Movies set in Naples & the Amalfi Coast
- Author & Photographer: Teri Didjurgis
This post may contain affiliate links.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from
qualifying purchases. (Disclosures)
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Movies filmed in Naples & the Amalfi Coast
Take a trip to Naples and the Amalfi coast through the movies.
The Amalfi Coast is a renowned stretch of mountainous coastline south of Naples in Campania Italy featuring stunning views of the ocean, towns clinging to the cliffs, narrow winding roads, and an eternal summer of Italian fun.
These Amalfi Coast & Naples movies feature the jet set from Hollywood’s golden age on summertime capers and romances. It’s also the location for some famous scenes from Marisa Tomei’s romantic perfect love story ending in Only You, Frances’ love affair in Positano in Under the Tuscan Sun, and Julia Robert’s love affair with pizza in Naples in Eat, Pray, Love.
Enjoy a dreamy adventure to Italy’s Southern coast through these movies set in the Amalfi region of Italy including the quaint seaside villages of Positano, Amalfi, and Atrani Italy.
1
In The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) lives in a shabby brownstone in New York City and works as a casual extortionist when he meets Herbert Greenleaf.
Herbert, the father of Tom’s onetime acquaintance Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), is desperate for Dickie to return from Europe, where he’s living as a painter in a small Italian village called Mongibello with his beautiful expatriate girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Tom befriends the couple and you would never suspect the dangerous extremes to which Ripley will go to make their lifestyle his own.
Though a crime thriller, the beginning of the movie is idyllic and highlights the charm of the Italian coastline – blue waters and charming landscape of sun-drenched Italy in the late 1950s.
Italy Movie Locations: Ischia, largest of the three volcanic islands in the Bay of Naples, and its tiny neighbor, Procida, both accessible by ferry from Naples or Sorrento. The film also has scenes in Anzio, Naples, Venice, and Rome. The ‘Vesuvio’ nightclub, supposedly in ‘Naples’, where Dickie and Ripley perform Tu Vuo’ Fa L’Americano is the Caffè Latino, Via Monte Testaccio 96.
2
In A Good Woman, the seductive Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) scorns every member of the New York upper class. She travels to Amalfi, Italy, hoping to win over a married aristocrat, Robert Windermere (Mark Umbers).
When news of their flirting becomes a scandal, Windermere’s innocent wife, Meg (Scarlett Johansson), plots an elaborate revenge, despite her attraction to the young Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore). At Meg’s 20th birthday party, all illicit desires come to the surface.
Italy Movie Locations: Amalfi, Atrani, Ravello, Sorrento, and Rome
3
In Enchanted April, married British women Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson) and Lottie Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) decide to take a break from their respective spouses and they stay at a castle in Italy for a quiet holiday.
Joining the ladies is Caroline Dester (Polly Walker), a young socialite, and Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright), an older aristocrat. Liberated from their daily routines, the four women ease into life in rural Italy, and each finds herself transformed by the experience.
A glimpse into the time when vacations were to soak in a country instead of running through them to take photos.
Italy Movie locations: The film was shot on location at Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy – the same castle where the author of the book stayed in the 1920s.
4
In Love Is All You Need, Ida, a Danish hairdresser who has lost her hair to cancer, returns home from the hospital one day to find her husband is cheating on her.
She decides to travel to Italy on her own for her daughter’s wedding but discovers on arriving that the wedding gathering will present its own challenges including a new love interest (Pierce Brosnan). A charming movie of second chances.
Italy Movie Locations: Sorrento, Italy – One of the characters owns a lemon grove and it’s quintessentially what I remember of visiting Sorrento.
5
When American lawyer Michael Hamilton (Clark Gable) hears that his estranged younger brother and sister-in-law have died in a car accident, he flies to Naples, Italy, to settle their estate.
Upon arriving, the xenophobic Hamilton meets his impish nephew, Nando (Marietto), for the first time and decides he will bring the boy back with him to the United States. But when Nando’s gorgeous aunt, Lucia Curcio (Sophia Loren), protests, a lengthy and heated custody battle ensues.
The movie, It Starts in Naples, was a bittersweet homecoming for Sophia Loren. Having grown up in poverty in Naples, this was her first return to the area as a big Hollywood star, but she was also in the middle of a bigamy case.
According to biographer Warren Harris, “In the same streets where she nearly starved during the war, people hung out of windows and shouted at her with love or damnation.”
Italy Movie Locations: Naples, Rome & Capri
6
Beat the Devil, a John Huston film — which features an unusual mix of adventure, comedy, and crime elements — Billy (Humphrey Bogart) and Maria Dannreuther (Gina Lollobrigida) are among several travelers stranded in Italy en route to Africa.
While the Dannreuthers seem like an average couple, they have the same goal as Mrs. Gwendolen Chelm (Jennifer Jones) and some of their other shifty companions — to lay claim to property that is supposedly rich in uranium.
Italy Movie Locations: Ravello including Villa Cimbrone and its Terrace of Infinity
7
The story of Pompeii on film.
In 79 A.D., Pompeii, a bustling port city, stands in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Milo (Kit Harington), a former slave, is a gladiator who has caught the eye of Cassia (Emily Browning), a wealthy merchant’s daughter.
However, their difference in social status is not the only obstacle to their love; Cassia has been promised to Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), a corrupt Roman senator. When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius rains lava and ash down on the city, Milo races to save her before it’s too late.
