The Timeless Appeal of Italian Locations Quiz

Answer: Chuck Norris

Co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also starred in the main role, "The Way of the Dragon" was originally meant for the Asian market. It was first released in Hong Kong at the end of 1972, and was not released in the US until August 1974. Italian audiences, however, were able to see the movie earlier than other parts of Europe, in January 1974 - quite probably because it was shot almost entirely in Italy.

Lee used various locations in Rome and the neighbouring town of Tivoli, including famous landmarks such as Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo, as well as Fiumicino Airport. However, the movie's most iconic scenes were shot inside the Colosseum, where Chen (the character portrayed by Lee) fights American martial artist Colt - under the watchful eyes of a cute kitten, one of the many strays that make their home in the ruins of the majestic Roman arena. Because of this unlikely but definitely entertaining presence, "The Way of the Dragon" is often cited in articles about cats in movies.

Colt was one of Chuck Norris's early roles, though at the time he had already won a number of martial arts titles. He subsequently starred in a series of successful action movies - such as the "Missing in Action" trilogy (released between 1984 and 1988), "Code of Silence" (1985), and "The Delta Force" (1986). He has also written a number of books, and originated an Internet craze of humorously exaggerated "facts" about his toughness and masculinity.

The three actors listed as wrong answers, all known for their martial arts skills, are all considerably younger than Norris (who was born in 1940).

Answer: Nicolas Roeg

British filmmaker Nicholas Roeg (who passed away in 2018) made his directing debut in 1970 with "Performance", a violent and sexually charged movie known for starring Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. The 1976 sci-fi movie "The Man Who Fell to Earth" starred David Bowie in the role of a humanoid alien, while "Bad Timing" (1980) starred a third successful musician, Art Garfunkel.

Adapted from the short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier (1971), "Don't Look Now" stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as a married couple who travel to Venice after the tragic death of their young daughter. In the film, inspired by Gothic ghost stories, Roeg made use of recurring motifs (such as the colour red), and employed a distinctive, fragmented editing style that parallels Venice's maze-like layout and increases the suspense.

Mostly shot in various Venetian locations, the film was set during the winter months, whose subdued hues complemented its eerie, supernatural elements. Among the locations used by Roeg, there are two famous luxury hotels (the Gabrielli Sandwirth and the Bauer-Grünwald - the latter hosting the film's notorious sex scene) and the then-abandoned Palazzo Grimani (now a museum). The city's most popular tourist sights, on the other hand, appear only fleetingly, if at all - a deliberate decision on the part of the director that was praised by critics.

The church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli (in the photo), originally built in the 13th century, is a central element in the story, as in the movie it is being restored by John, the character portrayed by Donald Sutherland. Roeg chanced upon San Nicolò - which was actually being restored at the time, and had all the scaffolding in place - after a long, vain search for a suitable church, when he had almost decided to build one from scratch in an empty warehouse. However, the mosaic during whose restoration John almost falls to his death is a prop, as there are no mosaics in the church.

Answer: A Room With a View

The film adaptation of E. M. Forster's 1908 novel "A Room With a View" was Helena Bonham Carter's breakthrough role, and earned screenwriter and novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - a longtime collaborator of director James Ivory - an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film - which also starred Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, Denholm Elliott, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench - is remarkably faithful to Forster's work, down to the titles between sections that follow the novel's chapters.

The first half of "A Room With a View", set in Florence and the countryside around Fiesole, was shot on location in four weeks in the summer of 1985; the second half, set in England, was filmed in London and Kent. When shooting a pivotal scene set in Piazza della Signoria, Ivory had the square cleared of people. The small hotel where the protagonist, Miss Lucy Honeychurch, and her cousin were staying, called Pensione Bertolini in the book and film, was the real-life Pensione Quisisana and Ponte Vecchio, located on the north bank of the Arno, almost next door to the Uffizi Gallery (the arches you can see in the photo). Some of the interior scenes were filmed in other locations, such as the 15th-century Villa di Maiano and Palazzo Jennings Riccioli, where Forster stayed several times in the early 1900s.

Badly damaged in the May 1993 bombing that claimed the lives of five people, Pensione Quisisana closed down shortly afterwards. The palace in which it was located, however, has been restored, and now houses another hotel.

All the movies listed as wrong answers were directed by James Ivory and based on novels adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - though none of them were filmed in Florence.

