7 of the Best Movies Set In Tuscany
- August 10, 2020
- 15:13
The wonderful landscapes of Tuscany have always been an ideal place to set a movie. Here is our hand-picked list of 7 of the best movies set in Tuscany.
Planning a visit to Tuscany? There are quite a few films set in Tuscany that will help you get into the Tuscan spirit and find inspiration for your travel. These are our picks:
- Life is Beautiful
- A Room with a Wiew
- Il Sorpasso
- Amici Miei
- The English Patient
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon
- Under The Tuscan Sun
1.Life is Beautiful (1997)
Life Is Beautiful is one of the most famous Italian comedy-drama. It is directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner. He with his imagination tries to protect his son from the horrors of internment in a Nazi concentration camp.
The film was a widespread critical success, winning three Academy Awards (including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor for Benigni).
The first part of the film was shot in Arezzo. The most famous places of the movie are Piazza Grande, the staircase of the Cathedral of Saints Donato and Pietro, the Basilica of San Francesco and the historical coffee of The Costanti.
2. A Room with a View (1985)
A Room with a View is a British romance film directed by James Ivory. Set in England and Italy, it is about a young woman named Lucy Honeychurch. She lives in the restrictive culture of Edwardian England, where she falls in love for a free-spirited young man, George Emerson.
The film had a great success and won three Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design.
A substantial part of the film was shot in Florence. The city is the perfect backdrop for this passionate love story: Piazza della Signoria and the Basilica of Santa Croce give the film unique emotions.
3. Il Sorpasso (1962)
Il Sorpasso is an Italian cult comedy, co-written and directed by Dino Risi and starring Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Catherine Spaak. It’s considered Risi’s masterpiece and one of the best examples of the Commedia all’italiana film genre.
The story offers a touching portrait of Italy in the early 1960s. In this period the economic boom was beginning to transform the country from a traditionally agricultural and family-centered society into a more consumerist society.
The movie is set between Lazio and the coast of Tuscany. The main Tuscan locations of the movie are the coast of Castiglioncello, where the protagonists spend time at the beach while relaxing, and the Aurelia road towards Viareggio, where the film ends.
4. Amici Miei (1975)
Amici Miei is an Italian comedy-drama film directed by Mario Monicelli. The film was followed by two sequels, Amici Miei Atto II (1982, also by Monicelli), Amici Miei Atto III (1985), directed by Nanni Loy.
It tells the story of four middle-aged friends in Florence who organize numerous jokes and pranks together in an ongoing attempt to prolong childhood during their adult life.
The movie is set in Florence. The director decided to represent the less know places of Florence. Indeed, he excluded all the most famous locations, trying to immerse the viewer in the daily atmosphere of the Tuscan capital. The main locations are: Piazza Santa Croce, Piazza dei Peruzzi, Piazza Ghiberti, Piazza dell’Isolotto and Piazza San Lorenzo.
5. The English Patient (1996)
The English Patient is a British-American epic romantic war drama film. It’s directed by Anthony Minghella from his own script, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje.
The film tells the story of an unknown injured man who speaks with an English accent. He finds refuge in an abandoned villa in Pienza, near Siena in the last months of World War II. Here he tells his story to the young nurse caring, slowly revealing his identity.
The movie was mostly filmed in the beautiful Val d’Orcia, UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004. The film allows you to admire the beautiful landscapes of the Tuscan countryside.
Quite a few shots were taken in Ripafratta, in the province of Pisa, while the most intense scene of the film takes place in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo.
6. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
New Moon is a 2009 American romantic fantasy film directed by Chris Weitz, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008’s Twilight.
The movie is set in Canada and in Italy. Much of the film is set in Volterra, the ancient Italian city that (in the fiction) houses the royal family of red-eyed vampires, the Volturi.
Volterra is a real city near Siena but that is not where the scenes were shot. The film actually used the beautiful medieval city of Montepulciano (about 55 miles south-east of Volterra), famous for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Here you can admire the beautiful tower of the Palazzo del Comune in Piazza Grande.
7. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Under the Tuscan Sun is an American romantic comedy-drama film written. Produced, and directed by Audrey Wells and starring Diane Lane and Raul Bova. The movie tells the story of a recently divorced writer. She decides to buy a villa in Tuscany to start a new life after the marriage.
The film was nominated for the Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Award, and Diane Lane received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance.
Probably the most quintessential movie about Tuscany, the story is set in the Tuscan countryside between Cortona and Montepulciano. Again, this is another enjoyable opportunity to admire the beautiful Tuscan landscapes.
This was our pick of 7 of the best movies set in Tuscany. Have you ever watched these films? What are your favorite movies set in Tuscany? Just let us know in the comments!
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