Italy Movie Location: The film was created entirely on set in Toronto, but the movie gives a depiction of this famous historical event and a good movie to watch if you are planning to visit the ruins of Pompeii or Herculaneum. I especially like the opening scenes where you can see how the layout of Pompeii might have looked in relation to Vesuvius.
Movies with Scenes on the Amalfi Coast
8
In Il Postino, exiled Cuban poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret) arrives on a tiny Italian isle. There is so much new mail that Mario (Massimo Troisi), an unemployed, uneducated layabout, is hired as a postman.
His job is simply to deliver Neruda’s daily mail. Mario soon becomes a student of the poet, influenced by Neruda’s political views and learning the art of poetry to woo a local barmaid (Maria Grazia Cucinotta).
A firm friendship develops, and the postman turns into a changed man as he writes his own poetry and tells about the struggles of the working-class villagers.
Sicily Movie Location: Aeolian Islands, just off the northeast coast of Sicily.
9
In Only You, a childhood incident has convinced Faith Corvatch (Marisa Tomei) that her true love is a guy named “Damon Bradley,” but she has yet to meet him.
Preparing to settle down and marry a foot doctor, Faith impulsively flies to Venice with her BFF (Bonnie Hunt) when it seems that she may be able to finally encounter the man of her dreams. Instead, she meets the charming Peter Wright (Robert Downey Jr.).
The movie is just good fun – the gorgeous scenery, a melodious score, and a romance-filled plot as it takes you to some of the most popular spots in Italy.
Italy Locations: Venice (Hotel Danieli), San Gimignano, several locations in Rome including Piazza di Santa Maria, Trastevere, and the Mouth of Truth in a recreating of the famous Roman Holiday scene, and the Amalfi Coast’s Portofino (Hotel Le Sirenuse)
10
In Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) is a 35-year-old San Francisco writer whose perfect life has just taken an unexpected detour. Her recent divorce has left her with terminal writer’s block and extremely depressed.
Her best friend, Patti (Sandra Oh), gifts her a trip to Tuscany. Frances, on a whim, purchases a villa named Bramasole in Tuscany. As she flings herself into her new life at the villa in the lush Italian countryside surrounded by olive groves, sunflower fields, fruit trees, and vinegars she discovers the authentic pleasures of Italian life as she makes new friends among her neighbors.
In the quiet moments, she is fearful that her ambitions for her new life–and a new family–may not be realized until a chance encounter in Rome throws Frances into the arms of an intriguing Portobello antique dealer named Marcello (Raoul Bova).
Positano Film Locations: The movie is primarily filmed in Tuscany but has several memorable scenes in Positano – Hotel California (Marcello’s Apartment) and the Positano Pier.
11
Eat, Pray, Love (both the book and movie) has become a worldwide sensation and likely needs no introduction as it has launched many women’s trips to Bali and solo female travel in general.
Gilbert’s novel follows her year-long journey to Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Bali (Love) as she takes a year for self-examination and immerses herself in each culture to spark magic and joy back in her life.
The book and movie both highlight the beauty of Italy and its nuances including wanderings through Rome, gelato decadence, and pizza in Naples.
Rome Movie Locations: Elizabeth’s Rome Apartment can be found at 18 Via dei Portoghesi. Eat gelato from the organic chain San Crispino gelateria by the Chiesa di Sant’Agnese in Agone in Piazza Navona. Eat spaghetti at Caffè della Pace in Via Della Pace as Elizabeth did with her Italian teacher or Osteria dell’Antiquario and Ristorante Santa Lucia, both featured in the film.
Naples Movie Location: Eat pizza at Da Michele. This pizzeria featured in the movie is one of the oldest (founded in 1870) and best pizzerias in Naples.
12
In the Equalizer 3, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), a retired government assassin, finds a home on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. When he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses, McCall takes on the mafia for his oppressed friends.
Amalfi Movie Location: Most of the film was shot along the Amalfi coast including the fishing village of Atrani, Italy.
13
Star Wars needs no introduction. The film has used some pretty epic locations around the world to create a futuristic world.
In Reggia di Caserta, not far from Naples, visitors will find the Versailles-inspired Royal Palace – a Unesco World Heritage Site and an example of stunning baroque architecture. The palace was also transformed into Queen Amidala’s royal palace on Naboo in two of the Star Wars films, Attack of the Clones and The Phantom Menace.
The palace is also featured in other movies – Angels and Demons and Mission Impossible III.
TV Series featuring the Amalfi Coast
14
The TV series, Rome, (2 seasons / 22 episodes) is based on real-life historical figures and follows the life of two soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo in Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico, who find their lives intertwined with key historical events.
The first season begins with Julius Caesar’s civil war of 49 BC against the traditionalist conservative faction in the Roman Senate (the Optimates), his rise to dictatorship over Rome, and his fall, spanning the time from the end of his Gallic Wars (52 BC) until his assassination on 15 March 44 BC (the infamous Ides of March). Against the backdrop of these cataclysmic events, we also see the early years of the young Octavian, who is destined to become Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, and Cleopatra.
The second season chronicles the power struggle between Octavian and Mark Antony following Caesar’s assassination, spanning the period from Caesar’s death in 44 BC to the suicide of Antony and Cleopatra in 30 B.C. after their defeat at the Battle of Actium.
If you are visiting Rome, this is a look into Roman life and politics at the time of Julius Caesar.
Looking for a Travel Guide Book about
Naples & the Amalfi Coast?
Inspired to visit Naples & the Amalfi Coast?
LOVE IT. SHARE IT. PIN IT.
