# Commendatori
**"Commendatori"** is the seventeenth episode of the HBO television series *The Sopranos* and the fourth episode of its second season. Written by series creator [David Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-chase) and directed by [Tim Van Patten](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-van-patten), it was first broadcast on February 6, 2000.[1](https://www.hisour.com/data/commendatori/) In the episode, [Tony Soprano](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-soprano) travels to Naples with Paulie Gualtieri and Christopher Moltisanti to set up a car-importing business, negotiating with the head of a powerful Neapolitan crime family and recruiting a new lieutenant, Furio Giunta.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/commendatori/umc.cmc.7ftl95sh0565dlpw10b7yzi3?showId=umc.cmc.7fvpbc4pqotnxhpx36c739tyd)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Episode position | Season 2, Episode 4; the series' 17th episode[1](https://www.hisour.com/data/commendatori/) |
| Credits | Written by David Chase, directed by Tim Van Patten, production code 204[1](https://www.hisour.com/data/commendatori/) |
| Original broadcast | February 6, 2000, on HBO; runtime 52 minutes[1](https://www.hisour.com/data/commendatori/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt0705237/) |
| New characters | Annalisa (Sofia Milos), boss of a Naples clan, and Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio)[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/commendatori/umc.cmc.7ftl95sh0565dlpw10b7yzi3?showId=umc.cmc.7fvpbc4pqotnxhpx36c739tyd) |
| Italian title | "Viaggio a Napoli"[4](https://www.movietele.it/epserietv/2x04-viaggio-a-napoli-i-soprano) |
| Creator's verdict | David Chase later called it a weak effort and said he did not like the casting, especially of Annalisa[5](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/why-the-sopranos-creator-wanted-a-do-over-on-the-commendatori-episode-in-italy.html/) |
## Title
The title is the plural of the Italian word *commendatore*, an honorable title in Italian society and an official rank in the Order of the Republic of Italy, an order originally established by the [House of Savoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-savoy). Paulie's attempts fall flat: he says "Commendatori!" to strangers, including a table of older Italian men, and is met with confusion and indifference.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/1812881/best-episodes-the-sopranos-ranked/) One of the men who snubs him is played by David Chase himself in a cameo.[7](https://inattheend.podbean.com/e/episode-17-commendatori/)
## Plot
**The Naples trip.** Tony, Paulie, and [Christopher](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher) travel to Naples to jump-start a car-importing "business." While Paulie and Christopher sample the old country's wares, Tony haggles with the head of a powerful Naples family and recruits a valuable new lieutenant named Furio.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/commendatori/umc.cmc.7ftl95sh0565dlpw10b7yzi3?showId=umc.cmc.7fvpbc4pqotnxhpx36c739tyd) The counterpart he negotiates with is Annalisa, played by Sofia Milos, whom the episode presents as the boss of a local Camorra clan who commands while her husband is imprisoned; scholars have noted that this foregrounding of a woman in the Camorra's power structure was an early treatment of the theme on television.[8](https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/c1e380f1-ec33-427b-9a49-906392c0c133/content) Furio Giunta, played by [Federico Castelluccio](https://www.edgepedia.org/federico-castelluccio), joins the New Jersey family from this point on.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/commendatori/umc.cmc.7ftl95sh0565dlpw10b7yzi3?showId=umc.cmc.7fvpbc4pqotnxhpx36c739tyd) Vittorio Duse appears as Zi Vittorio, an elderly local figure.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/commendatori/umc.cmc.7ftl95sh0565dlpw10b7yzi3?showId=umc.cmc.7fvpbc4pqotnxhpx36c739tyd)
**The New Jersey subplots.** Back home, the episode follows Pussy Bonpensiero's escalating stress over his secret collaboration with the FBI, and [Carmela Soprano](https://www.edgepedia.org/carmela-soprano) processing her growing dissatisfaction with her marriage through the experiences of fellow mob wives such as Angie Bonpensiero.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/1812881/best-episodes-the-sopranos-ranked/) Christopher spends much of the trip in his hotel room using heroin with local prostitutes, never sees the volcano he had insisted on visiting, and buys Adriana a souvenir only at the airport gift shop in New Jersey on the return leg.[9](https://colinsreview.com/2017/02/12/the-sopranos-commendatori-review/) The episode also contains one of the series' interpretive dream sequences.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/1812881/best-episodes-the-sopranos-ranked/)
## Themes
Early in the episode, Tony nostalgically remarks that his favorite scene in *The Godfather Part II* is when [Vito Corleone](https://www.edgepedia.org/vito-corleone) returns to Sicily, and the episode then works against that mythology: the visitors find that the old country does not work the way their stories said, the food is unfamiliar, and the actual boss is a woman.