Il Marchese del Grillo

Il Marchese del Grillo is a 1981 Italian-French historical comedy directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Alberto Sordi in the title role. Set in early nineteenth-century Rome during the papacy of Pius VII, the film follows episodes in the life of the nobleman Onofrio del Grillo, a figure loosely inspired by folkloric tales about the real eighteenth-century aristocrat, whose pranks extend even to the Pope himself.

Co-written by Monicelli with Leonardo Benvenuti and Piero De Bernardi, the film competed at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where Monicelli won the Silver Bear for Best Director in 1982. It also received two David di Donatello awards, for Best Production Design and Best Costumes. The famous line 'Io sò io, e voi non siete un cazzo' is drawn from Belli's 1831 sonnet 'The Sovrans of the Old World'.