The charm of the lagoon city has always captured film directors from the world over. Here is a selection of films set in its canals and calle.
27 Dec 2020
Gruppo UNA
Luchino Visconti, Martin Campbell, Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg. Venice has always been an enduring presence in the history of cinema for the unique atmosphere and magic ambiance that only this city built on water can offer. Saint Mark’s, Canal Grande, Rialto Bridge, Punta della Dogana are some of the locations that have served as the perfect backdrops for the most diverse plots. Follow us on this tour across Venice guided by the camera of famous directors.
007 – Casino Royale.
The world’s most famous secret agent on screen has travelled the world in twenty-four unforgettable films. In Casino Royale most of the action is set in Venice, where James Bond, played for the first time by Daniel Craig, must investigate on the terrorist Mollaka. But nothing goes according to plan and the secret agent must go solo to take down the clandestine terrorist cell. In the scenes we recognise the Sotoportego dell’Erbaria, not far from the Rialto Bridge, and the Canal Grande palazzi. Among these is an anonymous seventeenth-century building that gets destroyed during the action, but not for real, it’s only special effects.
The Tourist.
One of the latest famous films set in Venice is certainly The Tourist. Frank, played by Johnny Depp, is an American tourist who has come to Italy to forget a stormy love story. In Venice he meets Elise, played by Angelina Jolie, a mysterious and captivating woman he falls in love with and who will drag him into an ambiguous whirlwind of events that will be difficult to escape. In the film we see Venice’s Santa Lucia train station, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Marciana National Library, the Arsenale and Fondaco dei Turchi.
Inferno.
Inferno, the second film based on Dan Brown’s successful novels is set in Venice, Florence and Istanbul, three cities where semiology professor Robert Langdon must solve a new dangerous aenigma connected to Dante’s Inferno. A mystery that may put human life as we know it at risk. During the action the camera captures Saint Mark’s Basilica, Piazza San Marco and the ever-present Canal Grande.
Everyone Says I Love You.
Woody Allen’s love for Venice has never been a mystery. As he has said multiple times, he considers this city his second home. So much so he has contributed to the rebuilding of the Gran Teatro La Fenice that was destroyed in a fire in January 1996 and even decided to celebrate here his third marriage with Soon-Yi Previn.
So it is hardly surprising that one of his films is set in Venice, Everyone Says I Love You. At the beginning of the film, we see Woody Allen at Gritti Palace of Santa Maria del Giglio the hotel where he is staying with his daughter in a room with a view on Canal Grande.
Where to stay in Venice
For a dreamlike sojourn on the Venetian Lagoon, Residenza Venezia is a recently restored historical building representative of pure Venetian style refinement. Welcoming and elegant, sleeping in one of its six rooms will assure you a unique accommodation in great style and comfort. Alternatively, if you prefer the historical Cannaregio neighbourhood, Maison Venezia | UNA Esperienze will offer you the sojourn you are looking for. The prestigious building has been restored to its original splendour and each room furnished so to create an unforgettable atmosphere in Italy’s most romantic city.