Where it was filmed 'Fasten Your Seatbelts'

Elena (Kasia Smutniak) meets Antonio (Francesco Arca) at the tram stop, where a group of passers-by have gathered to shelter from the rain. During the film, the historical centre of Lecce displays its alleys as the characters walk and bicycle through the city. Elena and her fraternal friend Fabio (Filippo Scicchitano) work at Bar Tarantola, one of the many places, albeit under different name, that really exist in piazzetta Carducci and the surrounding area, while they dream of opening a business together.

Their opportunity comes when they take on the lease of a former service station intending to turn it into a pub called Petrol. This is in viale dell’Università, near Porta Napoli, right in front of the obelisk created in 1822 by sculptor Vito Carluccio to mark the visit to the city by King Ferdinand I. Behind the characters dreaming of their future lives is the tiled cupola of the Church of Santa Maria della Porta (or San Luigi).

When Elena finds out that she is ill, she sits to think in the gardens of piazza Mazzini, symbolically watching the scenic jets of water in the fountain of Life. When she decides to leave the hospital, she drives through piazza San’Oronzo while the camera stops to focus on the 17^th century Palazzo del Seggio, known locally as il Sedile.

The sea plays a key role in the film: passion blooms impetuously between Elena and Antonio, far from the eyes of friends and partners, in the nature reserve of Torre Guaceto (BR). Years later, the married couple are again at the beach, this time Melendugno marina (LE), in the San Foca area.