Where it was filmed 'Sirene'

A mermaid, Partenope, founded Naples centuries ago. Today, the species is at risk of extinction and Ares, the last triton in the Mediterranean able to contribute to its survival, is suffering from an identity crisis. Four mermaids come to Naples intending to convince him to return to the depths. In the meantime, they unwittingly take the viewer on a tour of the most striking and least-known corners of the city, capital of the region of Campania.

The viewer meets the four main characters when they reach dry land. In the city, curious onlookers can’t help but notice them as they walk between Via Colabritto and Piazza dei Martiri where they go into a luxury boutique, intent on changing their look.

The four mermaids agree to accept Salvatore’s help in finding Ares. Their meeting is pure happenstance: Yara is hit full in the face by a volleyball on Lungomare Caraggiolo. A short while later, the entire family finds themselves ensconced in the man’s B&B, which is also his home, the 19th century Villa Rocca Matilde on the hill of Posillipo overlooking the sea. Various scenes were shot on the discesa Gaiola, an ancient route leading from the hill of Posillipo to a point on the seashore near a small islet known first as Euplea and later as Gaiola, that is “small cave”. The mermaids, who try not to stay too far from the sea, are often to be found in the Baia delle Rocce Verdi, also in Posillipo, with their complicated human friends.

Salvatore is a musician and a P.E. teacher who is having difficulty finding love. In the Toledo metro station, famous for the mosaics that aptly reproduce the sea floor, he consoles his latest conquest Laura. He doesn’t hide this from his students, who he later joins in Piazza Bellini close to school: behind them, a red building with a monumental staircase, the Complesso di Sant’Antonio delle Monache a Port’Alba, a 16th century convent that today houses a university library (BRAU - Biblioteca di Ricerca di Area Umanistica). The Cloister of Saints Marcellino and Festo provides the setting for the school interior and conversations between the teacher and his students.

It is Yara, in particular, who makes friends with Salvatore and during a scooter ride, he shows her Castel dell’Ovo. The entire family, however, is invested in the search for Ares: the younger sisters get involved in gathering signatures for a petition to protect the sea at the Maschio Angioino. As the story continues, the mermaids become increasingly intertwined with the world of humans, bureaucracy takes Marica to the town hall in Piazza Municipio, for a face to face meeting with the mayor.

In the meantime, Ares has got engaged to Francesca, who then finds Salvatore irresistible, their first date is an exclusive visit to MANN — National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Irene has to deal with her classmates’ “escapades” and makes friends with Michele during a trip to the Grotta di Seiano, a 770m long tunnel beneath the hill of Posillipo, joining Bagnoli and Campi Flegrei with the Gaiola islet. On various occasions, Michele shows her his ‘house’, the Reggia di Capodimonte, where his parents are the caretakers. The pair often walk through the Bosco di Capodimonte, 124 hectares of parkland surrounding the Reggia, while a dramatic scene takes place inside the museum.

The Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, with its imposing Baroque obelisk dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is often in shot.

The church setting for Salvatore’s wedding is Sant’Anna dei Lombardi, in Piazza Monteoliveto, an example of Tuscan Renaissance style. The night before, Salvatore takes a stunned Yara to Teatro San Carlo to watch Tosca, which he explains is the oldest opera house in the world.

Aptly, at the feet of the Fountain of the Mermaid, in Mergellina, Salvatore looks for consolation from his brothers for his misadventures in love.