An exhibit on movie icon Marcello Matroianni is opening Friday at Rome's Ara Pacis Museum to focus on the actor's self-deprecating irony. A star who refused to be one, Mastroianni is presented to the public through a selection of 600 photos, curated by Gian Luca Farinelli.

The exhibit runs through February 17, 2019. Photos, videos and scenes from Mastroianni's movies trace back, with a hint of nostalgia, the life of an artist who said he lived "between parentheses" an extraordinary existence on set and on stage along with the many people he met throughout his career.