nature · Tuscany, Italy
Val d'Orcia
Carlo cattaneo fotografie · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The scene
The rolling wheat fields and lone cypresses are Maximus's sunlit memory of home, the Elysium he longs to return to.
How to visit
A UNESCO landscape of public roads and hill towns south of Siena, free to drive and photograph; spring and early summer are greenest. Base in Pienza or Montalcino and wander the back lanes.
Address: Val d'Orcia, Province of Siena, Italy · Open in Google Maps
- The chapel of Vitaleta is the area's most photographed view.
- Montalcino's vineyards pour the famous Brunello.
Where to stay
Hotels near Val d'Orcia
This loads a third-party widget that may set cookies.
Same hotels, same prices, Stay22 just sends you to whichever site is cheapest today, and we earn a small commission if you book.
Make a day of it
Tours, tickets & getting there
Affiliate links, booking through them supports the site at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
- What was filmed at Val d'Orcia?
- The rolling wheat fields and lone cypresses are Maximus's sunlit memory of home, the Elysium he longs to return to.
- Can you visit Val d'Orcia?
- A UNESCO landscape of public roads and hill towns south of Siena, free to drive and photograph; spring and early summer are greenest. Base in Pienza or Montalcino and wander the back lanes.
- Where is Val d'Orcia?
- Val d'Orcia is a real filming location in Tuscany. Val d'Orcia, Province of Siena, Italy
More to film-spot in Tuscany
Castello di Celsa
This Tuscan castle and its gardens host the lavish family wedding of the show's third-season finale.
Cortona
Cortona is the hill town where Frances puts down roots, and its steep lanes, the Piazza della Repubblica and the town-hall steps recur through the film as she builds a new life.
Montepulciano
The wine town of Montepulciano lends the film its festive, sun-washed Tuscany, its Piazza Grande and long climbing main street standing in for the story's Renaissance backdrop.
Bramasole
Bramasole is the villa Frances buys and restores, the emotional centre of the film. The real house sits on the hillside just below Cortona, framed by cypresses and olive terraces.