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Inspired by Judith C. Brown’s book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta was shot before the Covid-19 pandemic and portrays an epidemic with its subsequent restrictions. The setting is Tuscany, devasted by the bubonic plague at the end of the 17th century. The book recounts that the epidemic affected all the region but saved Pescia for a decade.
Locations included: the borgo of Montepulciano where a majestic set, near the monumental Porta al Prato, required hundreds of extras and trained horses that came from France - a massive wooden gate was created that opened and closed to allow for carriages to pass and was removed at the end of the shoot. San Quirico and Val d’Orcia: near the Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta young Benedetta stops to pray to the Virgin Mary.
The borgo of Bevagna in Umbria was also a location, taken back 400 years in time it provided the exterior of the Convent of Pescia that welcomes Benedetta. Some of the most obvious modifications made for the film include the reconstruction of part of the staircase of teatro Torti in piazza Silvestri and the fake walls added to the covered market.
The historical centre of Perugia, another location, was invaded by those sick with the plague (mannequins) strewn on the ground and in funeral carts, taken away by corpse carriers. One sequence follows a carriage from via delle Volteto piazza 4 Novembre where a pyre is being built.
The production also shot in France, in the Var region and in La Roque-d'Antheron, in particular for the interiors of the convent and the church.
Inspired by Judith C. Brown’s book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta was shot before the Covid-19 pandemic and portrays an epidemic with its subsequent restrictions. The setting is Tuscany, devasted by the bubonic plague at the end of the 17th century. The book recounts that the epidemic affected all the region but saved Pescia for a decade.
Locations included: the borgo of Montepulciano where a majestic set, near the monumental Porta al Prato, required hundreds of extras and trained horses that came from France - a massive wooden gate was created that opened and closed to allow for carriages to pass and was removed at the end of the shoot. San Quirico and Val d’Orcia: near the Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta young Benedetta stops to pray to the Virgin Mary.
The borgo of Bevagna in Umbria was also a location, taken back 400 years in time it provided the exterior of the Convent of Pescia that welcomes Benedetta. Some of the most obvious modifications made for the film include the reconstruction of part of the staircase of teatro Torti in piazza Silvestri and the fake walls added to the covered market.
The historical centre of Perugia, another location, was invaded by those sick with the plague (mannequins) strewn on the ground and in funeral carts, taken away by corpse carriers. One sequence follows a carriage from via delle Volteto piazza 4 Novembre where a pyre is being built.
The production also shot in France, in the Var region and in La Roque-d'Antheron, in particular for the interiors of the convent and the church.
SBS Productions, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, France 3 Cinéma, Topkapi Films, Belga Productions
