Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire (Sant'Agostino)

Italian television made Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire in 2010 as a two-part historical drama. In Italy it was shown as Sant'Agostino, and it is also known as Restless Heart: The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Its subject is Augustine, the early Christian theologian and writer who served as Bishop of Hippo Regius and is counted among the four fathers of the Church. Rai 1 broadcast it on 31 January and 1 February 2010.

The story follows an unsettled young Augustine torn between faith and philosophy. His turn toward Christianity, helped by the prayers of his mother Monica, and his later duties as a bishop in North Africa form the backbone of the drama, which arrives at AD 430, the year of the Vandal invasion. As the Roman world crumbles, the aging bishop works to keep his congregation together. Monica Guerritore and Alessandro Preziosi appear alongside Franco Nero, Johannes Brandrup, Götz Otto, Alexander Held, Katy Saunders, Sebastian Ströbel, Serena Rossi and Alessandro Borghi.

Christian Duguay directed and Francesco Arlanch wrote the screenplay. Filming took place on location in Tunisia. Producing companies include Rai Fiction, Lux Vide, Eos Entertainment, Rai Trade and Grupa Filmowa Baltmedia, and the two parts run roughly 200 minutes in total.