The original Montalbano books, by Andrea Camilleri, are set in fictional locations. Montalbano's imaginary town, Vigata, is loosely based upon the real coastal town - Camilleri's hometown - Porto Empedocle, and Montelusa, the nearby big town, is based upon Agrigento, famous for its Greek temples.
However, the TV series moves the setting eastwards across Sicily, and it is mostly filmed in the south-eastern swathe of Sicily which is renowned for its architecturally-appealing Baroque towns (listed by UNESCO as heritage sites), some of which can be seen in sweeping overhead shots in the opening credits, including Scicli, Ragusa, Noto and Modica.
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| Town hall, Scicli - Montalbano's police station |
Regular locations
Scicli
A lot of the locations are in the lovely little town of Scicli. Montalbano's police station, seen in many episodes, is, in real life, the town hall of Scicli. It is in the pretty, central Via Penna. The mayor's real-life office (the Stanza del Sindaco) is used in the series too, as the Questore's office, and it can sometimes be visited by the public. The Questura (police HQ) building supposedly in Montelusa is also in Scicli, in Piazza Italia.
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| Piazza Duomo, Ragusa |
Ragusa
In more recent episodes, Piazza Pola in Ragusa Ibla, off the main street, becomes the site of the Inspector's police station. Look out in TV episodes for the nearby Circolo di Conversazione, an elegant one-storey building. Ragusa is a picturesque town on two hilltops, surrounded by deep valleys, and it is featured heavily in Inspector Montalbano. The cathedral square Piazza Duomo, a long sloping piazza with a flight of steps leading up to the cathedral, can be glimpsed frequently. Individual buildings and lanes close by are often used as the setting for Montalbano's investigations and house calls, and viewers will also notice and admire the famous view over Ragusa Ibla, the old town on its hilltop, with flights of steps and a road in the foreground.
The restaurant San Calogero which Montalbano visits often - and where he introduces colleague Mimi to future wife Beba in Gita a Tindari / Excursion to Tindari - is really La Rusticana in Ragusa Ibla, where the cast of the TV series have signed the walls.
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| La Rusticana restaurant, Ragusa Ibla |
Punta Secca
Montalbano's home, with its balconies overlooking the beach, is at Punta Secca, a small seaside settlement with a tall lighthouse, which stands in for fictional Marinella. 'Montalbano's' house is a B&B, helpfully called La Casa di Montalbano, so if you book well ahead you can actually stay here. The little square where the building is located is now rechristened Piazza Montalbano. Along the seafront is a restaurant where Montalbano occasionally enjoys a seafood and pasta lunch on the terrace.
Castello di Donnafugata
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| Castello di Donnafugata, near Ragusa |
Locations in individual episodes
Ragusa - In Gli Arancini di Montalbano / Montalbano's Croquettes the detective calls in at a cafe in Piazza Duomo to see his housekeeper's delinquent son. The public park in Ragusa Ibla, the Giardino Ibleo, stands in for a hospital garden in another episode.
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| Alley, Modica |
La Pazienza del Ragno - Cava D'Ispica - Investigating a ransom case, Montalbano turns up in the rock-cut tombs which are a feature of the Monti Iblei area of Sicily, around Ragusa. A set of these caves can be visited in the archaeological park at Cava d'Ispica.
In Il Cane di Terracotta / The Terracotta Dog Montalbano discovers a pair of long-dead corpses in the Grotta delle Trabacche, another tomb site, located near Ragusa.
La Forma del Acqua / The Shape of Water and La Pazienza del Ragno - Fornace Penna, Sampiero - this atmospheric ruined brickworks by the sea features in a couple of episodes.
In one episode Montalbano drives into Piazza del Duomo in Siracusa and visits the town hall.
Modica: Ponte Guerrieri - the terrifying road bridge crossing a ravine in the opening credits is this viaduct at Modica. We crossed it in a bus on a rather alarming journey, which continued with the bus swooping down hairpin bends into the town.
Scopello - the stunning bay in the north-west of Sicily is used as a location for Il Senso del Tatto
Other filming locations include Ispica, Donnalucata, Santa Croce Camerina and Tindari.
See the filming
New episodes of Montalbano are still being filmed, so if you are visiting the Ragusa area you may be lucky enough to stumble upon filming for new episodes of Il Commissario Montalbano.
Plan a holiday
> Sicily destination and tourism information
15 comments:
Thanks. most helpful. but you didnt answer one burning question - where are all the people?
Apart from the cast most of the locations seem to be a ghost town! is this down to the time of year, the time of day, do they shut the streets for filming or are they all really quiet locations???
Can you tell me why there are usually only a few people/extras or cars in the episodes. The locations look deserted at times except for the criminals and the policemen.
Currently watching a new season on BBC 4.
many thanks
Helen Rosenblatt
Liverpool uK
Some of the scenes may be shot at dawn or in streets which are specially closed for filming. Towns are usually very quiet in the early afternoon, when Sicilians eat or rest at home. But these historic towns are not usually that busy anyway, and town centre streets are often pedestrianised.
I agree about the 'missing people': having spent a fortnight in the area last Spring, I can testify that it is well worth visiting south-eastern Sicily, and that it is usually full of its inhabitants. Goodness knows where RAI store them! Also, why does the gorgeous Mount Etna never feature?
Does anyone have any info on the seafood restaurant along the beach? And having looked at the website of the Montalbano B&B it would seem that options for eating out of season in Punto Secco are very limited - can anyone confirm?
The seafood restaurant is called Enzo a Mare. It is situated in Punta Secca, a few streets from Montalbano's fictional house. It's on the beach off Via Paulo VI. It has an average review in Trip advisor.
Cheers from Australia.
Elsy
Enzo di Mare in Punta Secca is run by Danilo who also has the place next door, SanD. Address: Lungomare Amerigo Vespucci, Punta Secca, 0932-915956. The food is very good.I ate there in October 2012.
Visited Punta Secca today in February. hardly anyone around. must film off season. House next door has a huge modern roof terrace. Practical but not in keeping.
Where are all the people? This came up in one of the featuretes you can find on youtube. They are all behind the camera! The series has brought crowds to the region so they have to close the streets to get the look. When the show started filming the streets were that empty, but no longer!
mark
Where is the high road bridge that is shown at the start of each episode
Thanks
The bridge is in Modica (see above).
We love this area of coastline and often holiday here (at Petrantica, near Marina Di Ragusa). We recognize many of the locations in the TV series, but not the harbour that appears in the opening credits - seemingly with houses on both sides of a river coming down in to a harbour.
In the credits sequence it appears after the viaduct over Modica, and a church in what I think is also Modica, and before the sweeping views of Ragusa.
We love this part of South East Sicily and often holiday here (at Petrantica in Eredita near Marina Di Ragusa - which we recommend).
We recognise many of the locations in Montalbano TV shows, and have even watched them filming at 'Enzos' in Punta Secca one day in 2016.
Can anyone tell me where one of the harbours is in the opening credits? It is just after the Modica viaduct (and church in what I believe is also Modica), and before the sweeping views of Ragusa. It seems to be a river coming down to a large harbour with houses on both sides.
As others have asked,I am interested in the location of the aerial shots in the opening credits of the town with streets that go down perpendicularly to the sandy beach, and the river that opens out to the sea with town on both sides. Also a light house tower...
I'm pretty sure the port town with a river featured in the opening credits is Mazara del Vallo. I'll add it to the article.
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