Italy is famous for many things…. Pizza, pasta, the Pope, and it has also produced some fabulous movie posters.

One of the popular Italian poster artists is Averardo Ciriello, born in Milan in 1918.

Two great examples of Ciriello’s fabulous artistry are the poster for Licenza di uccidere, which you might identify more by its original name, Dr No, and also Dalla Russia con Amore, the more recognisable From Russia with Love.
Ciriello used his drawing skills in a number of ways. During World War II he worked for the Press Propaganda department and the official Navy newspaper. After the war his work went from one end of the spectrum – illustrating children’s comics – to the complete other end as regular cover artist for erotic magazines and other adult publications.

Ciriello was however most recognised for his work as a poster artist for Italian cinema productions. From 1947 onward he designed hundreds of movie posters, among the best-known are that for the drama La Terra Trema in 1948, and for the 1961 comedy Divorzio all’Italiana.

The standard Italian movie poster is a 2-foglio, also called an Italian Two-Sheet, which measures 1000 x 1400 mm and is almost always distributed folded. Reissues and reproductions are quite common and are difficult to distinguish.

Sometimes there is new artwork for the reissue and sometimes there’s not. You have to look at various marks such as distributors, studio logos, different artists, printers, etc. to verify a particular release. Make sure that you are dealing with a reputable movie poster dealer like Vintage Movie Art.

We have a number of posters by Ciriello on sale, any of which would be a great addition to either a serious collector or just look fantastic on display. Sit back and enjoy with a martini – shaken not stirred of course.