“The palm line” comes to TV

From December 1, The palm line arrives in prime time on RSI LA 1. The new original RSI series is directed by Ticino-based filmmaker Fulvio Bernasconi. Shot in the Lugano area with a cast and crew largely made up of professionals from Italian-speaking Switzerland, the series blends thriller, memory, and identity in a story inspired by real events linked to the theft of a painting by Caravaggio. The palm line is also supported by the Ticino Film Commission. Below we publish the press release issued by RSI on the occasion of the broadcast announcement.

After premiering at the GIFF – Geneva International Film Festival and being presented to audiences in Italian-speaking Switzerland, The palm line, a Hugofilm Features production in co-production with RSI and ARTE, arrives on television from December 1, 2025, on RSI LA1, with two episodes per week in prime time and on Play RSI. Comprising six 45-minute episodes, the series intertwines the dynamics of organised crime with those of family relationships and personal memories, bringing to the screen an intense story deeply rooted in the Ticino territory - and in particular in the Lugano area - which serves as the backdrop for both the investigation and the narrative.

The series is inspired by the famous 1969 theft in Palermo of a Caravaggio painting that was never recovered. Fifty years later, a body resurfaces from the depths of Lake Lugano, reopening a forgotten case and bringing to light a web of connections between organised crime, prominent Ticino figures, and unsuspected individuals from the financial and cultural worlds. At the centre of the story is Anna, a young investigative journalist from Lugano played by Gaia Messerklinger, who, in trying to shed light on the matter, will also be forced to reconstruct the truth about her own family.

Alongside the protagonist star Alberto Malanchino, Sandra Ceccarelli, Fabrizio Ferracane, Luca Filippi, Michele Venitucci, and Esther Gemsch. The cast is completed by actors from Italian-speaking Switzerland: Diego Benzoni, Cecilia Broggini, Andrea Carpinteri, Roberta Fossile Seller, Davide Gagliardi, Jasmin Mattei, and Massimiliano Zampetti.

Shot almost entirely in the Lugano area, The palm line highlights some of the region’s most representative locations: from Parco Ciani and the grounds of Villa Heleneum to the refined Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola, as well as the Lido di Lugano and the sailing club. Filming also took place in several areas of the city centre and at the Melide dam bridge. The choice to set the series in Ticino responds not only to aesthetic needs but also to narrative and production requirements: the landscape, light, and atmosphere of the territory contribute decisively to the project’s visual and thematic identity.

The production involved around fifty local professionals across various technical and organisational departments, in addition to numerous crew members, extras, and actors from the region. Services provided by local companies - including accommodation, transport, catering, and security - ensured essential logistical support, generating a tangible economic and employment impact on the region.

With nearly sixty locations identified in the Lugano area, with the contribution and support of the Ticino Film Commission, local professionals and companies, and through collaboration between RSI and local institutions, Lugano is thus confirmed as one of the main audiovisual hubs of Italian-speaking Switzerland and a reference point for national and international productions.

The palm line is a Hugofilm Features (Zurich) production in co-production with RSI and ARTE, in collaboration with Indiana Production (Milan) and Central Productions (Lugano), with the support of the Ticino Film Commission, the Teleproduktions-Fonds, the Zürcher Filmstiftung, Lugano Region, the City of Lugano, and the Municipality of Paradiso. Following its broadcast on RSI LA1, the series will air in early 2026 on RTS and SRF, in French and German, and on Play Suisse, further consolidating RSI’s role in the production of Swiss fiction with a national scope.