Rugantino is a musical comedy by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini, which debuted at the Teatro Sistina in Rome, Italy, on 15 December 1962.
Actors who played in the first edition included Nino Manfredi (Rugantino), Aldo Fabrizi (as Mastro Titta, a historical executioner), Lea Massari (Rosetta, later replaced by Ornella Vanoni) and Bice Valori (Eusebia).
[2] Rome 1830, the story starts with Rugantino, a poor man, who loves playing pranks and jokes and trick others.
He has been punished for one of his latest scams and he is confronted by Rosetta, a beautiful woman married to Gnecco, a very jealous man.
Rugantino decides to come forward as the killer, to show Rosetta he's "a real man", but runs away and hides in Mastro Titta's house when the police arrives.