Where it was filmed 'Casanova's Return'

The Return of Casanova, directed and co-written by Oscar winner Gabriele Salvatores with the award-winning Paduan screenwriter Umberto Contarello and Sara Mosetti, tells the story of a famous director struggling with his latest, tormented, work, based on the story by Arthur Schnitzler.

Two stories are told in the film: that of Leo Bernardi (Toni Servillo), a film director determined to fight the inevitable passage of time; and that of his character, an old and tired Casanova (Fabrizio Bentivoglio).

Schnitzler describes a Casanova who no longer has charm and power over women or a penny in his pocket, nor does he want to continue travelling around Europe. After years of exile, his only intention is to return home to Venice. On his journey back, he meets a girl, Marcolina (Bianca Panconi), who rekindles a hunger for conquest that he hasn't felt for years. In an attempt to seduce her, Casanova comes to the most tragic of conclusions: he has become old.

Locations providing the backdrop to Casanova's story include: the city walls of Montagnana (Padua) at the start of the story when the famous adventurer heading home is invited to stay by his friend Olivo (Alessandro Besentini); Villa Dionisi, Olivo's home in Cerea (Verona); Villa Fracanzan Piovene in Orgiano (Vicenza); Corte Guastalla in San Giorgio in Salici, between the municipalities of Sona and Sommacampagna; the Monastery of San Benedetto Po(Mantua), which is visited by Casanova and his guests.

Leo is similarly grappling with an existential crisis. His meeting with a young woman on set, Silvia (Sara Serraiocco), forces him to reflect deeply on his life and the passing of time, finding that he shares his character’s doubts and anxieties: which is the more important - Cinema or Life? To continue playing a part or to let oneself embrace the surprises that life offers?

Leo Bernardi lives in Milan in a hyper-modern apartment, where even his life appears managed by home automation. Offering an extreme contrast to the locations for his film set in the 18^th century, the exteriors show the most contemporary places in the city: the skyscrapers and spaces of piazza Gae Aulenti and porta Nuova and the central Giorgio Armani store. A scene with Servillo and Serraiocco was filmed at the Terme di Giunone in Caldiero (Verona).

The director almost crosses paths with his character in Venice: Casanova returns home, taking a gondola through the city's canals to piazza San Marco while Leo's epilogue is on a beach on the Lido, after the clamour of the Film Festival, against the noise of the sea and the fireworks that announce the end of the event. That moment of calm after the storm reminds the man that "when one film is done, another begins", and that life, real life, is a unique opportunity, offering no corrections in the edit or spotlights, with no do-overs. Filming at the Lido took place during the 2021 Venice International Film Festival.