The plague is sweeping Florence along with the inhumanity, superstition and death that comes with it. Between missing people and the bodies stacking up, a group of men and women walk into Piazza Duomo in Pistoia carrying bunches of flowers, believing that by doing so they can keep themselves safe. Elements of fourteenth-century Florence that feature include Giotto’s bell tower and the Bargello, while a lot of the opening scenes were filmed in Pistoia.
In the middle of all this disruption, ten young people try to recapture the will to live by retreating to the countryside, and here they while away the time telling each other stories. The place that was chosen for filming was Villa La Sfacciata, which affords a magnificent view over Florence and the surrounding hills.
The locations used to film the five short stories span Tuscany and Lazio. In Tuscany we have Pienza (in particular Spedaletto Castle and Tarugi Tower), Romitorio Castle in Montalcino, Piazza Grande in Montepulciano, Potentino Castle in Seggiano, and the Badia a Settimo, in the Municipality of Scandicci. Locations used in Lazio include Odescalchi Castle in Bassano Romano, Montecalvello Castle near Viterbo, which was built in the Medieval era by Lombard king Desiderio and made famous by contemporary painter Balthus, the Abbey of Sant’Andrea in Flumine, in the province of Rome, and the Benedictine Basilica of Sant’Elia in the area surrounding Viterbo.
The first story shows Messer Gentil de' Carisendi anxiously waiting to hear the fate of his beloved Catalina. We see him waiting, soaked to the skin by the rain, next to the Grifi and Leoni Well outside her home, which we assume is Palazzo Nobili-Tarugi (built on the orders of Antonio da Sangallo the Elder): we’re in Piazza Grande in Montepulciano, another glimpse of which, that of the unmistakeable Duomo, is given to us from the window of the ill woman’s bedroom. The men who have orders to take Catalina far away from the palazzo, believing her to be dead, leave her in an abandoned church in the hills of the Val d’Orcia: the Chapel of the Madonna in Vitaleta, in the San Quirico area. Messer Gentil de' Carisendi finds her, discovers she’s still alive, and takes her with him to his estate, for which the setting of Romitorio Castle in Montalcino was chosen.
The second story is that of Calandrino, who, believing himself to be invisible following a prank played on him by two of his friends, runs wild along Corso Rossellino in Pienza and the surrounding streets.
The location used for the home of Prince Tancredi, who opposes the love between his daughter Gismunda and Guiscardo at all costs in the third story, is Spedaletto Castle in Pienza.
The fourth story is off the abbess Usimbalda who, with the trousers of the priest she was carrying on with before being brought to her senses by the nuns of her convent in mind, is reprimanding Sister Isabetta, who she has caught doing the same thing in her cell with the man she loves.
In the fifth story, young Federigo degli Alberighi nurtures an unrequited love for Giovanna. After losing his entire estate, he takes refuge with his falcon in Tarugi Tower, in Pienza, in the only property he has left. Time passes and Giovanna, who is widowed, retreats to the countryside with her ill son: the location chosen for filming was Potentino Castle in Seggiano (GR), which dates back to the year 1000.
The plague is sweeping Florence along with the inhumanity, superstition and death that comes with it. Between missing people and the bodies stacking up, a group of men and women walk into Piazza Duomo in Pistoia carrying bunches of flowers, believing that by doing so they can keep themselves safe. Elements of fourteenth-century Florence that feature include Giotto’s bell tower and the Bargello, while a lot of the opening scenes were filmed in Pistoia.
In the middle of all this disruption, ten young people try to recapture the will to live by retreating to the countryside, and here they while away the time telling each other stories. The place that was chosen for filming was Villa La Sfacciata, which affords a magnificent view over Florence and the surrounding hills.
The locations used to film the five short stories span Tuscany and Lazio. In Tuscany we have Pienza (in particular Spedaletto Castle and Tarugi Tower), Romitorio Castle in Montalcino, Piazza Grande in Montepulciano, Potentino Castle in Seggiano, and the Badia a Settimo, in the Municipality of Scandicci. Locations used in Lazio include Odescalchi Castle in Bassano Romano, Montecalvello Castle near Viterbo, which was built in the Medieval era by Lombard king Desiderio and made famous by contemporary painter Balthus, the Abbey of Sant’Andrea in Flumine, in the province of Rome, and the Benedictine Basilica of Sant’Elia in the area surrounding Viterbo.
The first story shows Messer Gentil de' Carisendi anxiously waiting to hear the fate of his beloved Catalina. We see him waiting, soaked to the skin by the rain, next to the Grifi and Leoni Well outside her home, which we assume is Palazzo Nobili-Tarugi (built on the orders of Antonio da Sangallo the Elder): we’re in Piazza Grande in Montepulciano, another glimpse of which, that of the unmistakeable Duomo, is given to us from the window of the ill woman’s bedroom. The men who have orders to take Catalina far away from the palazzo, believing her to be dead, leave her in an abandoned church in the hills of the Val d’Orcia: the Chapel of the Madonna in Vitaleta, in the San Quirico area. Messer Gentil de' Carisendi finds her, discovers she’s still alive, and takes her with him to his estate, for which the setting of Romitorio Castle in Montalcino was chosen.
The second story is that of Calandrino, who, believing himself to be invisible following a prank played on him by two of his friends, runs wild along Corso Rossellino in Pienza and the surrounding streets.
The location used for the home of Prince Tancredi, who opposes the love between his daughter Gismunda and Guiscardo at all costs in the third story, is Spedaletto Castle in Pienza.
The fourth story is off the abbess Usimbalda who, with the trousers of the priest she was carrying on with before being brought to her senses by the nuns of her convent in mind, is reprimanding Sister Isabetta, who she has caught doing the same thing in her cell with the man she loves.
In the fifth story, young Federigo degli Alberighi nurtures an unrequited love for Giovanna. After losing his entire estate, he takes refuge with his falcon in Tarugi Tower, in Pienza, in the only property he has left. Time passes and Giovanna, who is widowed, retreats to the countryside with her ill son: the location chosen for filming was Potentino Castle in Seggiano (GR), which dates back to the year 1000.
Copyright: Toscana Film Commission
Corso Rossellino, Pienza (SI)
Copyright: Toscana Film Commission
Via Roma, Pistoia
Copyright: Toscana Film Commission
Villa La Sfacciata (FI)
Copyright: Toscana Film Commission
Kim Rossi Stuart - Corso Rossellino, Pienza (SI)
Copyright: Toscana Film Commission
Josafath Vagni - Potentino Castle, Seggiano (SI)
Based on the Decameron by Boccaccio: 10 young people retreat to the countryside to escape the plague which has struck Florence, and to pass the time and drive away their fear they tell each other short stories. 5 of these are told in the film:
- The story of Messer Gentil de’ Carisendi and Monna Catalina (X, 4)
- The story of Calandrino, the heliotrope (VIII, 3)
- The story of the love between Guiscardo and Ghismunda, whose father, the prince of Tancredi, objects to the former (IV, 1)
- The abbess and the priest’s trousers (IX, 2)
- Federigo degli Alberighi (V, 9)
