadcaster. Rossellini, with his neorealist and poetic perspective, documented aspects of Indian culture, even if not focusing exclusively on Benares.
“Apud Benares. Where Wisdom Dwells” (2001)** – a documentary by *Franco Battiato*, part of the series *”Attraversando il Bardo”*. Battiato had a deep interest in Eastern spirituality, and in this film he blends metaphysical reflections, music, and images of sacred places like Benares.
“Attraversando il Bardo – Sguardi sull’Aldilà” (2014)** – also by *Franco Battiato*, explores the theme of the passage between life and death through various cultures, including visions inspired by Tibetan texts and Indian spirituality.
“Towards Benares” – A different gaze. A poetic journey. Captured by the allure of wild nature, by the sumptuous ceremonies and majestic temples, disturbed by the ‘horrid caves’ and the magic of those ‘enchanted’ cities, but above all captured by the mystical faces and ‘ardent sensuality’ of the Indians themselves, he finds himself more than ever in love with life, with beauty and with the real world.
Benares continues to exert a profound fascination on the Western imagination — and particularly on the Italian one — which has captured its symbolic value through documentaries, spiritual journeys, and poetic reflections. Even though there are not many Italian fiction films set in the city, **Italian poetic cinema** has often touched upon those themes — such as death, rebirth, and the sacred — that naturally find their stage in Varanasi.
It is therefore more accurate to speak of **a spiritual and cultural influence of Benares** on Italian cinema and literature, rather than of a true Italian cinematic tradition set in the city.
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