There are many ways to see Italy and the Italians once you have arrived in this lovely country. But there is another way that you can see Italy and the Italians without actually leaving your home…via the movies!
Here are over 100 Movies to check out if you’re taking a vacation or moving to Italy. Some are classics of the Italian Cinema such as ‘La Dolce Vita‘ others are more recent like ‘To Rome with Love’. They all have one thing in common..they all have locations set in Italy.
If you know of any more, please leave a comment and I’ll be pleased to add them to this list:
8½ 1976 (Ostia, Tivoli, Rome)
1900 1976 (Capri, Cremona, Emilia-Romagna, Parma)
Amarcord 1973 (Anzio, Rimini)
A Month by the Lake 1995 (Lake Como)
A Summer in Genoa 2008 (Camogli, Genoa)
Angels and Demons 2009 (Caserta, Rome, Vatican)
A Room With A View 1985 (Florence)
Basilicata Coast to Coast 2010 (Basilicata)
Benvenuti al sud 2010 (Castellabate, Milan, Salerno)
Bicycle Thieves 1948 (Rome)
Bread and Tulips 2000 (Paestum, Pescara, Rome, Venice)
Brideshead Revisted 2008 (Venice)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon 1972 (Gubbio, Montalcino, San Gimignano)
Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell 1968 (Ariccia, Rome)
Casanova 2005 (Vicenza, Venice)
Casino Royale 2006 (Como, Venice)
Cinema Paradiso 1988 (Palermo, Rome)
Christ Stopped at Eboli 1979 (Matera, Basilicata)
Contempt 1963 (Capri, Rome)
Darling 1965 (Florence, Rome)
Death in Venice 1971 (Bolzano, Dolomites, Venice)
Divorce, Italian Style 1961 (Catania, Ragusa)
Don’t Look Now 1973 (Venice)
Don’t Torture a Duckling 1972 (Foggia, Lazio, Matera)
Eat Pray Love 2010 (Naples)
Enchanted April 1992 (Portofino)
For Your Eyes Only 1981 (Belluno, Dolomites, Venice)
Gladiator 2000 (Siena)
Gomorra 2008 (Naples, Venice)
Hannah and her Sisters 1986 (Turin)
Hannibal 2001 (Florence)
I Am Love 2009 (Dolceacqua, Milan, San Remo)
Il Bidone 1955 (Rome)
Il Postino: The Postman 1994 (Aeolian Islands, Procida Island, Naples)
Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953 (Rome)
L’Avventura 1960 (Rome, Sicily)
La Dolce Vita 1960 (Rome, Tivoli, Viterbo)
La Notte 1961 (Milan)
La Strada 1954 (L’Aquila, Viterbo, Rome)
Le Notti Bianche 1957 (Rome)
Letters to Juliet 2010 (Siena, Soave, Verona)
Life is Beautiful 1997 (Arezzo, Cortona, Terni)
Love is All You Need 2012 (Salerno, Sorrento)
1900 1976 (Capri, Cremona, Emilia-Romagna, Parma)
Amarcord 1973 (Anzio, Rimini)
A Month by the Lake 1995 (Lake Como)
A Summer in Genoa 2008 (Camogli, Genoa)
Angels and Demons 2009 (Caserta, Rome, Vatican)
A Room With A View 1985 (Florence)
Basilicata Coast to Coast 2010 (Basilicata)
Benvenuti al sud 2010 (Castellabate, Milan, Salerno)
Bicycle Thieves 1948 (Rome)
Bread and Tulips 2000 (Paestum, Pescara, Rome, Venice)
Brideshead Revisted 2008 (Venice)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon 1972 (Gubbio, Montalcino, San Gimignano)
Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell 1968 (Ariccia, Rome)
Casanova 2005 (Vicenza, Venice)
Casino Royale 2006 (Como, Venice)
Cinema Paradiso 1988 (Palermo, Rome)
Christ Stopped at Eboli 1979 (Matera, Basilicata)
Contempt 1963 (Capri, Rome)
Darling 1965 (Florence, Rome)
Death in Venice 1971 (Bolzano, Dolomites, Venice)
Divorce, Italian Style 1961 (Catania, Ragusa)
Don’t Look Now 1973 (Venice)
Don’t Torture a Duckling 1972 (Foggia, Lazio, Matera)
Eat Pray Love 2010 (Naples)
Enchanted April 1992 (Portofino)
For Your Eyes Only 1981 (Belluno, Dolomites, Venice)
Gladiator 2000 (Siena)
Gomorra 2008 (Naples, Venice)
Hannah and her Sisters 1986 (Turin)
Hannibal 2001 (Florence)
I Am Love 2009 (Dolceacqua, Milan, San Remo)
Il Bidone 1955 (Rome)
Il Postino: The Postman 1994 (Aeolian Islands, Procida Island, Naples)
Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953 (Rome)
