Films shot in Tuscany

Tuscany had already begun to appear in films at the beginning of the 1900s. Among the better known movies featuring or filmed in Tuscany are:

Romola (Henry King, 1924), a silent movie based on the novel by George Elliot and set in Florence in the 1500s, starring Lillian and Dorothy Gish.

Love on a Pillow (Le repos du guerrier) (Roger Vadim, 1962), which starred Brigitte Bardot, contains a shot filmed in the Abbazia di San Galgano.

Obsession (Brian de Palma, 1976) includes scenes filmed in the Church of San Miniato al Monte above Florence.

Room with a View (James Ivory, 1985) based on the novel by E.M. Forster and filmed in Florence.

Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion, 1996), based on the novel by Henry James and starring Nicole Kidman.

Amici Miei (Rossellini, 1975) starring Ugo Tognazzi and Philippe Noiret.

La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful) (Roberto Benigni, 1997) was set in Arezzo.

The Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000). The scene where Maximus rides back home from the war along a cypress lined path only to arrive too late to save his family was shot in the Siennese countryside while the dreams of paradise were shot in the Val d'Orcia.

But it's always better to edit out the Fiat tractor tracks if your film
is set in the days of ancient Rome.

Hannibal (Ridley Scott, 2001). Hannibal lectures in the Sala dei Cinquecento of the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence and commits his most gruesome crimes in Piazza della Signoria and Piazza della Reppublica.

San Gimignano, with its cluster of mediaeval towers, is one of the most photogenic towns in Italy, and has been the location for dozens of films, from which the following stand out:

Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna (Franco Zeffirelli, 1972) was filmed in San Gimignano.

The Meadow (Il Prato) (Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, 1979) brought further fame to San Gimignano. 

Tea with Mussolini (Franco Zeffirelli, 1999) filmed in Florence and San Gimignano.

Where Angels Fear to Tread (Sturridge, 1992), based on another E.M. Forster novel, is set in the fictional city of Monteriano which is basically a make-believe San Gimignano.

The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996), which won 9 Oscars, was filmed in Montepulciano, Versilia and the countryside around Pienza, particularly the monastery of Sant’Anna in Camprena.

Under the Tuscan Sun (Audrey Wells, 2003) was filmed around Montepulciano, Cortona and the Amalfi coast. It was based on the best-selling book of the same name by Frances Mayes, who restored a house in Cortona. The house shown in the film is located on the Amalfi coast, not in Cortona.

Several cinematographic adaptations of works by Shakespeare set in Tuscany. These include:

Romeo and Juliet (Castellani 1954), filmed in part in San Quirico d’Orcia.

Much Ado about Nothing ( Kenneth Branagh 1993), filmed at Villa Vignamaggio near Greve in Chianti.

Romeo and Juliet ( Zeffirelli, 1968), a much more successful effort than that of Castellani in 1954, was filmed in Pienza and won two Oscars.

Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hoffman, 1998) starring Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett and Sophie Marceau was filmed in Montepulciano.

The Twilight Saga: The New Moon (Chris Weitz, 2010), part 2 of a vampire movie aimed at teenage girls, is partly set in Volterra but was filmed in Montepulciano.

The Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai, winner at Cannes in September 2005 for Shanghai Dreams, has recently filmed a documentary called Tuscan Dreams, around Pisa, Florence, Chianti and the Maremma, exploring the land and its inhabitants, and their traditions and customs.

Pinocchio (Roberto Benigni, 2002) was filmed in part in Tuscany. The dubbed version received multiple Razzi awards. I thought the Italian version was not too bad. True, Benigni didn't take any risks. I guess the earlier film with Gina Lollobrigida was pretty good if only because she was in it. Collodi, who wrote the story of Pinocchio, was born and died in Florence.

Gina Lollobrigida looking good as the Blue Fairy in Pinnoccio

Films shot in Tuscany since 1910