Answer: Ladyhawke

Directed by Richard Donner, and also starring Matthew Broderick and Leo McKern, "Ladyhawke" is a medieval fantasy romance that, in spite of its disappointing box office performance at the time of release, has become a cult classic of sorts over the years. This tale of witchcraft and star-crossed love (allegedly inspired by a 13th-century French legend) makes the most of its two leads' charisma and its stunning locations.

"Ladyhawke" was filmed in Italy, almost in its entirety, in a number of scenic locations that provide the perfect medieval setting for the story. In particular, the scenes in which the monk Imperius (portrayed by McKern) shelters and heals the injured lovers were filmed in the ruined 13th-century castle of Rocca Calascio. Sitting on top of a hill, the castle lies within the province of L'Aquila, the capital of the central-eastern region of Abruzzo: Aquila is also the name of the fictional city ruled by the bishop who cursed the lovers. Some scenes of the 1986 film "The Name of the Rose" were also shot at Rocca Calascio. The castle lies on the plateau of Campo Imperatore (also a popular filming location), within the Gran Sasso National Park.

Other notable locations for the movie were the 15th-century Torrechiara Castle near Parma, the medieval town of Castell'Arquato near Piacenza, and various places in the Dolomites.

The three fantasy movies listed as wrong answers were released in 1981 ("Excalibur) an 1986 ("Highlander" and "Labyrinth"). None of them, however, were filmed in Italy.

Answer: Much Ado About Nothing

Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" featured an all-star cast that included the director himself and his then-wife, Emma Thompson, in the roles of the sparring lovers Benedick and Beatrice - as well as a number of high-profile Hollywood stars (such as Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington, and Michael Keaton). Branagh chose Villa Vignamaggio - a 15th-century farmhouse and winery (now also a prestigious hotel) located in Greve in Chianti, halfway between Florence and Siena - as the setting for his film, representing the original setting of the Sicilian city of Messina.

"Much Ado About Nothing" was filmed at Vignamaggio over a period of two months in the summer of 1992. The ancient farmhouse stands in for the villa of Leonato, governor of Messina: the action takes place in the villa's stately rooms and inner courtyards, as well as its lush orchards and gardens. The movie's critical and commercial success owes as much to the idyllic beauty of this setting - which complements the overall light-hearted tone of the play - as to the cast's performances.

Though Branagh is famous for his Shakespeare film adaptations, he did not direct any of the movies listed as wrong answers.

Answer: Cremona

Though more of an arthouse film than a blockbuster, "The Red Violin" - directed by French Canadian director François Girard - was relatively successful also in box office terms, at least in Canada. In 2000, it also won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. As hinted by the title, the film tells the story of a mysterious red violin and its owners through four centuries - from its beginnings in Cremona in 1681 to its sale at an auction in Montréal in 1997. Featuring an international cast (which included Samuel L. Jackson), "The Red Violin" was shot in all the locations where the story takes place - Cremona, Vienna, Oxford, Shanghai, and Montréal.

The Cremona storyline opens the movie, depicting the creation of the violin and introducing the Tarot cards that forecast the instrument's future. All the characters in this section are portrayed by Italian actors, and the scenes are filmed in Italian. Girard visited some of the many violin-making schools and workshops found in Cremona, especially near its magnificent Romanesque Duomo, and hired some of the people he met there as extras. The Piazza del Duomo (a detail of which is shown in the picture) also appears in some scenes. The red violin was inspired by a real-life instrument, known as the Red Mendelssohn, fashioned by legendary Cremonese luthier Antonio Stradivari - to whom his native city dedicated a statue and a square.

Cremona (whose name has nothing to do with cream) is located in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River. Its violin-making tradition dates from the 16th century; the city was also the birthplace of Claudio Monteverdi, the father of opera.

Answer: The Phantom Menace

In the mid-1990s, "Star Wars" fans were overjoyed by the news that a three-episode prequel of the original saga was in the works. However, "Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" proved controversial in various respects (such as the widely disliked character of Jar Jar Binks) - which did not prevent the film from raking in some really big bucks at the box office. On the other hand, there is no denying that the film is absolutely spectacular in visual terms - not only for the use of state-of-the-art CGI, but also its choice of filming locations.

