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Netflix's latest rom-com, La Dolce Villa, premiered on the streaming platform just in time for Valentine's Day. Set in Italy, an ideal backdrop for many romance dramas and rom-coms, the film raises the question, is the town of Montezara, as shown in the film, real?
Unfortunately, the beautiful town of Montezara in La Dolce Villa is fictional. However, that does not mean the movie was not actually filmed in Italy. Production took place across various locations in the country. Keep reading to learn about the shooting locations of the rom-com.
The story follows Eric Field (Scott Foley) as he travels to Italy to stop his daughter, Olivia (Maia Reficco), from spending her bank balance to renovate a ruined villa that she bought for one euro. Their journey not only strengthens Eric and Olivia's bond but also offers them both a chance at romance.
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Where was La Dolce Villa filmed in Italy?
La Dolce Villa was primarily filmed in the Italian village named San Quirico D’orcia, located in Tuscany. Montezara, the beautiful yet run-down town depicted in the movie, was largely set in this small town. Only about 2500 people reside in San Quirico D’orcia, which gives it an authentic charm.
One easily recognizable location is the Roma Trastevere Railway Station, located in the center of Rome. Although the scenes here are brief, appearing only during Eric's arrival to Italy, this location gives viewers an authentic feeling.
The exterior shots of the rolling hills of Italy were shot in yet another small town named San Gregorio da Sassola, located in East Lazio. This town is even smaller than San Quirico D’orcia, as it has approximately only 1600 residents.
San Gregorio da Sassola, which is 45 minutes outside of Rome, is also where outside scenes of Olivia's villa were shot. The villa Olivia buys is actually Il Torrino dei Gelsi, a majestic farmhouse located between Tivoli and Palestrina, in the town.
Interestingly, the villa's interior and exterior scenes were filmed in two different places. The interiors of the villa were ironically built at Cinecittà Studios in Rome. This studio has been the filming location for several big Hollywood movies, like Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Ralph Fiennes' Conclave, and Daniel Craig's Queer.
La Dolce Villa director Mark Waters refused to shoot the movie in big Italian towns
Olivia bought the villa for one euro intending to attract new residents into Montezara, which was not doing too well financially. Using locations that appeared too glamorous would have contradicted the vision of Montezara being a town in need of financial aid.
In an interview with The Wrap dated February 14, 2025, director Mark Waters revealed that he believed Montezara could not be picture-perfect like some of Italy's other towns, such as Siena or Montepulciano.
"There was a story thing that put a lid on getting too ridiculous, as far as just making it a scenic travel log, in the sense that it’s supposed to be a really small town that’s not doing great financially," he added.
Waters eventually settled on the locations where La Dolce Villa was filmed. Even so, the crew added some of the elements in San Quirico D’orcia to make it look a little more charming.
For those interested, La Dolce Villa is now streaming on Netflix.
