Best Italian documentary series

Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi (2022)

Rome, 1983. After leaving a music lesson, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi vanishes — embroiling the Vatican in a decades-long mystery.

First Team: Juventus (2018)

Follow renowned soccer club Juventus on and off the pitch as they attempt to win a seventh straight Italian title and achieve Champions League glory.

The Yara Gambirasio Case: Beyond Reasonable Doubt (2024)

This docuseries digs into the disappearance of 13-year-old Yara and the disconcerting investigation that shattered the peace of a small Italian town.

Pompeii (2007)

Forbidden love blossoms in the city of Pompeii, which until the eruption of volcano Vesuvius in 79 AD, is one of the empire's most powerful cities.

Madagascar (2011)

Over 80 per cent of Madagascar's animals and plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Discover what made Madagascar so different from the rest of the world, and how evolution ran wild here.

SanPa: Sins of the Savior (2020)

Amidst a heroin crisis, Vincenzo Muccioli cared for the addicted, earning him fierce public devotion — even as charges of violence began to mount.

Fortune Seller: A TV Scam (2022)

Follow controversial slimming cream sellers turned con artists Wanna Marchi and Stefania Nobile, from their TV success to their scam and jail time.

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days (1989)

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

Salvados (2008)

Salvados is a program of current affairs reports. The humorous and provocative style with which it deals with issues has made it, after several stages, a star program.

Veleno (2021)

In 1997 a peaceful provincial community is disrupted by a number of cases of pedophilia and Satanism.

The Ferragnez (2021)

Tells the extraordinary life of Chiara Ferragni and Fedez. An authentic tale that unveils the behind the scenes of one of the most followed couples ever and the most intimate moments of a young family that passionately fights for their dreams to come true.

Passato e Presente (2017)

Program about historical dissemination, presented by Paolo Mieli. Each episode sees a historian interacting with the presenter and three young university students.

Cities of the Underworld (2007)

Right beneath our feet, there are cities hidden by time that may hold clues that could rewrite history. In “Cities of the Underworld,” Don Wildman travels to the farthest and deepest reaches of the globe, using cutting-edge technology to explore mysteries buried deep underground. Across the season, Don will follow in the footsteps of treasure hunters to search for a lost Aztec colony, travel to Croatia to learn about the lost history of a little known pirate queen who supposedly ruled her empire from a muddy cave, and explore tunnels below the city of Los Angeles that may hold the clues to solving one of the most infamous cold cases in American history.

Il Testimone (2007)

"Il testimone" (i.e. The witness) is a tv show created, made and presented by Pif. Every episode consists of a "mini-reportage", filmed through a little camera that Pif brings himself. This makes the spectator feel as if most of the tv filtres are removed and thus they can almost witness the events with their own eyes and feel directly involved in the social messages brought on by the show. Themes vary: they go from interviews to famous individuals, to trips, to the work of associations or even small everyday realities.

Sogno azzurro (2021)

Italy at War: 1940-1942 Battles (1983)

A 1983 six-episodes series, made by Massimo Sani, which recounts the WW2 battles involving Italy between 1940 and 1942: from the attacks to France and Greece to the clashes in Africa and the disastrous expedition to Russia.

Ulisse - Il piacere della scoperta (2001)

Alberto Angela leads the dissemination program dedicated to history, art and culture. A historical, archaeological, informative story, with the presence of some protagonists of the Italian cultural or artistic scene.

War at the Peace Table (1975)

A RAI television miniseries that reconstructs the Allied Conferences held during the World War II, from Placentia Bay (1941) to Potsdam (1945).

E poi il silenzio (2024)

Courage and Mercy (1986)

1986 documentary by Nicola Caracciolo on the persecution of Jews in Italy

Superquark (1995)

Television program of cultural diffusion, born in September 1995, designed and conducted by Piero Angela, development of transmission appreciated Quark.

Vasco Rossi: Living It (2023)

Italy's most beloved rock star Vasco Rossi grants unprecedented access to intimate details of his personal life and successful career over the decades.

Images from Fascism: All the Duce's Men (1982)

1982 documentary about the Italian Fascist regime by Nicola Caracciolo

La Sposa (2022)

Laura 30 World Tour (Documental) (2024)

The Docu Concert

The Little King (1979)

1976 documentary by Nicola Caracciolo about the life of Italy's King Vittorio Emanuele III

Il Giovane Berlusconi (2024)

A docuseries about Silvio Berlusconi before becoming prime minister of Italy, from succeeding as a charismatic entrepreneur to changing European TV.

A Story Called Gomorrah - The Series (2021)

Documenting the genesis and the various stages of writing and production of the TV series "Gomorrah" based on the novel by Roberto Saviano.

Mondiali 2006 - Destino azzurro (2022)

La Storia siamo noi (2007)

La Storia siamo noi was a TV show dedicated to history. Was aired on Rai Channels from 1997 to 2013.