"The Phantom Menace" was the first film in the beloved space-opera franchise to employ an Italian location - the majestic Reggia di Caserta, the world's largest former royal residence, a huge Baroque edifice surrounded by spectacular landscaped gardens. The palace (designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987) stood in for the interior of the Naboo Royal Palace in Theed City. In particular, the palace's famed central staircase (shown in the photo) was used to great effect in a number of scenes. When filming started in 1998, the palace was closed to visitors for four days.

The Reggia di Caserta was used again for Episode II, "Attack of the Clones" (2002); the romantic lakeside scenes between Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker were filmed at Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como. Mount Etna in Sicily was instead used for the Mustafar scenes in Episode III, "Revenge of the Sith" (2005).

Answer: Matt Damon

Based on the novel of the same title by Patricia Highsmith (1955), "The Talented Mr Ripley" was one of the most critically and commercially successful movies released in 1999 - also nominated for a large number of international awards (including five Academy Awards). Besides Matt Damon (who won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1998 for "Good Will Hunting"), the film starred Jude Law (who won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role), Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

With the exception of the opening scenes, set in New York City, "The Talented Mr Ripley" was filmed entirely in Italy. Anthony Minghella infused the natural and architectural beauty of the Italian locations with the retro charm of the "dolce vita" era of the 1950s in which the story is set. The cliffside town of Positano on the famed Amalfi Coast, along with villages on the islands of Ischia and Procida (both located in the Gulf of Naples), were chosen to stand in for the fictional town of Mongibello, where much of the action takes place. Renowned Rome and Venice sights also make their appearance, while the scenes set in the Ligurian town of Sanremo were filmed in Anzio, the coastal town south of Rome well known for its role in WWII.

According to Minghella (who sadly passed away in 2008), the weather was not particularly cooperative during filming, as the sunny Mediterranean weather required for the seaside scenes only showed up between frequent bouts of rain.

Answer: Lake Como

The sequel to the successful 2001 film "Ocean's Eleven", and the second instalment in a trilogy of heist comedies, "Ocean's Twelve" was also directed by Steven Soderbergh, and featured most of the previous film's cast. During filming, Julia Roberts (portraying Danny Ocean's wife, Tess, now a full-fledged member of the crew) learned she was pregnant with twins, so that the script had to be reworked.

Unlike its predecessor, shot primarily in Las Vegas and a few other US locations, "Ocean's Twelve" was also shot in numerous European locations that appear in the story. The Italian locations included Rome and the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, as well as various locations around Lake Como. Villa Oleandra, George Clooney's lakeside property in the town of Laglio, stands in for The scenes set in the villa of wealthy master thief François Toulour (aka The Night Fox, portrayed by Vincent Cassel) were filmed at the famous Villa Erba (now a conference centre) in Cernobbio, as well as Clooney's own property, Villa Oleandra in Laglio (shown in the photo).

Villa Oleandra, a 18th-century waterfront villa, was previously owned by the Heinz family (of tomato ketchup fame): it is one of four properties owned by Clooney in the Lake Como area.

Answer: No Time to Die

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (who replaced Danny Boyle), "No Time to Die" was the fifth "James Bond" movie to star Daniel Craig in the role of the legendary secret agent created by Ian Fleming. Known for its unexpected ending, it was one of the most commercially successful films of 2021, and also one of the highest-grossing "Bond" films. Academy Award winner Rami Malek starred as Bond's nemesis, scientist and terrorist Lyutsifer Safin, who at the beginning of the movie, kills the mother of "Bond" girl Madeleine Swann (played by Léa Seydoux). Archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of global crime syndicate Spectre, is portrayed by Christoph Waltz, winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Besides Italy, filming locations included London, Norway, Jamaica and the Faroe Islands. Most of the Italian scenes were filmed in the late summer of 2019. Four different Southern Italian locations were combined into the fictional town of Civita Lucana: Matera, Gravina di Puglia, and the coastal towns of Sapri and Maratea. The scenes in Matera involve a breathtaking stunt scene, in which Bond on a motorcycle is chased by various cars through the city's narrow streets, and eventually jumps over a wall.

With its unique rock dwellings, called "Sassi" (Stones) in Italian), and dramatic cityscape, Matera has often been used as a filming location, especially for movies based on the Bible - such as Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ" (2004).

Many Italian locations have appeared in "James Bond" films throughout the years - though in none of the three movies listed as wrong answers.