The Wide Blue Road (1957): Pontecorvo's film shot in Istria

Updated October 15, 2026.

Gillo Pontecorvo follows a fisherman at odds with the law and his community. His 1957 film includes locations in Rovinj, Umag and Vrsar.

A fisherman who rejects a shared solution

Yves Montand plays Squarciò, a fisherman who breaks the law by fishing with explosives. His earnings set him apart from his poorer colleagues, but the risk of being caught threatens the way he supports his family. While the other fishermen propose forming a cooperative, he invests in a more powerful boat.

The film's original title is La grande strada azzurra. For his first feature, Pontecorvo adapted Franco Solinas's novel Squarciò. Solinas also wrote the screenplay with the director and Ennio De Concini.

Istrian locations and the cast

Filming included Rovinj, Umag and Vrsar, three towns on the peninsula's west coast. Alida Valli and Francisco Rabal appear alongside Montand. The cast also includes Mario Girotti, then working under his own name in the early part of his career, before he became known as Terence Hill.

Actors: Alida Valli, Yves Montand, Francisco Rabal

Director: Gillo Pontecorvo

The film was shot at the location: Rovinj, Vrsar, Umag