Appearance
Under the Tuscan Sun
Written and directed by Audrey Wells and based loosely on Frances Mayes's bestselling memoir, Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) stars Diane Lane as Frances, a recently divorced San Francisco writer who impulsively buys a dilapidated villa in the Tuscan countryside and sets about rebuilding both the house and her life. The film is a warm, sun-drenched celebration of Italian landscape, food, and community, anchored by Lane's deeply appealing central performance.
Despite its San Francisco framing, the city appears only briefly in two short exterior shots. The interiors of the San Francisco scenes were recreated at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, while the heart of the film belongs to the hill towns and countryside of Tuscany.
Location(s)
Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed primarily on location in Tuscany and Rome, Italy, with a tiny amount of exterior photography in San Francisco, California.
Villa Laura, Cortona, Arezzo, Tuscany
Frances's beloved Villa Bramasole — the crumbling, gorgeous property she buys on an impulse — is Villa Laura, a real villa in the town of Cortona in the province of Arezzo. Cortona's narrow medieval streets, its hilltop panoramas, and the surrounding Tuscan countryside provide the film's most iconic imagery. Map Location
Piazza Grande, Montepulciano, Tuscany
The vibrant flag-throwing festival in which the Polish worker Pawel participates to prove himself is the real annual festival held in the Piazza Grande of Montepulciano, another stunning medieval hilltop town approximately 19 miles southwest of Cortona. Montepulciano later appeared as the Volturi stronghold "Volterra" in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Map Location
San Francisco, California (Exterior Only)
Frances's life before Italy is represented by just two brief exterior shots filmed in San Francisco: the hotel where she stays after her divorce, and the exterior of the Mecca Restaurant at 2029 Market Street. The restaurant has since closed. Map Location
Director
Audrey Wells
Cast
Diane Lane
Sandra Oh
Lindsay Duncan
Raoul Bova
IMDB
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