Cyrano … Movie Locations

"I could no more stop loving you than I could stop the sun rising" Cyrano de Bergerac

Hollywood is just loving Sicily at the moment.

With its beautiful natural scenery, breathtaking landscapes and architectural marvels Sicily has set the scene for many Hollywood movies including The Godfather, Oceans Twelve, Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, Aquaman and most recently last year the island was used as a location for Indiana Jones 5. To add to that, last month news broke that the next season of the popular US television series The White Lotus will be set and filmed in Sicily at The Four Seasons San Domenico Palace Hotel in Taormina.

This month sees the release of the movie Cyrano which has created a big buzz for awards season with a nomination at the 94th Academy Awards and nominations for four BAFTAS.

The musical movie was shot in Sicily during the Covid pandemic mainly in the baroque City of Noto but also in the nearby towns of Scicli, Siracusa, Catania and on Mount Etna.

The movie is based on Cyrano de Bergerac, a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand, which is one of the most classic love stories of all time.

The play was set in France in 1640 and tells the story of a guard, wordsmith and romantic poet, Cyrano de Bergerac, who is in love with his cousin Roxane without her knowledge. His one curse in his life, he feels, is his large nose and although it may have been a forming influence in his razor sharp wit, he believes that Roxane will reject him.

The director of Cyrano the Movie is Joe Wright and he decided to give a different twist to his rendition of Cyrano and casted the amazing Peter Dinklage, known for playing Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, swapping the original Cyrano's deformed nose to a character with a smaller stature.

Conscious of his appearance Cyrano fears rejection and struggles to reveal his true love to Roxane played by actress Haley Bennett, who is married to the director of the movie.

When a handsome army cadet called Christian arrives, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr., Roxane begins to fall for him and vice versa but Christian is no good at romance and asks for Cyrano's help. Cyrano steps in and selflessly ghost writes love letters and poems to Roxane prompting her to fall in love with Christian instead of him. By writing the letters and poems himself Cyrano feels that at last he will be able to express his true feelings to Roxane, albeit through Christian, creating a complex love triangle.

I am not going to reveal too much more about the story because I do not want to spoil the movie for you.

In June 2020 in the midst of the pandemic Joe Wright received a new draft of Cyrano, an adaption by Erica Schmidt of her stage play based on the original Cyrano de Bergerac. Peter Dinklage, who is married to Erica, had played Cyrano in the stage version along with Haley Bennet.

Joe Wright needed to find a suitable location in order to film Cyrano during a pandemic and at this time Sicily had one of the lowest Covid rates in Europe.

He decided to set his Cyrano in the late 17th and early 18th century and chose the Baroque UNESCO City of Noto as his filming location due to its beautiful architecture, noble palaces and the way the buildings beautiful stone changes colour in the Sicilian sun. He used this colourful honey gold palate as inspiration for the movie.

Thereafter the entire production team, cast and crew established a Covid bubble in the city.

In January I had the pleasure of attending a special private screening of Cyrano by UK Hello Magazine at The Mayfair Hotel in London. Under the ownership of Hollywood's Dazinger brothers during the fifties and sixties The Mayfair Hotel became a real theatrical showpiece. A private cinema and theatre were built, alongside a pool bar housing real caiman crocodiles. The crocodiles may no longer grace the halls of the hotel but the stunning theatre remains and is one of London's largest private screening rooms.

I was very excited at the anticipation of seeing Sicily on the big screen.

The cinematography was breathtaking as Noto came to life in front of my eyes and I have to admit that I gasped and the opening scenes brought tears to my eyes to see one of Sicily's most beautiful treasured locations on screen.

I am not normally one for musicals but the music by Grammy Award winning band The National is skilfully woven into the story making it so the music does not distract you from the story. Peter Dinklage excels as Cyrano and you feel as if you have been carried away from the present day to the beauty and romance of the movie and its location. The costumes are stunning and well worthy of a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

So where exactly was Cyrano filmed in Sicily?

