A guide to Italy's film locations: Rome (La Dolce Vita, Roman Holiday), Matera (Basilicata coast to coast), Lake C
Italy is one of the most-used film sets in the history of world cinema, not only for the beauty of the landscapes but for the variety: a single country has deserts (inland Sicily), forests (the Apennines), ancient cities (Rome, Pompeii), alpine lakes, medieval villages, spectacular coasts. This guide isn't a list of films, it's an itinerary for anyone who wants to visit the real places where certain stories became cinema.
Rome is probably the most filmed city in the history of cinema. The Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain are inseparably associated with "Roman Holiday" (William Wyler, 1953) with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, the gelato scene on the Spanish Steps is one of the most imitated sequences in cinema. The Trevi Fountain with Anita Ekberg in "La Dolce Vita" (Federico Fellini, 1960) made the fountain a global icon: the fountain became the destination after the film, not before. The Jewish Ghetto and the Lungotevere appear in dozens of 1960s-70s Italian films by Dino Risi, Luigi Comencini, Ettore Scola.
Cinecittà (Via Tuscolana 1055, Rome), the largest film studios in Europe, was built in 1937 by Mussolini as the "Hollywood of Fascism". Surviving the war, it became the center of postwar Italian cinema and then, in the 1950s-60s, the destination of the great Hollywood directors who came to Italy for the low costs and technical quality: Ben-Hur (1959), Cleopatra (1963), Romeo & Juliet (Zeffirelli, 1968). Today it's visitable as a museum and active set (www.cinecittasimostra.it, €15 adults). The tour includes the permanent sets of Roman antiquity, the exhibitions on the historic productions, the photo archives.
Matera (MT) is the Italian location that over the last 30 years has had the fastest rise in international cinema. The Sassi of Matera, the cave city carved into the limestone, have been used as the setting for: "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964, the Sassi as the Jerusalem of 2,000 years ago); "The Passion of the Christ" (Mel Gibson, 2004, the Sassi again as Jerusalem); "No Time to Die" (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021, the opening sequence of the latest James Bond with Daniel Craig is shot in Matera, including the motorcycle chase through the Sassi). Film tourism in Matera grew 300% after the Bond film.
Tuscany has hosted dozens of Anglo-American productions that turned it into an American dream of Italy: "The English Patient" (Anthony Minghella, 1996, Villa Cetinale near Siena), "Under the Tuscan Sun" (Audrey Wells, 2003, Cortona AR), "A Room with a View" (James Ivory, 1985, Florence and around), "Hannibal" (Ridley Scott, 2001, the scene of Hannibal Lecter's palazzo is shot at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, with special effects for the square). The Castle of Brolio in the Chianti (Gaiole in Chianti, SI) has been the set of various films and TV series, visitable with a cellar and tasting (www.ricasoli.it, €15 tour+tasting).
Villa Balbianello (Lenno, CO) is the most-used Italian location for the biggest-budget films: "Casino Royale" (Martin Campbell, 2006, the scene where Daniel Craig recovers from the stroke at the lakeside villa), "Star Wars Episode II" (George Lucas, 2002, the residence of Padmé Amidala). The villa belongs to the FAI (Italian Environment Fund) and is visitable (€15 adults, closed Monday and Wednesday). The ferry from Lenno or Varenna is the most scenic way to get there.
Ridley Scott shot "Gladiator" (2000) mainly in Malta (Fort Ricasoli, rebuilt as the Colosseum of Carthage) and in Morocco (the Ouarzazate Valley for the Germania/Spain scenes). The Roman scenes are almost all digital or rebuilt in studio (the Malta forts). Very little was shot in Rome, the Colosseum scene is 90% special effects. The real Colosseum doesn't allow long commercial shoots. The opening scene of the Roman camp is shot at Bourne Wood in Surrey, England.
Yes, vintage Vespa rental in Rome is a thriving industry. Bici & Baci (Via del Viminale 5, Rome, near Termini) rents vintage 1960s-80s Vespas with or without a guide-driver (a special film-inspired package with a helmet and headscarf like Audrey Hepburn is available for about €80-120 for 3 hours). RomaScoot (Lungotevere Prati 7) has historic Vespas and scooters with guided tours of the film's neighborhoods. Note: riding a scooter in Rome's historic center requires ZTL authorization (many central streets are closed to vehicles), check with the rental company.
The most recent international productions filmed in Italy: "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (Netflix, 2024, Venice, Naples, Rome, with Andrew Scott); "Ripley" (Netflix, 2024, the same story, shot in black and white mainly in Anzio, Rome, and Naples); "White Lotus" Season 2 (HBO, 2022, Taormina, Sicily, and Palermo); "House of Gucci" (Ridley Scott, 2021, Milan, Rome, Lake Como); "The Young Pope" (Paolo Sorrentino, 2016-2019, set mainly in Rome and Venice with Jude Law). The Italy Film Commission is the body that coordinates international productions, the full database of films shot in Italy is at www.italyforfilms.it.
