Count Luchino Visconti Di Modrone was born on 2 November 1906 in Milan, as the curtain went up at La Scala, he said.He was born into an aristocratic family, one of the seven offspring of the Duke of Modrone and had a highly privileged upbringing. During his youth he mixed with luminaries such as conductor Toscanini, composer Puccini and the novelist Gabriele DAnnunzio. Not surprisingly, he had an early interest in music and theatre, but also a passion for horses. He bred race horses for eight years, thinking of little else. When this interest began to fade, he moved to Paris and befriended Coco Chanel. She introduced him to Jean Renoir with whom he worked briefly as assistant on Partie de campagne 1936, which turned his attention towards cinema. During this period, Visconti, previously a Fascist, switched to Communism.Visconti briefly visited Hollywood before returning to Rome where he became part of the group associated with the journal Cinema.To fund his first film he sold some family jewels. Ossessione 1942, an unauthorised adaptation of James M. Cains The Postman Always Rings Twice, had difficulties with the Fascist censors, but the result was an enormous success in Italy.

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