Noto

Noto is a most beautiful baroque city in the south eastern corner of the island and has been a UNESCO site since 2005. It’s nickname is "The Stone Garden of Europe". Noto was lovingly reconstructed after the devastating destruction caused by an earthquake in 1693 by a Sicilian-Spanish aristocrat. The town fascinates visitors with its noble palaces and churches. The city was rebuilt using tufa stone that has turned a honey coloured shade after years of sun. The city plan boasts wide streets with plenty of piazza’s and in the evening as the sun sets the buildings glow as if they are made of gold. Most buildings in Noto boast beautifully carved balconies with buttresses, perfect for a movie about love.

Cyrano first appears during a scene set in a theatre which was actually built in the open air, due to social distancing, in the courtyard of the hotel Seven Rooms Villadorata. You can clearly see the bell towers of the Church of Montevergine on Via Corrado Nicolaci. Later we see Cyrano walking up this quaint street which plays host every year in May to the famous Infiorata di Noto, a flower festival where spectacular designs of petals cover the entire road. A walk up this road is a must as the balconies on the palazzi are exquisite and as you look up at the buttresses they have carved sculptures of griffins, galloping horses, bald bearded figures and chubby cherubs.

When Roxane is at home the scenes were filmed in Palazzo Castelluccio at number 10 Via Cavour. The palazzo is one of the most impressive palaces in Noto which boasts beautiful interiors, furniture, works of art and paintings. Joe Wright chose the palazzo as Roxane's home after seeing the way the Sicilian sun flooded the rooms creating a wonderful palate.

When Roxane meets Cyrano to ask him to arrange a meeting between herself and Christian we see them walking through Palazzo Ducezio which today is Noto's town hall. In this scene in the background stands Noto's most iconic building, the Duomo which stands majestically with its twin towers and wide graceful set of steps.

As you watch the movie lovers of Sicily will recognise many other streets and buildings in this beautiful city.

In 2018 Noto set the scene for the wedding of the social media influencer Chiara Ferragni and Italian rapper Federico Lucia, known as Fedez.

Siracusa

The city of Siracusa (Syracuse) was once a mighty Ancient Greek colony and was a rival to Athens. On a islet the oldest part of Siracusa still stands, this is Ortigia. Ortigia is joined to the mainland by three small bridges. This lovely islet boasts a vibrant contrast of colours and sound with historic squares, a beautiful cathedral and glorious monuments.

On Ortigia in Castello Maniace we see Cyrano encounter Christian for the first time where he befriends him as Roxane had requested and tells Christian of her love for him which erupts into a musical performance of Christian declaring their love for each other.

The Castello Maniace is a citadel and castle. It is situated at the far point of the Ortigia promontory and was constructed between 1232 and 1240 by the Emperor Frederick II. It bears the name of George Maniakes, the Byzantine general who besieged and took the city of Siracusa in 1037.

Most recently the castle was used under the utmost secrecy as a filming location for Indiana Jones 5 which is due to be released in July 2023.

Catania

Catania is Sicily's second largest city after Palermo. In 1669 Mount Etna erupted and engulfed the city in lava. The city that exists today is built on top of the lava flow. Catania is popular for its stunning baroque architecture with most buildings being rebuilt making full use of the abundance of black lava giving it the nickname "The City of Black and White". Catania boasts magnificent buildings and elegant palaces typical of the eighteenth century style.

The scene where Christian goes to meet Roxane for the first time was filmed in the Salone da Ballo (ballroom) at Palazzo Biscari at No 10 Via Museo Biscari. The large octagonal ballroom has a complex decoration of mirrors, stuccoes and frescoes. A small dome in the ceiling has a gallery with a balustraded balcony designed to contain an orchestra which is accessed by a exquisite staircase decorated in stucco. It is in this location that Roxane tells Christian to talk to her like he does in his letters and as he becomes tongue twisted she flees back down the stairs. The ballroom in the movie looks stunning and your eyes will pop whilst trying to take in its full beauty.