[9](https://colinsreview.com/2017/02/12/the-sopranos-commendatori-review/) • [10](https://joedef.github.io/sopranos-wiki/analysis/italian-american-identity/) Commentators have read the hour as a study of cultural identity, showing how distant Tony and his men are from the culture they claim to champion, and as a satire aimed at both [Italian Americans](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-americans) and Italy itself.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/1812881/best-episodes-the-sopranos-ranked/) One Italian academic reading treats the episode's picturesque, stereotyped Mediterranean setting, in the American "vacation episode" tradition, as criticism of the American system and a suggestion that a satisfying life is possible outside materialist hegemony.[11](https://universitypress.unisob.na.it/materiali/L0000283.pdf)
## Reception
Reception has been mixed in a distinctive way. SlashFilm placed it tenth on its list of the show's best episodes, calling it in many ways a quintessential episode of the series.[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/1812881/best-episodes-the-sopranos-ranked/) The Ringer's ranking of all 86 episodes placed it 55th.[12](https://www.sopranos.theringer.com/) On IMDb it holds a rating of 8.5 out of 10 from about 11,000 votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt0705237/) Reviewers have often judged the New Jersey material, particularly the Pussy and Angie storyline, stronger than the Italy scenes.[13](https://reviewingtelevision.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-sopranos-commendatori.html)
## Production and creator's assessment
The episode was written by David Chase, who created the series and remained closely involved in each episode's production, and directed by Tim Van Patten.[1](https://www.hisour.com/data/commendatori/) • [14](https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/issues/0405-may-2004/on-directing-the-sopranos) Chase later singled "Commendatori" out as an episode that did not work by his own standards; while acknowledging the comedic material, he said he disliked the casting choices, particularly for Annalisa, and the general direction of the episode.[5](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/why-the-sopranos-creator-wanted-a-do-over-on-the-commendatori-episode-in-italy.html/)
Music is a noted element of the episode. "Core 'ngrato," the song Junior famously sang in the season 3 episode "[Army of One](https://www.edgepedia.org/army-of-one-the-sopranos)," also appears here.[15](https://janiojala.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/the-soprano-onceover-46-commendatori-s2e4/)
## References
1. [コメンダトリ (Commendatori), HiSoUR](https://www.hisour.com/data/commendatori/)
2. [Commendatori – The Sopranos (Season 2, Episode 4), Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/commendatori/umc.cmc.7ftl95sh0565dlpw10b7yzi3?showId=umc.cmc.7fvpbc4pqotnxhpx36c739tyd)
3. ["I Soprano" Commendatori (TV Episode 2000), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt0705237/)
4. [2x04 I Soprano | Viaggio a Napoli, MovieTele.it](https://www.movietele.it/epserietv/2x04-viaggio-a-napoli-i-soprano)
5. [Why the 'Sopranos' Creator Wanted a Do-Over on the 'Commendatori' Episode in Italy, CheatSheet](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/why-the-sopranos-creator-wanted-a-do-over-on-the-commendatori-episode-in-italy.html/)
6. [10 Best Episodes Of The Sopranos, Ranked, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/1812881/best-episodes-the-sopranos-ranked/)
7. [Episode 17 Commendatori, in at the end podcast](https://inattheend.podbean.com/e/episode-17-commendatori/)
8. [Position of women in the hierarchical power structure of the Camorra, University of Cambridge repository](https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/c1e380f1-ec33-427b-9a49-906392c0c133/content)
9. [Commendatori | The Sopranos | Episode Review, Colin's Review](https://colinsreview.com/2017/02/12/the-sopranos-commendatori-review/)
10. [Italian-American Identity, The Sopranos Wiki (analysis)](https://joedef.github.io/sopranos-wiki/analysis/italian-american-identity/)
11. [La dimensione del religioso nella serialità televisiva, Università di Napoli Suor Orsola Benincasa](https://universitypress.unisob.na.it/materiali/L0000283.pdf)
12. [The Ringer's Definitive 'Sopranos' Episode Rankings](https://www.sopranos.theringer.com/)
13. [The Sopranos: Commendatori, Gabe's TV Blog](https://reviewingtelevision.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-sopranos-commendatori.html)
14. [Directing The Sopranos, Directors Guild of America Quarterly](https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/issues/0405-may-2004/on-directing-the-sopranos)
15. [The Soprano Onceover: #46. "Commendatori" (S2E4), janiojala](https://janiojala.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/the-soprano-onceover-46-commendatori-s2e4/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › General episode articles › Crime and prestige drama episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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