L’Avventura 1960 (Rome, Sicily)
La Dolce Vita 1960 (Rome, Tivoli, Viterbo)
La Notte 1961 (Milan)
La Strada 1954 (L’Aquila, Viterbo, Rome)
Le Notti Bianche 1957 (Rome)
Letters to Juliet 2010 (Siena, Soave, Verona)
Life is Beautiful 1997 (Arezzo, Cortona, Terni)
Love is All You Need 2012 (Salerno, Sorrento)
Malèna 2000 (Messina, Syracus,Taormina)
Man on Fire 2004 (Naples)
Maurice 1987 (Trapani)
Mi manda Picone 1984 (Naples)
Mighty Aphrodite 1995 (Taormina)
Miracle at St.Anna 2008 (Lucca, Rome)
Moonraker 1979 (Venice)
Mother of Tears 2007 (Rome, Terni, Turin)
My House in Umbria 2003 (Siena)
Much Ado About Nothing 1993 (Greve, Chianti)
Nights of Cabiria 1957 (Rome)
Nine 2009 (Milan, Positano, Rome, Viterbo)
Nuovomondo 2006 (Sicily)
Oceans Twelve 2004 (Como)
Once Upon a Time in America 1984 (Rome, Venice)
Only You 1994 (Positano, Rome, San Gimignano, Venice)
Ossessione 1943 (Ancona, Emilia-Romagna, Ferrara)
Quantum of Solace 2008 (Basilicata, Carrara, Lake Garda, Siena,
Red Desert 1964 (Ravenna, Sardinia)
Respiro 2002 (Lampedusa)
Roma 1972 (Rome)
Roman Holiday 1953 (Rome)
Rome, Open City 1945 (Rome)
Romeo and Juliet 1968 (Gubbio, Rome, Siena)
Seven Beauties 1975 (Naples)
Shadows in the Sun 2005 (Siena)
Stealing Beauty 1996 (Siena)
Summertime 1955 (Venice)
Swept Away 2002 (Sardinia)
Table for Five 1983 (Genoa, Rome)
Tea With Mussolini 1999 (Florence, Rome, San Gimignano)
The American 2010 (L’Aquila, Rome)
The Best of Youth 2003 (Florence Ravenna, Spoleto, Stromboli, Turin, Venice)
The Bourne Identity 2004 (Rome)
The Bourne Supremacy 2004 (Naples)
The Bourne Ultimatum 2004 (Turin)
Man on Fire 2004 (Naples)
Maurice 1987 (Trapani)
Mi manda Picone 1984 (Naples)
Mighty Aphrodite 1995 (Taormina)
Miracle at St.Anna 2008 (Lucca, Rome)
Moonraker 1979 (Venice)
Mother of Tears 2007 (Rome, Terni, Turin)
My House in Umbria 2003 (Siena)
Much Ado About Nothing 1993 (Greve, Chianti)
Nights of Cabiria 1957 (Rome)
Nine 2009 (Milan, Positano, Rome, Viterbo)
Nuovomondo 2006 (Sicily)
Oceans Twelve 2004 (Como)
Once Upon a Time in America 1984 (Rome, Venice)
Only You 1994 (Positano, Rome, San Gimignano, Venice)
Ossessione 1943 (Ancona, Emilia-Romagna, Ferrara)
Quantum of Solace 2008 (Basilicata, Carrara, Lake Garda, Siena,
Red Desert 1964 (Ravenna, Sardinia)
Respiro 2002 (Lampedusa)
Roma 1972 (Rome)
Roman Holiday 1953 (Rome)
Rome, Open City 1945 (Rome)
Romeo and Juliet 1968 (Gubbio, Rome, Siena)
Seven Beauties 1975 (Naples)
Shadows in the Sun 2005 (Siena)
Stealing Beauty 1996 (Siena)
Summertime 1955 (Venice)
Swept Away 2002 (Sardinia)
Table for Five 1983 (Genoa, Rome)
Tea With Mussolini 1999 (Florence, Rome, San Gimignano)
The American 2010 (L’Aquila, Rome)
The Best of Youth 2003 (Florence Ravenna, Spoleto, Stromboli, Turin, Venice)
The Bourne Identity 2004 (Rome)
The Bourne Supremacy 2004 (Naples)
The Bourne Ultimatum 2004 (Turin)
The Children Are Watching Us 1944 (Alassio, Rome)
The Comfort of Strangers 1990 (Rome, Venice)
The Conformist 1970 (Rome)
The Day of the Jackal 1973 (Genoa, Imperia)
The English Patient 1996 (Rome, Trieste, Venice, Viareggio)
The Garden of the Finzi Continis 1970 (Ferrara)
The Godfather 1972 (Messina, Savoca, Sicily)
The Godfather II 1972 (Messina, Sicily, Trieste)
The Godfather III 1972 (Palermo, Rome, Sicily, Vatican, Viterbo)
The Italian Job 1969 (Turin)
The Italian Job 2003 (Genoa, Trento, Venice)
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou 2004 (Florence, Naples, Ponza Island)
The Lizzie McGuire Movie 2003 (Rome)
The Night of the Shooting Stars 1982 (Empoli, Florence, Pisa)
The Leopard 1963 (Palermo, Rome)
The Passion of the Christ 2004 (Basilicata)
The Red Violin 1998 (Cremona)
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone 1961 (Rome)
The Secret of Santa Vittoria 1969 (Capranica, Rome, Tivoli)
