Hollywood chose
our backyard
The hills, wheat fields and Renaissance villages surrounding Podere Spedalone have served as paradise, battleground, fairy forest and Renaissance Florence for ten of the most celebrated films and series of the last sixty years.
The Val d'Orcia has always known how to seduce. Its undulating hills, cypress-lined white roads and luminous golden light have inspired painters, poets and pilgrims for centuries. It should be no surprise that directors — scouting the world for the perfect image of paradise, of loss, of timeless beauty — kept returning here.
Within a short drive of Podere Spedalone you can stand in the very fields where Maximus dreamed of home, walk the courtyard where Romeo first saw Juliet, and trace the road where a wartime nurse carried her patient to safety. These are not studio backdrops — they are your surroundings.
Below you will find every confirmed location with its exact address, a Google Maps link and distance from the property. Download all pins for your phone, or use the interactive map to plan your route.
Hollywood Classics
Gladiator
Ridley Scott needed a landscape that could pass for paradise. He found it here. The Val d'Orcia appears twice in the film — first as Maximus walks a cypress-lined avenue toward his murdered family, then in the final moments as he crosses a shimmering wheat field to reach Elysium. The crew stayed fifteen days waiting for the right light.
The English Patient
Minghella used the landscape around Pienza as the Tuscan refuge where nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) tends to the burnt Almásy (Ralph Fiennes). The 15th-century former Benedictine monastery of Sant'Anna in Camprena — along the very SP71 road that passes our gate — served as the villa. A scene was also filmed near Cosona, alongside Podere Spedalone.
Romeo & Juliet
Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation used Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza's Piazza Pio II as the Capulet family mansion. The famous ballroom where Romeo and Juliet first meet was filmed in the Renaissance courtyard. The film plays on loop there today.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hoffman transported Shakespeare's Athens to a fictional Tuscan village called 'Monte Athena' built around Montepulciano. The film opens with a sweeping panorama of the Val d'Orcia toward Pienza. Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett and a young Christian Bale roam streets you can walk today.
Twilight: New Moon
Chris Weitz chose Montepulciano over Volterra — its Piazza Grande better matched the vision of an ancient Italian labyrinth. The scene where Bella races to stop Edward was filmed here with a 7-metre wooden fountain built specially. The Tempio di San Biagio features in the approach sequences.
Italian & Recent Productions
The Val d'Orcia did not only seduce Hollywood. Italian directors, Russian masters and modern streaming platforms have all returned — dressing these hills as Renaissance Florence, a mystical sanctuary, or a comedy backdrop.
I Medici
This RAI/Netflix series used the villages around Pienza and Montepulciano as 15th-century Florence for all three seasons. Piazza Grande became Piazza della Signoria; Palazzo Piccolomini served as Palazzo Medici; Bagno Vignoni appeared as the Medici thermal baths.
Nostalghia
Tarkovsky came to Bagno Vignoni to make his masterpiece about exile and the impossibility of going home. The village's medieval thermal pool became one of cinema's most iconic images. He described the Val d'Orcia as one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen.
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Having used Pienza as Verona in 1968, Zeffirelli returned to film the life of Saint Francis. The Abbazia di Sant'Antimo — a breathtaking 9th-century Romanesque abbey south of Montalcino — served as Francis's monastery. It still holds Gregorian chant and is open to visitors.
Voice from the Stone
This Gothic mystery stars Emilia Clarke as a nurse summoned to a remote Tuscan villa to care for a boy who has stopped speaking. All exterior filming was done in San Quirico d'Orcia: the Horti Leonini gardens, Via Poliziano and Palazzo Chigi all feature.
La Dolce Villa
This Netflix romantic comedy was filmed across the Val d'Orcia for two weeks in April 2024, landing immediately in the global Top 10. San Quirico d'Orcia and Bagno Vignoni are the stars, joined by Pienza and Montepulciano. The fictional 'Montezara' is a composite of all these locations.
Live inside
the film
The Val d'Orcia you see on screen is not a constructed illusion. It is the view from our terrace at breakfast, the road our horses take each morning, the hillside where our guests hunt truffles on autumn days.
Podere Spedalone sits 3 km from Pienza and 2 km from the SP71 road where The English Patient was filmed. The Gladiator fields are twenty minutes away. Bagno Vignoni — where Tarkovsky made Nostalghia — is half an hour.
Ride through the same hills where Maximus dreamed of Elysium. Morning and sunset departures.
Into the same oak woods that appear in I Medici and La Dolce Villa, with our truffle dog and expert guide.
Handmade pici, medieval Tuscan recipes, our own saffron and olive oil. The cuisine of the Val d'Orcia, from scratch.
Dinner on our terrace as the light falls gold across the film's hills. Organic produce, local Brunello and Vino Nobile.
The Cinema Map of Val d'Orcia
Planning Your Cinematic Day-Trip
A car is essential
Most locations are on rural roads not served by buses. A full Pienza–Montepulciano–Gladiator circuit takes around half a day.
Go at golden hour
The Gladiator crew waited fifteen days for the right light. Visit the Terrapille fields in the hour before sunset.
Respect private land
The Gladiator cypress avenue and wheat fields are working farms. Admire from the road — the scenery is just as breathtaking.
Book Palazzo Piccolomini
Requires a timed entry ticket. Book ahead in high season. Romeo & Juliet plays on loop in the courtyard.
Linger in Bagno Vignoni
Three films were shot here. The thermal pool at dusk — steam rising in the silence — is one of the most otherworldly sights in Tuscany.
End the day at Spedalone
Return home for aperitivo on our terrace as the light falls golden over the very hills where Maximus dreamed of Elysium. The view is the same. The wine is better.
Want someone
to take you?
Every location on this page is reachable on your own — but knowing where to stop, which gate to look through, when the light is right, and which cellar to duck into afterwards: that is what a guide is for.
Our private tours cover whichever films and locations interest you most — half-day or full-day, bilingual (EN / IT), departing from Podere Spedalone or your accommodation.
Per tour (not per person) · min 3 hours
Full-day tours (5–8 h) from €450
Entrance fees & tastings not included
- Cinematic Val d'Orcia — all film locations in one route
- Add wine tasting, truffle hunting or a village lunch
- Private bilingual guide — no shared groups
- Departs from Podere Spedalone or your accommodation
How to Import the Map on Your Phone
Download the .kml above, then follow the steps for your device
📱 iPhone — Google Maps
Download the .kml → tap Share → Open in Google Maps. All pins appear as a saved map with film names and descriptions.
🗺️ iPhone — Apple Maps
Download the .kml → tap Share → Open in Maps. All pins display with labels. Works offline once loaded.
🤖 Android — Google Maps
Open Google Maps → Your Places → Maps → tap + → Import → choose the file. All cinema pins appear on your map.