Where it was filmed 'Il Commissario Ricciardi'

• Locations in ‘Inspector Ricciardi'
• Locations in ‘Inspector Ricciardi 2'
• Locations in ‘Inspector Ricciardi 3'

Inspector Ricciardi, the series created around Maurizio De Giovanni’s character, is set in Naples in the 1930s, at the height of the Fascist era. The titular character, Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi (Lino Guanciale), carries a secret inherited from his mother: he can see the souls of those who have died violently and hear their last thoughts. This ability helps him to solve the cases he investigates.

Recurring characters in the series include: his loyal collaborator, Brigadier Raffaele Maione (Antonio Milo); Dr. Bruno Modo (Enrico Ianniello); neighbour and love interest Enrica (Maria Vera Ratti); elegant widow Livia Lucani (Serena Iansiti) who is in love with him; superior, Garzo (Marco Pirrello); Bambinella, a femminiello informant for Brigadier Maione (Adriano Falivene); housekeeper Nelide (Veronica D'Elia); and beautiful Bianca Palmieri di Roccaspina (Fiorenza D'Antonio), with whom initial attraction has become a deep bond.

Locations in ‘Inspector Ricciardi'

In 1930s Naples, in the midst of the Fascist regime, Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi (Lino Guanciale) is a police commissioner whose station, the Regia Questura di Napoli, is shown as the entrance to the Palazzo della Prefettura, one of the buildings that stands on the striking piazza del Plebiscito which is dominated to the east by the Royal Palace, also a story location, and to the west by the Neoclassical façade and colonnade of the Basilica of St. Francis of Paola. The interiors of the police station are those of the courtyard of the Capodimonte museum.

The Palazzo della Prefettura also flanks the Western side of piazza Trieste e Trento, housing on the ground floor the Caffè Gambrinus, a renowned cafe dating to the early 1900s whose  original liberty style interiors have been perfectly conserved, where Maurizio De Giovanni could “see” his commissioner, later transforming him into the focal point of a very successful series of novels: it is a place favoured by Ricciardi who often chooses an indoor table and here meets his doctor friend Bruno Modo (Enrico Ianniello), Livia Lucani (Serena Iansiti) and others. Facing the cafe is the prestigious, historic Teatro di San Carlo where a famous tenor is murdered in the first episode. On the other side of piazza Trieste e Trento is the 17^th century Church of St. Ferdinand (which gives its name to the entire neighbourhood) also known at the Artists Church, where Ricciardi has several conversations with don Pierino Fava (Peppe Servillo), an opera afficionado. The second episode opens and closes in the nearby Teatro Sannazaro, the “jewellery box” of via Chiaia.

Sets recreating the dressing rooms and wardrobe department of Teatro San Carlo were built in the former NATO area of Bagnoli, as was via Toledo in the 1930s with its shops including that owned by the Colombo family which attracts the commissioner’s attention. The steep, stepped alleyways that appear to be the historical centre of Naples actually hide the postierle, as the streets that connect the lower and upper parts of Taranto are known: the Apulian town also provided locations in via Duomo, via Nuova and several interiors. Locations in Portici included the Reggia which stood in for a hospital and the former Landriani College.

Numerous palaces in Naples and the surrounding area provide backdrops. The pensione Belvedere, where Brigadier Raffaele Maione (Antonio Milo) heads to investigate the victim’s movements in episode 1, is actually Villa Volpicelli, a 17^th century monumental palace in via Ferdinando Russo in the hilltop neighbourhood of Posillipo. Livia Lucani, wife of the victim and future friend of the commissioner, is a guest at Villa Pignatelli, a Neoclassical building on the Riviera di Chiaia. Palazzo Mondo in Capodrise is the setting for the crime involving a woman in episode 3. In the series it serves as the residence for the family of the Duke of Musso di Camparino and appears to be in largo Donna Regina next to the Church of St. Mary Donnaregina Nuova where the victim’s funeral is held. The Pompeian house ofPalazzo Venezia is the residence of the murdered woman’s stepson. Shortly after, Livia shows off her singing voice during a dinner with Ricciardi in the frescoed salon of Villa Domi.

In a series set entirely in Naples, the seafront of via Partenope must naturally be included, it leads to Castel dell’Ovo which offers a view described as a “spectacle of eternal beauty” by a man who calls himself Falco, charged with “protecting” Livia Lucani.

In episode 4, the Succorpo Vanvitelliano, an underground 18^th century Church built beneath the imposing cupola of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata Maggiore in Forcella, is a refuge for street children. In the area near the massive Annunziata complex, its interiors and courtyard (where the funeral procession of the victim leaves for burial at the cemetery of Poggioreale), Ricciardi investigates the mysterious death of one of the small guests whose body is found in the tondo di Capodimonte, an oval-shaped piazza in the Stella neighbourhood that the police approach through the adjacent gardens of the Princess  Iolanda.

The funeral procession for “Vipera”, the victim in episode 5, is held at the Royal Forest of Capodimonte, where Dr. Modo reacts to the provocation of a Fascist squad and is arrested shortly after. While waiting to be taken to Ventotene, he is held near the San Vincenzo harbour.

