In 1327, Ludwig of Baviera, the future Holy Roman Emperor announces the separation of politics and religion. He is excommunicated by Pope John XXII. War breaks out between the two armies in Italy.
William of Baskerville, a French monk and former inquisitor, is preaching and breaking bread with some poor on the staircase of the Abbey of Santa Maria Valdiponte in Montelabate (PG) when he comes across Adso of Melk, a young novice who has fled the war that his father has forced him into. Fascinated by the monk, Adso decides to follow him. The conversation between William and Adso’s father at the Imperial Army’s Base in Tuscany, whose exteriors are the medieval castle of Roccascalegna (CH) and interiors are Castle Odescalchi in Bracciano (RM), informs us that the Emperor has selected Brother William to negotiate the dispute with the Pope. The facades of the Papal Residence were provided by the Palais des Papes in Avignon, Southern France, the interiors were shot in Cinecittà. There, the Inquisitor Bernard Gui tells the Pope about burning a follower of the heretical sect of Fra Dolcino at the stake in Florence, although the balcony he looks out from is actually Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia and the sentence is carried out in piazza IV Novembre. The film also shot in Rocca Paolina, the setting for the market, and Bevagna, using the covered market in particular and piazza Silvestri with the Church of St. Sylvester.
William and Adso thus set off on a long journey towards a Benedictine monastery in the Alps. William shows Adso an astrolabe during a break in the journey, the location here is the Amphitheatre of Tusculum in Frascati (RM). The flashbacks of the Dulcinites are also set in the area near the park of Tuscolo. Almost all the Benedictine Abbey was built in Cinecittà Studios where, in addition to three soundstages for the interiors, an outdoor area of 4,000 sqm was the base for a courtyard embracing the principal monastery buildings, not only the church and tower but also the stables, dormitories, forges, hospital, the Chapter House (where the trials for heresy take place) and the mysterious library (which was built both in the soundstage and outdoors for the fire scene). However, Rocca Guidonesca in Rocchettine, in the area of Torri in Sabina (RI), provided the Abbey in the scene when the corpse of Brother Adelmo is found. The church where the dead monks are commemorated is the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in Rome’s Piazza della Bocca della Verità. The cloister where William and Adso mull over the strange events inside the monastery is authentic, part of the Abbey of Santa Maria Valdiponte.
Although entirely built for the film, the structure appears to be located on the snowy slopes of Campo Felice, in the municipal area of Lucoli (AQ); it is surrounded by the trees of the beech forest of Soriano (VT) on Mount Cimino; in the Chia neighbourhood of Soriano are the waterfalls of the papermill where Salvatore works; Anna and Adso’s young beloved move through the woods of Macchia Grande in Manziana (RM).
Civita di Bagnoregio – without its bridge – was used for Pietranera, the Dulcinite base camp where they are visited by the inquisition. Dolcino and Margherita are put to death in the Archaeological Park of Vulci. Bernardo Gui and his guard camp amidst the ruins of Santa Maria di Galeria Antica, a medieval village north of Rome. Anna tries to kill him with her arrows but she misses and is forced to flee through the Gole di San Martino (CH) in the Parco della Majella.
In 1327, Ludwig of Baviera, the future Holy Roman Emperor announces the separation of politics and religion. He is excommunicated by Pope John XXII. War breaks out between the two armies in Italy.
William of Baskerville, a French monk and former inquisitor, is preaching and breaking bread with some poor on the staircase of the Abbey of Santa Maria Valdiponte in Montelabate (PG) when he comes across Adso of Melk, a young novice who has fled the war that his father has forced him into. Fascinated by the monk, Adso decides to follow him. The conversation between William and Adso’s father at the Imperial Army’s Base in Tuscany, whose exteriors are the medieval castle of Roccascalegna (CH) and interiors are Castle Odescalchi in Bracciano (RM), informs us that the Emperor has selected Brother William to negotiate the dispute with the Pope. The facades of the Papal Residence were provided by the Palais des Papes in Avignon, Southern France, the interiors were shot in Cinecittà. There, the Inquisitor Bernard Gui tells the Pope about burning a follower of the heretical sect of Fra Dolcino at the stake in Florence, although the balcony he looks out from is actually Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia and the sentence is carried out in piazza IV Novembre. The film also shot in Rocca Paolina, the setting for the market, and Bevagna, using the covered market in particular and piazza Silvestri with the Church of St. Sylvester.
William and Adso thus set off on a long journey towards a Benedictine monastery in the Alps. William shows Adso an astrolabe during a break in the journey, the location here is the Amphitheatre of Tusculum in Frascati (RM). The flashbacks of the Dulcinites are also set in the area near the park of Tuscolo. Almost all the Benedictine Abbey was built in Cinecittà Studios where, in addition to three soundstages for the interiors, an outdoor area of 4,000 sqm was the base for a courtyard embracing the principal monastery buildings, not only the church and tower but also the stables, dormitories, forges, hospital, the Chapter House (where the trials for heresy take place) and the mysterious library (which was built both in the soundstage and outdoors for the fire scene). However, Rocca Guidonesca in Rocchettine, in the area of Torri in Sabina (RI), provided the Abbey in the scene when the corpse of Brother Adelmo is found. The church where the dead monks are commemorated is the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in Rome’s Piazza della Bocca della Verità. The cloister where William and Adso mull over the strange events inside the monastery is authentic, part of the Abbey of Santa Maria Valdiponte.
Although entirely built for the film, the structure appears to be located on the snowy slopes of Campo Felice, in the municipal area of Lucoli (AQ); it is surrounded by the trees of the beech forest of Soriano (VT) on Mount Cimino; in the Chia neighbourhood of Soriano are the waterfalls of the papermill where Salvatore works; Anna and Adso’s young beloved move through the woods of Macchia Grande in Manziana (RM).
Civita di Bagnoregio – without its bridge – was used for Pietranera, the Dulcinite base camp where they are visited by the inquisition. Dolcino and Margherita are put to death in the Archaeological Park of Vulci. Bernardo Gui and his guard camp amidst the ruins of Santa Maria di Galeria Antica, a medieval village north of Rome. Anna tries to kill him with her arrows but she misses and is forced to flee through the Gole di San Martino (CH) in the Parco della Majella.
Copyright: Fabio Lovino – Ufficio Stampa Fosforo Rai Fiction
John Turturro, Richard Sammel, Maurizio Lombardi, Damian Hardung – Cinecittà Studios
Copyright: Angelo Turetta – Ufficio Stampa Fosforo Rai Fiction
Rupert Everett – Piazza IV Novembre, Perugia
Copyright: Ufficio Stampa Fosforo Rai Fiction
Damian Hardung, John Turturro
Copyright: Fabio Lovino - Ufficio Stampa Fosforo Rai Fiction
Damian Hardung, John Turturro – Cinecittà Studios
Copyright: Fabio Lovino – Ufficio Stampa Fosforo Rai Fiction
Greta Scarano – Castelli Romani (RM)
11 Marzo Film, Palomar, Rai Fiction, Tele München
Based on the best seller by Umberto Eco. A succession of crimes upsets the routine of a Benedictine monastery in the mountains in Northern Italy towards the end of November 1327. Brother William of Baskerville, who is visiting the monastery to resolve a dispute, is called upon to investigate.
