Ciak! Action in Valdichiana

CIAK! IT’S TIME TO RECORD!

 

We usually see  the landscape of the Valdichiana Senese and the Val d’Orcia in cinema e and television. Their beauty with the atmosphere from the Renaissance, inspired national and international director.

Let’s trace the movie sets in the two areas.

MEDICI-MASTERS OF FLORENCE (2015) 

An international cast starring Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden for the fiction broadcasted by the RAI about the most famous Tuscan family, and the historical centre of Montepulciano as the main setting of the scenes. Among the places chosen by director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, assistant director and collaborator of Steven Spielberg: the Cathedral, the Town Hall and Piazza Grande (completely covered with tufa).

NEW MOON – TWILIGHT SAGA (2009)

The desperate race of the protagonist, Bella, to rescue his beloved vampire, Edward, from the hands of the Volturi, were shot right through the alleys of the historical centre of Montepulciano. Besides, the climax of the movie – Bella saving Edward, was shot in Piazza Grande, at the entrance to the Town Hall. It is also here where the fountain described in the book – 7-metres long and made of wood and papier-mâché, was perfectly reproduced.

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN (2003)

 Many of the panoramic scenes of this movie have as a subject the hills of Val d’Orcia and Valdichiana, as well as the curvy streets, surrounded by cypresses. The historical centre is that of Cortona, but the flag wavers scene was shot in Montepulciano.

THE GLADIATOR (2000)

A masterpiece by Ridley Scott, who situated the house of gladiator Massimo Decimo Meridio into the wonderful landscape of the Tuscan countryside between Pienza and San Quirico. Even the  Champs Elysees, with ears of wheat and cypresses, are glimpses of that beautiful valley.

 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM (1999)

 Imaginative and magical comedy based upon the work by William Shakespeare. Many scenes of the movie were shot in the Renaissance buildings of Montepulciano, close to the Pozzo dei Grifi e dei Leoni [Well of the Griffins and Lions], and on the rest of Piazza Grande.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996)

“The English Patient” is one of the most awarded movies in the history of cinema; for the most part, it was shot in Tuscany, more precisely in Pienza. The monastery that appears in the film is that of Sant’Anna in Camprena, now converted into a farm holiday, where many environments are still clearly recognizable. Among them, the great basin in the garden, which appears several times in the movie.

IN THE NAME OF THE POPE KING (1977)

Set in Rome in 1868, it was filmed between the capital and Montepulciano. A dramatic film that sees Nino Manfredi as Monsignor Colombo among the actors in the cast. It is the second film of a trilogy that began in 1969 with "In the year of the Lord" and ended in 1990 with "In the name of the sovereign people".

8 ½ (1963)

 One of the masterpieces by Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale. The movie draws inspiration precisely from the Chianciano Thermal Baths, particularly from the Thermal Park “Acqua Santa”. In fact, it appears in every frame – albeit transfigured by the imaginative eye of the conductor.

TO RELIVE THE RENAISSANCE ATMOSPHERES OF THE I MEDICI TODAY OR THE FASCINATING SCENES OF NEW MOON IS STILL POSSIBLE.

Thanks to the “I medici” Tour, the New Moon Tour or the Cinema Setting Tour, you can relive the unique emotions of films shot in Valdichiana and Val d’Orcia.