Portobello recounts one of Italy’s most sensational miscarriages of justice: the story of television presenter Enzo Tortora, the tragic events that led to the ruin of an innocent man.

1982: Enzo Tortora is at the height of his success. He hosts Portobello and reaches 28 million viewers in prime time, all waiting for the contestant who can get the parrot, the show’s guest of honour, to speak. President Pertini names him Commander of the Republic. Tortora is the king of television in the 1980s, and his programme chronicles and comforts the country.
During those same years, the Irpinia earthquake deals the final blow to the already fragile balance of the crime syndicate Nuova Camorra Organizzata. Giovanni Pandico, a trusted man of boss Raffaele Cutolo and a regular viewer of Portobello from his cell, decides to confess. When questioned by the judges, he gives them an unexpected name: Enzo Tortora.

When, on June 17, 1983, the Carabinieri knocked on the door of his hotel room, Tortora thought it was a mistake, but it was only the beginning of an odyssey that would drag him from the top to the abyss.