Portobello was an Italian Friday night variety show created and hosted by Enzo Tortora. It was broadcast on Rai 2 between 1977 and 1983 and again in 1987. A reboot hosted by Antonella Clerici was broadcast by Rai 1 in 2018.
Overview The show debuted on Rai 2 on 27 May 1977. The structure of the show revolved around various segments, the most notable of them being the presentation of new inventions, with inventors promoting and selling their patents.Grasso, Aldo; Scaglioni, Massimo. "Portobello". Enciclopedia della Televisione. Garzanti, 1996 – 2003. p. 546. . Other segments included Fiori d'arancio, a dating segment where lonely hearts met in search of a soulmate that was an early forerunner of Canale 5 programs such as Agenzia matrimoniale and Uomini e donne, and Dove sei?, a segment about missing persons that anticipated the Rai 3 long-running show Chi l'ha visto?.
Portobello was a massive success, with an audience reaching 25 million viewers. It was suddenly interrupted because of Tortora's conviction for drug trafficking and for being a member of the Camorra; following his full acquittal, it was reprised for a final season in 1987. In 2018, the show was remade in a retouched version hosted by Antonella Clerici; this version, broadcast on Saturday nights on Rai 1, was both a critical and audience failure.
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