Friday, April 13, 2012
 |
| Life is Beautiful |
Have you ever visited a city’s historical
centre, or one of the many Tuscany Villas and had the feeling of being in a
familiar place? Deja vu perhaps, a memory imprinted in your mind from a scene
in a famous film?
Tuscany, due to its architectural and
natural beauty, is one of the most desirable filming locations for some of the
all time great Italian directors and directors from all over the world.
The list of Italian films shot in Tuscany
is endless though we should give a special mention to film director and Oscar
winner Roberto Benigni. He moved the world with his film "Life is
Beautiful" in 1997. It is the tragic story of a father and son imprisoned
in a Nazi death camp. For the filming Benigni returned to Arezzo in Tuscany,
where he was born forty-five years earlier. Still today, walking around the
historic city centre, it is not uncommon to find places that you will recognize
from the film.
Tuscany is also linked to many other Italian
directors like Federico Fellini. He set some of the scenes of his masterpiece
“8 ½” in the famous spa town of Chianciano. There is also Bernardo Bertolucci
who filmed parts of “Stealing Beauty” in Villa Geggiano, in the hills of Siena.
Besides the famous Italian directors,
Anthony Minghella filmed parts of "The English Patient" in Viareggio
and Forte dei Marmi. Ridley Scott’s award-winning "The Gladiator" was
shot in San Quirico d'Orcia, near Siena.
The use of seaside resorts, historic
centres and monuments are common. Filmmakers are also attracted by the houses,
palaces and the Tuscany Villas and the amount of times that the villas in
Tuscany have been used as film sets is innumerable. You may recall films such
as "Much Ado About Nothing" which was directed by Kenneth Branagh and
filmed at Villa Vignamaggio in the province of Florence. Another is
"Portrait of a Lady" by Jane Campion, filmed in Villa Reale, which is
undoubtedly one of the most popular of the Tuscany Villas.
More recently famous films shot in the area
include "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Audrey Wells , a dedication of love
for this land, plus Spike Lee’s controversial film “Miracle at Sant Anna” that
tells one of the most dramatic accounts of the Nazi invasion of Italy.
Labels: Tuscany Villas
posted by To Tuscany @ 9:21 AM
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