Italy's Iconic Landscapes Return for 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' Remake
Andrew Scott takes the lead in Netflix’s version of The Talented Mr Ripley — but the real stars are four Italian landmarks…
Ed Grenby - 2 April 2024
Matt Damon, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow and Philip Seymour Hoffman all starred in the film version of The Talented Mr Ripley – but only one cast member made such an impression that they got to reprise their role in Netflix’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel. That scene-stealing honour goes to the locations: Venice, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, all of which glowed with technicolor beauty in the 1999 movie.
In the Netflix drama those four giants of the Italian tourist industry loom as much as they shine: the eight-part Ripley is shot in ominous black and white, as befits this dark tale of deception, identity theft and murder among wealthy and glamorous young Americans summering in Italy in the 50s.
That’s not to say the locations don’t look alluring. Just like Andrew Scott, who plays conman Tom Ripley, they blend a spoonful of menace with buckets of visual appeal.
THE AMALFI COAST
While the story, and the TV drama, open in New York City, where Ripley first gets his mark in his sights, it’s on Italy’s glorious Amalfi Coast that things really begin: here Ripley starts to ingratiate himself with Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn). Most memorable of the backdrops is Atrani, the ridiculously picturesque fishing village that clings improbably to a fold in the foot of the cliffs beside the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Much of its medieval structure has been preserved – vertiginous flights of steps, tiny pockets of garden – and the whole thing tumbles down the hillside like a huge amphitheatre with a neat little beach where the orchestra pit would be. High above is the much-photographed Hotel Villa Cimbrone (hotelvillacimbrone.com), but a bit more reasonably priced is the Hotel Villa San Michele (hotel-villasanmichele.it), five minutes’ walk from Atrani and rolling-out-of-bed-distance from the sea.
NAPLES
When things get just a little too pretty on the Amalfi Coast, cruise your hire car along route SS163 to old Napoli, where things can get a little edgier. Indeed, there are parts of the city it’s not really safe for tourists to tread, but stick to the centre and you’ll get all of the thrills without any of the potential spills. Ripley filmed inside the former church of Santa Maria La Nova (santamarialanova.com), deconsecrated now but just as atmospheric as when it was first built in the 13th century. (How does something so old get called la nova? Simple: it replaced an even more ancient chapel nearby.)
These days Naples is known as much for its food as its religious monuments. Pizza is thought by culinary historians to have been invented at the Pizzeria Brandi (pizzeriabrandi.com) – after a couple of centuries, it’s fair to say they’ve perfected it. Stay within “I’m-stuffed” waddling distance (and with great views) at NH Napoli Panorama (nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-napoli-panorama).
ROME
The events of Highsmith’s story reach something of a climax in Rome, and several locations feature in the Netflix version. Two of the most recognisable – chosen, perhaps, because they are so little changed since their mid-20th-century heyday – are the Palazzo dei Congressi (turismoroma.it/places/palazzo-dei-congressi) and Hotel Bolivar (bolivarhotel.eu).
The former is a conference centre, which doesn’t sound exciting, but inside and out it’s a dramatic example of futurist-rationalist architecture as envisaged by Benito Mussolini. The latter, is a still-functioning hotel, perfectly triangulated between the Pantheon, Trevi Fountains and Colosseum, every one a screen star in their own right.
VENICE
La Serenissima’s sinister side has brought the city almost as many starring roles as its obvious beauty (see Don’t Look Now, The Comfort of Strangers and even Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning for the darkness behind the pretty façades; watch assorted Indiana Jones, James Bond and Spider-Man films for the camera-candy). Ripley falls more into the former camp, but a stay in Venice will always be a mixture of both. Cruise the Grand Canal on a vaporetto, as Andrew Scott does in one of the final episodes, and you’ll see everything that draws tourists to the city: elegant gondolas, domed churches, the Rialto, St Mark’s Square. But wander down a few narrow alleys and just a couple of canal-crossings away, you’ll find decaying palazzos, crumbling under the weight of their own decadence.
It’s a fitting place for Ripley to meet its finito, and a great climax to any trip round Italy. If you’re going to throw caution (and Euros) to the wind anywhere, in order to live the gilded life of Highsmith’s characters, Venice is the place: stay a night or two at the Gritti Palace (marriott.com/en-us/hotels/vcegl-the-gritti-palace) and you’ll remember it for ever.