The Palazzo has a strong connection to World War II and has been used for many fashion shoots and advertisements. In 2008 the palazzo was chosen by the band Coldplay as the setting for their Violet Hill video. The band are showed playing in the main courtyard in front of the central double spiral staircase. Also in this video is featured some breathtaking landscapes of Mount Etna ....

Mount Etna

Mount Etna is one of the worlds most active volcanoes and it is in an almost constant state of activity. Due to its history of recent activity and its nearby population, Etna was designated a 'decade volcano' by the United Nations and in June 2018 it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mount Etna dominates the eastern side of the island with several vast craters and a height of over 3,330 metres.

When Cyrano and Christian go to war the scenes were filmed on Mount Etna because Joe Wright wanted a strong contrast to the world we have watched up to that point. The highest slopes of Etna are black which created an incredible contrast from the world they had just come from. The battle scene was filmed on the volcano at 16,000ft. A week before the cast and crew were due to shoot it snowed with three metres of snow falling overnight so they had to move lower down and then if that was not enough Etna did what she does best and erupted. On the last day of filming on the volcano the cast and crew of Cyrano had to run.

Whilst no scenes were filmed on Etna for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, she was digitally filmed to capture photography for backdrops in the Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Anakin Skywalker fight on the fictional Mustafar. Etna erupted while filming was in progress, so director George Lucas sent a team to film the lava flows to be used as moving backgrounds for the movie.

Scicli

Off the beaten track, Scicli is a town not too far from Noto and is one of the most popular and beloved towns in Sicily. Rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, Scicli combines open tree lined piazzas, churches and baroque palazzi with decorative facades. The town is surrounded by high rocky cliffs where there is a castle that once protected the town. Along with Noto, Scicli is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site that makes up part of the Val di Noto.

The Chiesa di San Matteo (Church of Saint Matthew) is located at the top of a hill and watches over the town. It is here that we see the final scenes of Cyrano.

These days Scicli is mostly well known as being the filming location of the television series Inspector Montalbano. The town was used as a stand in for the fictional town of Vigata and the town hall is the police headquarters in the series. Chiesa di San Matteo is often noticeable in many episodes.

Scicli also became famous after a stray dog wandered into town in 2009 and he won the hearts of the townsfolk and became a local hero. The dog named by locals as "Italo" was made an honorary citizen of Scicli and a movie was made about him, of course the film was filmed in Scicli.

So what about the Poems and Love Letters in the movie?

Calligraphy

Cyrano shows us that hand written correspondence sometimes speaks louder than spoken words.

Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing.

Calligraphy has played a significant role in the history of many cultures and their languages. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush or other writing instrument. What a lot of my followers do not know is that I used to be a personal assistant to a master scribe and through him I met a very talented calligrapher who stills remains a lovely friend. After she saw that I had been to see a preview of the movie and knowing that I have a house in Sicily, she sent me a message saying "I did some work for this production". I told her that the writing in the movie was beautiful and she replied "I think not, because it was supposed to look like a scruffily hand written letter". But I thought the letter props were simply stunning.

I am so excited to hear how much you all love Cyrano the Movie and which locations you recognise and yes Mr Kearney, I will be dragging you to the cinema so I can watch it again !!!!

As for my sister and I, we sat through the whole of the end rolling credits just so I could see the words filmed in "Regione di Sicilia" which made me feel super proud of my spiritual homeland.

If any of you that are reading this post have never visited Sicily, I hope that watching Cyrano will inspire you to visit our beloved beautiful island, it has so much to offer.

I would like to say a big thank you to Hello Magazine for the invitation to the private screening of Cyrano and also say a big thank you to my big sister Kim who probably left the cinema with many bruises on her right arm from the digs I kept giving her with my elbow to indicate that our dog Daisy had walked down that street or had her photo taken in that location.

Maybe I should write my sister a thank you letter?

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Links:

Palazzo Biscari, Catania www.palazzobiscari.it

Palazzo Castelluccio, Noto www.palazzocastelluccio.it

Ask me about recommendations for Calligraphy

and Excursions to Mount Etna

Cyrano Photo Credits:

MGM Films / Universal Pictures

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