Book everything ahead, it's the advice almost all tourists ignore and almost all regret. The Vatican Museums without a booking in summer: 3 hours in line. The Colosseum without a booking: 2-3 hours. The Galleria Borghese without a booking: you don't get in (entry by booking only). The Uffizi without a booking in August: 2 hours in line. Online booking cuts the ticket by 10-15 minutes and the line by hours. It isn't an optional recommendation, it's the difference between a successful trip and one wasted in lines.
It depends how you travel. Food in Italy is cheap compared to France, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries: an espresso at the counter €1-1.30; a whole pizza at a good pizzeria €7-12; a first course at a restaurant €12-18; an artisan gelato cone €2-4. Lodging is comparable to France and Spain, more expensive than Poland or Hungary. Italian museums are among the most expensive in Europe (€15-25 for the main ones) but the quality of the collections is incomparable. Transport (high-speed trains) is competitive with low-cost flights if booked ahead.
No. Italy uses the euro and payment by credit/debit card is accepted at almost every business (hotels, restaurants, shops, museums). The exceptions are small village bars and some local markets, keep €30-50 in cash for these situations. The currency-exchange fees at the exchange offices in tourist cities are high (5-8%), far better to use a card with no foreign-transaction fees (Revolut, N26, Wise) or withdraw at Italian ATMs with your own bank card (average fee: €2-4 per withdrawal).
Italy is the only country in the world to have three of the eight UNESCO criteria for cultural sites met at more than 50 different sites, a concentration of heritage with no parallel. It isn't just the number of sites (58 as of 2024, the highest in the world), but the variety: Paleolithic art, Roman monuments (Colosseum, Pompeii, Hadrian's Villa), medieval architecture (Assisi, Siena, Alberobello), cultural landscapes (Amalfi Coast, Val d'Orcia, Cinque Terre), nature (Dolomites, Monte San Giorgio), historic cities (Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples). Italy's heritage covers 2,500 years of Western civilization, and it isn't a museum but a living country that lives with it every day.
An often-forgotten fact: the Italian peninsula was the center of Mediterranean trade for almost 2,000 years, first with the Roman Empire, then with the Maritime Republics (Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Amalfi), then with the merchant bourgeoisie of the Renaissance. This commercial continuity left hospitality infrastructure (inns, Roman roads turned into consular routes, ports) that has defined European tourism logistics to this day: many of Italy's state roads follow Roman routes from 2,000 years ago.
Generally well, Italians have been used to tourism for centuries and have developed a notable professional tolerance. Some real observations: Italians hugely appreciate any attempt to speak Italian, even minimal ("grazie", "scusi", "buongiorno", the mandatory minimum). They find it annoying to be photographed without consent. They disapprove of eating while walking down the street (it's culturally undignified in much of Italy). They appreciate those who know something about their specific city, not just "Rome" generically, but a detail about the neighborhood or the local history. The Italians hardest for tourists to handle are the street vendors of the tourist areas, ignore them completely without responding.
It depends on age and area. In the big cities (Milan, Rome, Florence, Venice), 60-70% of the tourist-service staff speak decent English. Outside the tourist areas, in the small-to-mid towns and the villages, English is spoken much less, especially by the over-50s. The Italian generation of 20-35-year-olds speaks English much better than the previous generations thanks to digital media. In any case, nonverbal communication, patience, and a smile solve 90% of the situations where English isn't enough.
Italy has the highest density of museums per capita in the world: about 4,976 museums for 60 million inhabitants (source ISTAT 2022), one for every 12,000 people. By comparison, France has about 1,200 museums for 68 million inhabitants. That number includes tiny village museums, private collections, local picture galleries, but it reflects a culture of heritage conservation with no equal. Every Italian village, however small, almost always has a permanent exhibition or a local collection documenting its specific history.
The special openings of the FAI (Italian Environment Fund), during the FAI Spring Days (March) and Autumn Days (October), give access to places normally closed to the public: noble palaces, abandoned churches, private gardens, historic industrial complexes. The FAI Days draw 2-3 million visitors across the country each year. The calendar is on www.fondoambiente.it about a month before the openings. Access is by donation, there's no fixed ticket.
Some unwritten rules tourists often ignore: in churches, appropriate dress is required (covered shoulders and knees, or you're refused entry); during mass, silence is required even for those just passing through; at neighborhood markets, ask before touching the fruit and vegetables; at restaurants, don't ask for substantial changes to the dishes (in many traditional Italian restaurants it's considered disrespect for the cook's cuisine); at historic venues (historic cafés, old osterie), sitting at the counter is more correct than taking a table if you're only ordering coffee. These aren't rigid rules, but following them improves your interaction with Italians.