In episode 6, Enrica (Maria Vera Ratti), a counsellor at the summer camp in Monte di Procida (Ischia in the series) who is unhappily in love, meets a man on Acquamorta beach.  Ricciardi, meanwhile, is busy with the case of a murdered doctor, while Brigadier Maione, a jealous husband, is reassured about his wife in the Church of Sant’Anna dei Lombardi.

In addition to Naples, shooting took place in Capua, in via Ludovico Abenavolo and corso Gran Priorato di Malta, Castel Volturno and Nocera Inferiore at the former Bruno Tofano Barracks (in the medieval Borgo neighbourhood); and some interiors in Marcianise and Recale.

Locations in ‘Inspector Ricciardi 2'

Fearing that he could pass on the curse inherited from his mother, Ricciardi gave up his love for his neighbour, shy Enrica. Although she secretly loves him, she is now being courted by Manfred, a German major posted to Italy. In addition to sensual Livia (who seems willing to do anything to win Ricciardi's heart), another woman has fallen for Ricciardi: Countess Bianca Palmieri di Roccaspina, with whom he has much in common. The time is approaching for him to make a choice.

Director Gianpaolo Tescari describes the atmosphere of his series as follows: "We wanted to root the stories by accentuating the distinctive elements of architecture, art, music, and customs that marked the Fascist 1930s: Rationalism, aeropittura (aeropainting), the copying of Michelangelo's style, the monumental structures are all present, alongside dark alleys, claustrophobic basements, and crumbling Vanvitelli-designed courtyards enlivened by glimpses of light from the Gulf."

While Season 2 of Inspector Ricciardi is set in Naples, it was also filmed in the historic centre of Taranto and in Rome. Naples locations that reappear include: piazza del Plebiscito, Caffè Gambrinus, and the nearby piazza Trieste e Trento with the Church of San Ferdinando; scenes were shot in the elegant rooms of the Circolo Nazionale dell'Unione on via San Carlo and the historic rooms of the Palazzo Reale (residence of the Duke of Marangolo) with its hanging garden. The Cloister of Saints Marcellinus and Festus in the Università Federico II, the "Elena di Savoia" State Secondary School, Galleria Principe di Napoli, and the Rationalist architecture of Palazzo delle Poste, in the historic centre of Naples all make appearances. The Certosa and Museum of San Martino was used as a convent in one of the four episodes. Outside Naples, locations included: Portici and its Bourbon Royal Palace (Dr. Bruno Modo’s hospital); and Santa Maria Capua Vetere, with Teatro Garibaldi and the exterior of Via Alessio S. Mazzocchi.

Locations in ‘Inspector Ricciardi 3'

Episode 1 (of 4) of Season 3 is set in December 1933. Ricciardi continues his work, aided and tormented by his curse but it seems that a brighter period is beginning for him. He has started dating Enrica despite her mother's resistance, but his bride-to-be is unaware of his gift for seeing spirits, that oppressive secret he is unable to reveal to anyone. Other characters also have changes in their lives: Maione is tormented by the loss of his firstborn son; Dr. Modo is contacted by the son of his beloved prostitute, Lina, who has been tragically killed by the boy’s own gang of street kids; Livia is going out with Major Manfred, Enrica's former suitor, having given herself to him to save Ricciardi’s life; Falco is feeling possessive about Livia.

"We see ‘poor Naples’, as we did in the previous seasons, built by the set designers in Taranto vecchia. There's also ‘rich Naples’, created in the city and Rome. We used iconic places from the Fascist era in Naples like Palazzo delle Poste and Casa del Mutilato (centre for wounded veterans)." notes the director.

The Filangieri Museum in Naples, one of the most evocative locations in Season 3, is transformed into the residence of the Duke of Marangolo, featuring a large Chinese screen.

Livia's house is a Roman palazzo from the Fascist era (1930s), decorated to illustrate her rebellious, provocative nature. The street separating the windows where Ricciardi’s love story with Enrica begins in silence, with just stolen glances, is an alley in Taranto Vecchia.

The production stayed in Naples for about four weeks. As in previous seasons, the Neapolitan setting, particularly the alleys of the historic centre, filled with local authenticity, was recreated in the narrow streets and squares of Taranto vecchia, as noted by the director. After five weeks of filming here (March 16 - April 19, 2024), the crew and cast moved to Rome, with filming continuing to the end of May.

Locations in Episode 2 include Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia as the sumptuous residence of a noble suspected of being a serial killer: the array of portraits that greets Ricciardi when he goes to question the suspect suggests that this is the so-called " sala delle Belle", a popular filming location. In the shadow of the monument to Tiberius Latinius Pandusa in the gardens, Enrica has an intuition that helps Ricciardi solve a case.

A series of robberies takes place in the Galleria Principe, Naples and is investigated by a new agent, Felice Vaccaro, who reminds Maione of his missing son.

Ricciardi takes his fiancée Enrica to the historic residence of the Ricciardi family, the barons of Malomonte, known as "the Fortino": the location is Procoio Nuovo, a 16^th-century estate once the summer residence of Pope Clement X (1670 – 1676) on Via Tiberina outside Rome.

The hospital where Dr. Modo works was created on the premises of Carlo Forlanini Hospital in Rome, founded in the 1920s to treat tuberculosis patients and closed in 2015.