Where it was filmed 'My Brilliant Friend'

Lila and Elena meet at school where they are both top of the class. Their world is limited to the buildings of the poor neighbourhood where they live and which they have never left: the Rione Luzzatti, in the eastern suburbs of Naples. The neighbourhood was completely recreated as a set in 20,000 sq. of the disused Saint-Gobain factory in Marcianise, outside Caserta. The building work was imposing; 150 people worked for over 100 days to build 14 apartment blocks, 5 interior sets and the tunnel where the two girls escape to go and see the sea. Shops, homes, the school, church, local square and no green areas, were all recreated with exacting details to bring a working class neighbourhood of the 1950s to life. Approximately 1,500 costumes, both original creations and repertory were used.

Off set, the adventures of the two friends used real locations. Elena sees the sea for the first time on Lungomare Caracciolo, when she goes to register for secondary school with her father. Both the primary school, which both girls attend, and Elena’s secondary school were shot at Palazzo Gravina, which houses the Faculty of Architecture in Monteoliveto. In the courtyard of the Palazzo, the students meet during recess. On the same occasion, Elena is taken by her father to his workplace, the Ex-Ospedale della Pace, in Via Tribunali, the ancient heart of the city.

Outside the Rione, Naples offers a goldmine of discoveries. One Sunday, Rino decides to take his sister and friends to Toledo: the group travels to Piazza del Plebiscito by bus. Their day continues on the streets of the historical centre (Via Tribunali, Piazza dei Martiri) and in the Galleria Principe where they stop to eat ice cream amidst the wealthy residents.

Once school is over, Elena spends the summer on the island of Ischia. The young student disembarks on the dock of Ischia Ponte, with the Aragonese Castle in the background, to get the bus to the home of Mrs Icardo, who lives on the ancient “Via del Commercio” in the Testaccio neighbourhood in Barano d'Ischia. The sea is that of the Spiaggia dei Maronti, although the beach scenes were mostly shot near Gaeta (LT) and in lower Lazio. Here Elena bumps into the Sarratore family, who she knows from the neighbourhood in Naples and with whom she spends a good part of her time. In one scene she is seen walking down a street leading from Cavascura (Spiaggia dei Maronti) up to Serrara Fontana.

Jumping forward in time, we later see Elena in Posillipo, at Lido Sirena and Bagno Elena, and Lila getting ready for her wedding in Corso Umberto, choosing her dress at the Rettifilo, and at her reception shot in Casertavecchia.