Inferno, the latest Dan Brown thriller movie based on the novel of the same name is now in theaters and is sure to draw extra tourists to Florence, where it was primarily filmed. The movie and novel are sequels to The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.
In the Ron Howard-directed movie, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks, reprising his role from the first two movies) wakes up with amnesia in a hospital in Italy and hopes Dr. Sienna Brooks (played by British actress Felicity Jones) will help him regain his memory. The two travel then around Europe, aided by Dante-related clues, in a hurry to stop a madman from releasing a deadly virus that would destroy half of the planet and stop overpopulation.
The thriller was filmed primarily in Florence, where the film crew competed with tourists to get perfect shots of iconic locations such as the Boboli Gardens and the Baptistery in the Duomo, which are featured in chase scenes. The 15th-century Medici family palace, Palazzo Pitti; the Ponte Vecchio; the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s 13th-century town hall; the Uffizi Gallery; the secret passageways of the Vasari Corridor; and the Badia Fiorentina, a monastery, are also featured. The movie also filmed in famous locations in Venice, Padua, Istanbul and Budapest.
Inferno filmed in Florence in April 2015, and director Ron Howard visited the city in 2014 to scout locations and ensure accuracy with the help of a tour guide and the Tuscany Film Commission. The set reportedly employed more than 400 extras in chase scenes and to fill out public spaces such as the area between Piazza Santa Maria Novella and Piazza Della Repubblica.
Florence Mayor Dario Nardella has a cameo in the film as a tour guide, and gave Ron Howard a key to the city in May 2015, making Howard an honorary Florentine.
In the Italian newspaper La Nazione, Nardella expressed his gratitude for “the passion and the enthusiasm with which Howard is conducting this work in Florence. Obviously we are very pleased about what the film will bring to the city, both in terms of image and prestige. I enjoyed making the appearance, Howard made me shoot the same scene for twelve times, has been extraordinarily present and I can say that a beautiful friendship was born with him. I also met Tom Hanks, an extraordinary and kind person who made me compliments on the cleanliness of the city.”
By Kathy McCabe
