🏛️ Films on the Map · Regional guide
Part III’s Vatican was mostly filmed outside the Vatican: at Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, about an hour north of Rome, and in nearby Viterbo. In Rome itself there’s Ponte Sant’Angelo, the square on the Vatican border and the Cinecittà studios. 5 places, for half a day, a day or two.
The map
The numbers are a suggested walking order. Pick an area to zoom in, and tap a pin to see what was filmed there.
Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
Pin = a filming location from “The Godfather beyond Sicily” · the number = the suggested walking order
Tap a pin on the map
Locations, distances and times are estimates only. Check opening hours, prices, access and safety before you go.
The places
For each place: what was filmed there, what’s there today, an estimate of the visit time, and links to Google Maps and the scene page.
📍 Rome · ≈ 25 min there
An ancient Roman bridge over the Tiber leading to Castel Sant’Angelo, lined with ten 17th-century angel statues designed by Bernini. It is for pedestrians only, and St Peter’s Square is a ten-minute walk away.
📍 Rome, on the Vatican border · ≈ 30 min there
A small square just south of Bernini’s colonnade at St Peter’s Square. It holds the Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, seat of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, heir to the Inquisition. The palace belongs to the Vatican though it stands outside the walls, and the square has a gate into Vatican City.
📍 Rome · ≈ 2 h there
Italy’s great film studios, opened in 1937, Fellini’s home turf. The Teatro Massimo auditorium was rebuilt here, and, according to movie-locations, so was the Atlantic City meeting room. The public can visit the Cinecittà si Mostra exhibition, with paid guided tours among the sets. Take Metro line A to Cinecittà station.
📍 Caprarola, province of Viterbo · ≈ 1 h 40 min there
A 16th-century pentagonal Renaissance palace designed by Vignola for the Farnese family, on a hill above the village of Caprarola, about an hour from Rome. Its halls are covered in frescoes, among them the Hall of the World Map (Sala del Mappamondo) and the famous spiral staircase, the Scala Regia. It is open as a museum for a fee, with terraced gardens behind.
📍 Viterbo, Lazio · ≈ 40 min there
A Renaissance church on the edge of Viterbo, with Andrea della Robbia’s glazed terracotta lunettes over its doors, beside a Dominican convent with arcaded cloisters. According to Italian Wikipedia, the “Palermo” convent cloister was filmed here, in a part that was then a hotel. The church is open to visitors, and the cloisters can be seen during opening hours.
Itineraries
All times here are estimates (a rough visit time plus travel by distance). Check opening hours and tickets before you go.
Estimate: ≈ 4 h 5 min
From Ponte Sant’Angelo, walk down Via della Conciliazione to St Peter’s Square, then to Piazza del Sant’Uffizio, just south of the colonnade. About a kilometre and a half. Add Cinecittà, in the south-east of the city, by Metro line A.
The Cinecittà studios are in the south-east of the city, on Metro line A.
Estimate: ≈ 3 h 25 min
About an hour north of Rome: Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola and its gardens in the morning, then Viterbo, the medieval city of the popes, with the basilica of Santa Maria della Quercia on its edge. The two are about 15 km apart.
Day 1 · ≈ 4 h 5 min
From Ponte Sant’Angelo, walk down Via della Conciliazione to St Peter’s Square, then to Piazza del Sant’Uffizio, just south of the colonnade. About a kilometre and a half. Add Cinecittà, in the south-east of the city, by Metro line A.
The Cinecittà studios are in the south-east of the city, on Metro line A.
Day 2 · ≈ 3 h 25 min
About an hour north of Rome: Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola and its gardens in the morning, then Viterbo, the medieval city of the popes, with the basilica of Santa Maria della Quercia on its edge. The two are about 15 km apart.
Tips
Several places run guided tours, usually booked ahead: Paramount, the Federal Reserve, Falaise, Radio City, Palazzo Farnese and Cinecittà.
Cover shoulders and knees in churches and keep quiet during services. St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral offers paid tours, including the catacombs.
Opening hours and prices change, and businesses close. Check the place’s Google Maps card, linked here, before you set out.
FAQ
This guide has 5 filming locations in Rome and Lazio, from the “The Godfather beyond Sicily” collection, where 6 scenes were filmed. Each place has what was filmed there, what’s there today and a Google Maps link.
Mostly at Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, about an hour north of Rome: the Hall of the World Map was Archbishop Gilday’s office, and he is killed on the spiral staircase. The Vatican border post was filmed at Piazza del Sant’Uffizio, and the bridge where the banker is hanged is Ponte Sant’Angelo.
The guide has ready itineraries for half a day, one day and two days. As a rough estimate, all the places together take about 11 h 35 min of visiting and travel at a normal pace. The planner splits them into one to five days, at the pace you choose.
Yes. In the trip planner you pick the number of days, a pace and how you’ll get around, and get a day-by-day plan with time estimates, a map for each day and Google Maps directions. The plan is saved in your browser, and you can send it as a link.
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