The Seduction of Mimi 1972 (Catania, Turin)
The Spider’s Stratagem 1970 (Sabbioneta, Mantua)
The Talented Mr Ripley 1999 (Ischia, Naples, Positano, Rome, Venice)
The Tourist 2010 (Treviso, Venice)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs 1978 (Bergamo)
The Wings of the Dove 1997 (Venice)
The World of Don Camillo 1984 (Mantua, Reggio Emilia)
Three Coins in a Fountain 1954 (Dolomites, Merano, Rome, Venice)
To Rome with Love 2012 (Rome)
Two Women 1960 (Lazio)
Under The Tuscan Sun 2003 (Cortona, Florence, Montepulciano, Positano, Rome)
Umberto D 1952 (Rome)
Villa Amalia 2009 (Ischia, Naples)
When in Rome 2010 (Rome)
Where Angels Fear to Tread 1991 (Caprarola, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Siena)
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 1963 (Milan, Naples, Rome)
The Comfort of Strangers 1990 (Rome, Venice)
The Conformist 1970 (Rome)
The Day of the Jackal 1973 (Genoa, Imperia)
The English Patient 1996 (Rome, Trieste, Venice, Viareggio)
The Garden of the Finzi Continis 1970 (Ferrara)
The Godfather 1972 (Messina, Savoca, Sicily)
The Godfather II 1972 (Messina, Sicily, Trieste)
The Godfather III 1972 (Palermo, Rome, Sicily, Vatican, Viterbo)
The Italian Job 1969 (Turin)
The Italian Job 2003 (Genoa, Trento, Venice)
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou 2004 (Florence, Naples, Ponza Island)
The Lizzie McGuire Movie 2003 (Rome)
The Night of the Shooting Stars 1982 (Empoli, Florence, Pisa)
The Leopard 1963 (Palermo, Rome)
The Passion of the Christ 2004 (Basilicata)
The Red Violin 1998 (Cremona)
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone 1961 (Rome)
The Secret of Santa Vittoria 1969 (Capranica, Rome, Tivoli)
The Seduction of Mimi 1972 (Catania, Turin)
The Spider’s Stratagem 1970 (Sabbioneta, Mantua)
The Talented Mr Ripley 1999 (Ischia, Naples, Positano, Rome, Venice)
The Tourist 2010 (Treviso, Venice)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs 1978 (Bergamo)
The Wings of the Dove 1997 (Venice)
The World of Don Camillo 1984 (Mantua, Reggio Emilia)
Three Coins in a Fountain 1954 (Dolomites, Merano, Rome, Venice)
To Rome with Love 2012 (Rome)
Two Women 1960 (Lazio)
Under The Tuscan Sun 2003 (Cortona, Florence, Montepulciano, Positano, Rome)
Umberto D 1952 (Rome)
Villa Amalia 2009 (Ischia, Naples)
When in Rome 2010 (Rome)
Where Angels Fear to Tread 1991 (Caprarola, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Siena)
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 1963 (Milan, Naples, Rome)
I’ve seen some of these, but there are plenty to turn to when I am baffled as to what to watch. Great list thanks.
Great list– i’d like to add a few more
The Conformist (Bertolucci, 1970)- captures a heart-broken Rome of the early 1940s
The Lizzie Maguire Movie (2003)- not your standard fare, but this is guaranteed to make your daughters, nieces, and any under 16-yr-old girl fall in love with Rome
Contempt (Godard, 1963)- the other side of La Dolce Vita
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), based on a novella by Tennessee Williams
Thanks Erica, added to the revamped and new page…
We posted your great list on our Dream of Venice FB page and people are adding all sorts of new titles!
Thank you JoAnn, Maybe they could add them here!
I’d like to add three films shot in Venice: Wings of the Dove, with Helena Bonham Carter, from the Henry James novel (1997), The Comfort of Strangers, with Helen Mirren, Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett ane Natasha Richardson (1990), and Summertime, with Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi (1955).
Thank you J.Bush added to the new list!
to add:
Basilicata coast to coast not the greatest film but marvelous cinematography of a region of Italy still relatively “virgin”
Thanks Mary!