The Most Beautiful European Villas in Film

Hollywood has had a long love affair with the villa. And it's not just romance movies like Under the Tuscan Sun that revolve around villas. Nearly every genre, from action to comedy, has fallen under the spell of the European countryside. Many of these properties have histories just as interesting and dramatic as the movies they’re featured in, including some that have been used to hide mistresses and even a Mafia arsenal. From a minimalist house in Sweden to UNESCO world heritage sites in Italy, these villas have hosted spies, ballerinas, lovers, and even warriors from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Many of the villas can be rented, or now operate as hotels, so they could also be the backdrop to your next adventure.

Villa d’Este, Tivoli, Italy

Long before its cameos in Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love, Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon, and The Lizzie McGuire Movie, the Villa d’Este was the palace of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este. Designed by Pirro Ligorio, the palace and its spectacular Renaissance gardens were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

Villa Balbianello, Lake Como, Italy
Few locations can boast that they’ve hosted James Bond and Anakin Skywalker. Set on the Lavedo Peninsula in Lake Como, Villa Balbianello was built by Cardinal Durini in the late 18th century and was later the home of explorer Guido Monzino. The villa and its gardens were featured in Casino Royale and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.

Villa Vignamaggio, Chianti, Italy
Settled by the Gherardini family—relatives of Mona Lisa Gherardini (yes, that Mona Lisa)—starting in the 14th century, Villa Vignamaggio is one of Tuscany’s oldest farming estates. Kenneth Branagh chose the location to serve as the backdrop to his 1993 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Villa Malaparte, Capri, Italy

Adalberto Libera’s dramatic modernist design for Villa Malaparte on the island of Capri was destined for the big screen. Overlooking the Gulf of Salerno from its cliffside perch, the villa is still a private residence, but architecture lovers can catch a glimpse by watching Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 film Contempt.

Villa Necchi Campiglio, Milan, Italy
It’s hard to steal a scene from Tilda Swinton, but Villa Necchi Campiglio came close. The opulent 1930s villa, which is located in the center of Milan, was the filming location of Luca Guadagnino’s 2010 film I Am Love. Designed by Piero Portaluppi, the villa was later remodeled in the 1950s by Tomaso Buzzi.

Villa Laura, Cortona, Italy
Villa Laura is a picturesque 17th-century property outside Cortona in Tuscany. Romance fans may know Villa Laura as Villa Bramasole, its name in the 2003 film Under the Tuscan Sun. The villa was completely remodeled in 2006 and now operates as a rental property.

Villa Malfitano Whitaker, Palermo, Italy

Built by Joseph Whitaker in the late 1880s, Villa Malfitano Whitaker was a hub of Sicilian high society during the Belle Époque. Today it is a museum displaying Whitaker’s collections of art and artifacts. In 1990, Francis Ford Coppola chose the villa as one of the filming locations for The Godfather III. And the villa has its own Mafia connection. In 2009, it was discovered that the Mafia was hiding an arsenal in a cave on the property with the help of the gardener.

Villa di Geggiano, Siena, Italy
Over the course of its history, Villa di Geggiano has gone from a country cottage to a grand villa. The property, which is also home to gardens, a theater, and a working vineyard, was named a Monumento Nazionale. Filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci chose the villa for his 1996 movie Stealing Beauty, starring Liv Tyler.

There Are The Five Most Popular And Luxury Italian Villas

There are the five most popular and luxury Italian villas.

1) Tuscany: Crammed with sleepy hill towns, abandoned medieval castles, natural hot springs, where many of the original Roman baths are still intact, as well as beautiful Mediterranean beaches, Tuscany is a feast of natural wonders. And speaking of feasts, the Tuscan food, from the white truffles to the peci and riboletta-not to mention the famous Brunello and Barolo wines are considered among the best in the world.

Then there are the bustling medieval yet modern towns of Florence, Siena, Arezzo, Lucca and Pisa where the shopping is sublime and the art and architectural treasures simply take your breath away. If ever there were a place with something for everyone it has to be bella Tuscany.

2) Amalfi Coast: Who doesn't long for the drama of the Amalfi Coast with mountains sheering down to the bluest waters of the Tyrrhenian sea and the most picturesque pink, perched villages improbably located along these sheer cliffs; it's no wonder all fall under the intoxicating spell of the Amalfi Coast.

From Positano to Amalfi and Ravello there is endless enchantment, views, and wonderful experiences from dining on the catch of the sea to a glass of local Campania Falaghina wine sipped at sunset.

The island of Capri has been a magnet for the international jet set for many years. With its bright azure blue water, craggy cliffs, ancient ruins and grottoes, this beautiful and romantic island offers visitors a wide range of activities. Numerous good restaurants and very chic stores surround Capri’s charming and bustling piazzetta and below are the beaches in Marina Piccola, where everyone goes to swim – and be seen.

3) Lake Como: Lake Como has long been lauded by artists and writers as one of the most romantic and beautiful places on earth.

The drama of the mountain backdrop, sheering down and reflected in the clear blue water of the lake is breathtaking.

The stately splendor of the villas along the shore adds to the rich beauty of the landscape, as if the majesty of the surrounding mountains reflected off the clear blue lake, was not enough to mesmerize even the most jaded traveler.

