Watching movies can be a great way to get immersed in a destination before traveling.

As long as we know it’s not necessarily the reality that’s portrayed in them, movies are great to make us daydream about packing our bags and going on adventures.

Or, if we cannot travel, we certainly can watch a movie (or two) to bring that place’s feel to our house. Plus, it’s a great way to spend an evening indoors with our significant other and discover new places to explore.

Here are some of the best movies shot in Italy. In no particular order. I am more than certain that you’ve seen at least some of them. And if you haven’t, I’m only writing a bit about each movie so that you can discover them, in their true splendor, on your own.

Eat Pray Love (2010)

A married woman realizes how unhappy her marriage is and sets off on a round-the-world journey to find herself.
In her journeys, she discovers the true pleasure of being nourished by food in Italy, the power of prayer in India, and the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

A writer (Frances) finds herself having to deal with a divorce and decides to accept her best friend Patti’s offer of a vacation, a gay tour of Tuscany. While in Tuscany, realizing the emotional toll of the divorce is too much to return to the States, Frances ditches the tour to purchase a villa. It ends up being a fixer-upper and, meantime, also finds love.

The tourist (2010)

Elise sits next to an American tourist on a train to Venice. She has chosen him as a decoy, making everyone believe he is her lover, someone wanted by the police.
They need to evade the police and the mobster whose money her real lover stole.

La vita è bella (1943)

A passion for gambling led Count Alberto to lose his wealth. He wants to commit suicide but he is stopped by a doctor who offers him a trade: a week of his life with as much money as he wants and then be a guinea pig for a new drug.

Letters to Juliet (2010)

On her trip to Verona, Sophie, an American girl, finds a place where people write heart-breaking letters to Juliet and wait for answers. She meets the “secretaries” who answer the letters. She discovers an old letter and decides to be Juliet and help the girl find her true love.

Romeo & Juliet (1968)

Based on the famous Shakespeare play, the 1968 movie is a British-Italian romantic tragedy.
Against the backdrop of “fair Verona”, the feud of two important clans – The Montagues and The Capulets – takes place. In their crossfire, the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet.

A Room with a View (2007)

Lucy and her older cousin travel from the UK to Florence and stay at Pensione Bertolini. She meets another British visitor, Charles, who falls in love with the Italian way of life and what’s important in life. He feels the same is happening to Lucy.

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Journalist (paparazzo) Marcello struggles to find his place in the world, torn between Rome’s elite social scene and the family life offered by his fiancé.

Gladiator (2000)

Maximus, a powerful Roman general is loved by the Emperor who decides to leave his wealth to him and not his son, Commodus. The power struggle that follows leaves Maximus’ family condemned to death. He gets captured and becomes a Gladiator, until his own death.

Inferno (2016)

A famous symbologist in on a quest to find clues about Dante. He wakes up in an Italian hospital, with amnesia, and teams up with Sienna Brooks, a doctor who he hopes will help him get his memory back. Together they rush across Europe to stop a madman from releasing a virus that could wipe half of the world’s population.

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Elio, the 17-year old son of an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture and a translator, spends his summer at a villa in Italy. Here, he meets Oliver, who arrives at the villa to work on his doctorate. Together they discover the heady beauty of awakening desire during a summer that will alter their lives forever.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Tom Ripley, a New Yorker, gets sent to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy, to return home. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.


A boy who grew up in a native Sicilian Village returns home after he learns about the death of an old friend. He reminiscences about his childhood and his relationship with Alfredo, a projectionist at Cinema Paradiso.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Joe Bradley is a reporter for the American News Service in Rome. He is on the verge of being fired and messes up even further by missing an interview with HRH Princess Ann, who is on a goodwill tour of Europe. And Rome is her latest stop. He stumbled upon a good piece of news when he finds out she called off her Roman engagements due to illness. He then realizes she recognizes her as being the young lady he rescued liked night and is still in his apartment nursing a hangover. The discover Rome together and the more time we spend with each other, the more they fall in love.

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