Matt Damon, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow and Philip Seymour Hoffman all starred in the film version of The Talented Mr Ripley – but only one cast member made such an impression that they got to reprise their role in Netflix’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel. That scene-stealing honour goes to the locations: Venice, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, all of which glowed with technicolor beauty in the 1999 movie.
In the Netflix drama those four giants of the Italian tourist industry loom as much as they shine: the eight-part Ripley is shot in ominous black and white, as befits this dark tale of deception, identity theft and murder among wealthy and glamorous young Americans summering in Italy in the 50s.
That’s not to say the locations don’t look alluring. Just like Andrew Scott, who plays conman Tom Ripley, they blend a spoonful of menace with buckets of visual appeal.
THE AMALFI COAST
While the story, and the TV drama, open in New York City, where Ripley first gets his mark in his sights, it’s on Italy’s glorious Amalfi Coast that things really begin: here Ripley starts to ingratiate himself with Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn). Most memorable of the backdrops is Atrani, the ridiculously picturesque fishing village that clings improbably to a fold in the foot of the cliffs beside the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Much of its medieval structure has been preserved – vertiginous flights of steps, tiny pockets of garden – and the whole thing tumbles down the hillside like a huge amphitheatre with a neat little beach where the orchestra pit would be. High above is the much-photographed Hotel Villa Cimbrone (hotelvillacimbrone.com), but a bit more reasonably priced is the Hotel Villa San Michele (hotel-villasanmichele.it), five minutes’ walk from Atrani and rolling-out-of-bed-distance from the sea.
NAPLES
When things get just a little too pretty on the Amalfi Coast, cruise your hire car along route SS163 to old Napoli, where things can get a little edgier. Indeed, there are parts of the city it’s not really safe for tourists to tread, but stick to the centre and you’ll get all of the thrills without any of the potential spills. Ripley filmed inside the former church of Santa Maria La Nova (santamarialanova.com), deconsecrated now but just as atmospheric as when it was first built in the 13th century. (How does something so old get called la nova? Simple: it replaced an even more ancient chapel nearby.)
These days Naples is known as much for its food as its religious monuments. Pizza is thought by culinary historians to have been invented at the Pizzeria Brandi (pizzeriabrandi.com) – after a couple of centuries, it’s fair to say they’ve perfected it. Stay within “I’m-stuffed” waddling distance (and with great views) at NH Napoli Panorama (nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-napoli-panorama).
ROME
The events of Highsmith’s story reach something of a climax in Rome, and several locations feature in the Netflix version. Two of the most recognisable – chosen, perhaps, because they are so little changed since their mid-20th-century heyday – are the Palazzo dei Congressi (turismoroma.it/places/palazzo-dei-congressi) and Hotel Bolivar (bolivarhotel.eu).
The former is a conference centre, which doesn’t sound exciting, but inside and out it’s a dramatic example of futurist-rationalist architecture as envisaged by Benito Mussolini. The latter, is a still-functioning hotel, perfectly triangulated between the Pantheon, Trevi Fountains and Colosseum, every one a screen star in their own right.
VENICE
La Serenissima’s sinister side has brought the city almost as many starring roles as its obvious beauty (see Don’t Look Now, The Comfort of Strangers and even Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning for the darkness behind the pretty façades; watch assorted Indiana Jones, James Bond and Spider-Man films for the camera-candy). Ripley falls more into the former camp, but a stay in Venice will always be a mixture of both. Cruise the Grand Canal on a vaporetto, as Andrew Scott does in one of the final episodes, and you’ll see everything that draws tourists to the city: elegant gondolas, domed churches, the Rialto, St Mark’s Square. But wander down a few narrow alleys and just a couple of canal-crossings away, you’ll find decaying palazzos, crumbling under the weight of their own decadence.
It’s a fitting place for Ripley to meet its finito, and a great climax to any trip round Italy. If you’re going to throw caution (and Euros) to the wind anywhere, in order to live the gilded life of Highsmith’s characters, Venice is the place: stay a night or two at the Gritti Palace (marriott.com/en-us/hotels/vcegl-the-gritti-palace) and you’ll remember it for ever.
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