The fantasy series was shot over 16 weeks, with a good part of principal photography in Cinecittà Studios where the 17th century setting was created. The Benandanti base of Serra, the small village in the Lazio countryside where Pietro lives with his family, is actually Celleno (VT), a ghost borgo perched on a spur of tuff rock surrounded by canyons, rocks, waterfalls and lakes. Sorano (GR) is also featured, in particular the areas close to vie Cave and the road that leads to Porta dei Merli which was used for the approach to the village. Ade leaves this behind her when she runs away with her little brother Valente assisted by Pietro: the witches appear to walk it on the night of the candlelit feast. The bandit Marzio Oreggi contemplates a borgo in the distance one last time before he flees with the magic book; the setting for fireworks this is actually the Castle of Montecalvello (hamlet of Viterbo) once owned by the French artist Balthus in the 1970s. Some scenes are also set in Sutri (VT).
Ade and Valente find refuge at the edge of the forest, which also offers safe hiding to a group of witches. The thick vegetation of oaks, figs, maples and hornbeams, is Selva del Lamonte, a protected nature area north of Viterbo. The witches’ hideout is approached through Monterano Vecchia (RM), a ghost city featuring the Church of San Bonaventura and the ruins of a 17th century aqueduct, hidden deep in forests crisscrossed by secret paths and trails, steeped in a magical and wild atmosphere.
The fantasy series was shot over 16 weeks, with a good part of principal photography in Cinecittà Studios where the 17th century setting was created. The Benandanti base of Serra, the small village in the Lazio countryside where Pietro lives with his family, is actually Celleno (VT), a ghost borgo perched on a spur of tuff rock surrounded by canyons, rocks, waterfalls and lakes. Sorano (GR) is also featured, in particular the areas close to vie Cave and the road that leads to Porta dei Merli which was used for the approach to the village. Ade leaves this behind her when she runs away with her little brother Valente assisted by Pietro: the witches appear to walk it on the night of the candlelit feast. The bandit Marzio Oreggi contemplates a borgo in the distance one last time before he flees with the magic book; the setting for fireworks this is actually the Castle of Montecalvello (hamlet of Viterbo) once owned by the French artist Balthus in the 1970s. Some scenes are also set in Sutri (VT).
Ade and Valente find refuge at the edge of the forest, which also offers safe hiding to a group of witches. The thick vegetation of oaks, figs, maples and hornbeams, is Selva del Lamonte, a protected nature area north of Viterbo. The witches’ hideout is approached through Monterano Vecchia (RM), a ghost city featuring the Church of San Bonaventura and the ruins of a 17th century aqueduct, hidden deep in forests crisscrossed by secret paths and trails, steeped in a magical and wild atmosphere.
In 17th century Italy, Ade, a sixteen-year-old midwife, is accused of witchcraft after the death of a new-born baby. Having found refuge in a mysterious community of women, the girl is forced to choose between her impossible love for Pietro, son of the leader of the Benandanti, the witch hunters, and the unfolding of her true destiny.