4) Umbria: A poet once called Umbria the green heart of Italy. One of the smallest of all the Italian provinces (only 8,500 square kilometers) what Umbria lacks in size it more than makes up for in spectacularly dramatic landscapes, art and architecture.
It is the only province in Italy not bordered by the sea and it has a distinctly different feeling from its close neighbor Tuscany. How? It is wilder, more rugged, less manicured, covered with lush green forests, rolling hills, sleepy little hill towns and peaceful valleys.

Among Umbria's most interesting towns are Perugia with its cobblestone streets and aqueduct turned walkway; Deruta just south of Perugia, considered by many to be the ceramics capital of Italy; Spoleto where for two weeks every June artists musicians and dancers come from all over the world for an internationally famous arts festival.

Also there is Todi, a beautiful medieval town now very popular with the Americans and British; Orvieto with its Etruscan Necropolises and magnificent cathedral; Assisi still as peaceful as when St. Francis lived there and Gubbio, the beautifully preserved hill town that pre-dates the Etruscans.

5) Sicily: Sicily is a land of extremes and contrasts, a magnification of all things Italian. It is also an island of enormous intensity, a concentrated distillation of history\, architecture and gastronomic delights, where incandescent volcanoes light up the night skies, mountain ranges jostle for supremacy, and where the sea has sculpted a coastline of stunning variety and beauty.

With its wonderful climate, Sicily is eminently visitable all the year round and each season has its own distinctive charm. There is always something to do, whether it be lounging on golden beaches, hiking in the mountains, visiting ancient archaeological sites, skiing on Mount Etna or shopping in Palermo's fashionable boutiques.

There Are Top Five Beautiful And Famous Italian Villas

Villas are always called the most beautiful and luxurious buildings on the earth, and there are also a lot of famous Villas all over the world, there are five most beautiful and famous Italian Villas you need to know:

1. Villa Rufolo, Ravello, Campaniafolo, Ravello, Campania

Villa Rufolo is located in the historic center of Ravello. Built in the 13th century by the wealthy Rufolo family, a member of which was cited by Boccaccio in the Decameron, the villa was also the residence of several popes as well as of Charles of Anjou. It offers a stunning panorama over the Amalfi coast and the Gulf of Salerno.

The German opera composer Richard Wagner was so moved by the beauty of the location that he imagined the setting as Klingsor's enchanted garden in the second act of Parsifal. As a tribute to this inspiration, every year the lower garden of Villa Rufolo hosts a Wagnerian concert. Wagner said he would never have been able to complete his ultimate masterpiece had he not been inspired by its gripping beauty.

2. Villa San Michele, Capri

Villa San Michele was built at the end of the 19C by the Swedish psychiatrist and writer Axel Munthe on the ruins of the Roman Emperor Tiberius‘s villa. It is located between Capri and Anacapri, at the top of the Phoenician steps, which connect the center of Capri with that of Anacapri. The gardens offer panoramic views over Capri town and its marina and the Sorrentine peninsula.

The idyllic atmosphere of the villa as well as its story are recorded in Dr. Munthe's memoirs The Story of San Michele, published in 1929. His interweaving of the villa's story with Italian history, mythology, and culture is beautifully reminiscent of 18th- and 19th-century travelogs.

3. Villa d'Este, Tivoli, Lazio

Villa d'Este was built for the son of Lucrezia Borgia, Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, in 1550. Its refined architecture and decoration testify of the spendors of Tivoli in the 16 and 17C. It is one of the most remarkable illustrations of Renaissance culture. The garden, with it fountains, ornamental bassins and other decorative elements, is one of the first giardini delle meraviglie, which had a profound influence on the development of garden design throughout Europe.

The plan of the villa is innovative and irregular in design because the architect was obliged to respect the lay-out of the previous monastic building, a Benedictine convent, on which the villa was built. The design is traditionally attributed to the Neapolitan architect Pirro Ligorio (1500-83), while the works were realized by court architect Alberto Galvani.

Lack of maintenance in the following centuries led to the decay of the complex, but between 1867 and 1882 the Villa once again became a cultural point of reference. The musician Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886) composed Giochi d'acqua a Villa d'Este for piano while a guest here, and gave one of his final concerts in the Villa in 1879.

4. Villa del Balbianello, Lake Como

Villa del Balbianello is one of the most harmonious examples of a villa with garden, where the beauty lies in the overall effect rather than in each individual detail. Situated on one of the few promontories of Lake Como the villa was built for the Milanese cardinal Angelo M. Durini who wanted an isolated site where he could receive his frivolous invitees, but also philosophers and writers. The garden is unique in its lay-out, not following any standards of that time, because it had to be adapted to the natural setting. The villa was used as a setting in the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

5. Villa Carlotta, Lake Como

Villa Carlotta occupies an admirable site facing the Grigne Massif. It was built in the late 17th century following the canons of late Lombard Baroque. In the 19th century the residence was converted into a Neo-Classical villa.

It houses numerous statues, including a copy by Tadolini of the famous group of Cupid and Psyche by Canova, as well as paintings by Hayez and furniture by Magggiolini. The botanical garden contains over 800 different species and varieties.