Prepare for some serious binge-watching with our selection of good Italian movies on Netflix. Includes Italian language films on Netflix plus some of the best movies set in Italy.
Do you like Italian movies? If so, then this is the blog post for you! With the help of travel bloggers, I have compiled a list of 13 Italian movies on Netflix (or movies set in Italy on Netflix) that are worth watching.
From Italian comedies to love stories and romance to Italian gangster movies, there’s something here for everyone. Whether it’s a rainy day or just a Friday night in with friends, these Italian films on Netflix will keep you entertained all night long.
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Best Italian Romantic Comedies on Netflix
Under the Riccione Sun
- Year of release: 2020
- Genre: Comedy-Romance
Under The Riccione Sun is a super nice feel-good movie, with a great mix of summer romance, beach life and lots of Italian vibes. This romantic comedy is about a group of teenagers who meet on the lively beaches of Riccione and spend an exciting and unforgettable summer together.
Some of them use their vacation to party hard, while others are looking for the love of their lives. You may well be reminded of Three Meters Above the Sky, a Netflix series that is also really worth watching!
Especially nice is this story of the blind teenager who wants to emancipate himself from his patronizing mother and who wants to find his own life (and love). Otherwise, the movie is a lot about flirts with some nice vacation anecdotes.
If you love this kind of feel-good movie, and on top of that if you love Italy flair, you will for sure enjoy Under The Riccione Sun.
- Starring: Italian actors Cristiano Caccamo,Lorenzo Zurzolo,Ludovica Martino
- Where was it filmed? All the movie is set in Riccione, a town on Italy’s Adriatic coast!
Watched by Martina of PlacesofJuma
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A Room With A View
- Released 1985
- Romance/comedy
A Room With A View is an adaptation of the EM Forester novel of the same name. It is the story of Lucy Honeychurch who has to decide to be what her family expects or be what she wants
Lucy is sent to Florence with her cousin Charlotte. She falls in love with the beauty of the Tuscan countryside and in turn with an equally beautiful and untamed man named George. Remembering that she has a stuffy fiancé at home in England she dutifully returns only to have George show up in her English Village.
A Room With A View is highly rated as one of the best movies to come from Merchant/Ivory productions. It has 100% rating on rotten tomatoes as well as high praise from every critic around. It also launched the careers of Helena Bonham Carter and Rupert Graves.
- Featuring: Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench
- Filmed on location in Florence, Italy. The film was shot in locations across Tuscany, including, Capanne di Careggi, Terranuova Bracciolini and Forte dei Marmi.
Watched by Alicia from Travels with the crew
Rose Island
- Year of release – 2020
- Genre – Comedy-drama
The movie Rose Island is based on a true story of an Italian Engineer that decided to build a platform outside the territorial waters and legal jurisdiction of Italy.
After seeing an image of an oil Platform, Giorgio Rosa and his friend Maurizio, resolved to create their own country 12km off the coast of Rimini, just outside Italian territorial waters. This meant it was outside the control of the authorities. They built a 400 sq m platform in the Adriatic Sea, and on this artificial island, they built a bar and a small house with potable water.
Rose Island had its own government, currency, post office, and commercial establishments, and an official language. Naturally, Giorgio Rosa was the President.
The island started receiving tourists, and attention. People mostly partied on the island but it became quite famous. Several people even asked for citizenship.
The Italian government unsatisfied with these developments and the fact that it didn’t pay taxes, decided to intervene. In consequence, Giorgio Rosa decides to ask for the help of the United Nations Headquarters.
This is a very funny movie, but the best part is that it’s based on true events which makes it even more interesting.
- Starring – Elio Germano, Matilda De Angelis, Leonardo Lidi, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Luca Zingaretti, François Cluzet
- Where was it filmed? It was filmed in an infinity pool in Malta Film Studios
Watched by Cláudia & Jorge from Travel drafts
Letters to Juliet
- Year of release – 2010
- Genre – Romantic Comedy
The premise of Letters to Juliet is that a young aspiring writer, Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried), travels to Italy together with her Italian fiancé for a honeymoon before the wedding. He’s a busy chef in their home town of New York and won’t have time after the wedding to embark on a honeymoon.
When strolling around the city of Verona, Sophie stumbles on the ‘Letters to Juliet,’ an organisation of volunteers who make it their mission to reply to letters from brokenhearted people who leave their letters in ‘Juliet’s Wall’. While examining the wall, Sophie stumbles on a letter that was written by Claire and was trapped in the wall.
As such, the letter hasn’t been seen for decades. Sophie replies and soon enough, Claire turns up in Italy, inspired to track down her long lost lover. She also brings her grandson Charlie along with her and it’s not long before Sophie finds herself more interested in him than she would like to be…
- Starring – Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave
- Where was it filmed? The City of Verona, Siena, the Italian countryside
Watched by Sophie of Solo Sophie
Best Italian gangster movies on Netflix
The Ruthless (Lo spietato)
- Year of release – 2019
- Genre – Crime/Drama
The Ruthless (Lo spietato in Italian) is a traditional gangster movie, loosely based on the book Manager calabria 9and inspired by the real-life story of Saverio Morabito, who was a “ndrangheta” mafia boss during the 1990s and later a police informant.
Set primarily in Milan, this account of the Italian mafia follows the somewhat classic formula of movies in this genre. As such, it is full of all the gritty and intense drama you’d expect from a gangster movie with brutal violence, sex, money, drugs and high-speed cars.
It follows the journey of Santo Russo, played by Riccardo Scamarcio, as he makes his way from a rebellious teen to the upper echelon of the Milan underworld.
The movie begins in 1990, with an adult Santo sat on the roof of his penthouse apartment overlooking Milan Cathedral. From here, we learn more about his rise and fall within the criminal world through a series of flashbacks spanning three decades.
- Starring – Riccardo Scamarcio, Sara Serraiocco, Alessio Praticò
- Where was it filmed? The movie is filmed and takes place primarily in Milan. Filming also took place in Apulia in southern Italy.
Watched by Sophie and Adam of WeDreamOfTravel
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Best Italian movies on Netflix
Angels and Demons
- Year of release – 2009
- Genre – Mystery/Thriller
The mystery thriller takes place in Rome, Italy, in which Dr Langdon, a Harvard University professor of history of art and “symbology”, partnered with beautiful CERN scientist Dr Vittoria Vetra, is in the quest to recover a missing vial of antimatter from an Illuminati terrorist, who plans to destroy the Roman Catholic Church by annihilating the entire Vatican City.
Their heart-racing and time-bound mission is filled with brilliant plots, exciting catch-and-chase scenes, riddle-solving that are based on ancient symbology, secret societies, and conspiracy theories, all under the backdrop of the numerous historic landmarks in the Eternal City. Follow Dr Langdon’s path from the Vatican to the entire city of Rome, until the dramatic reveal of the mastermind.
You will be fascinated by the meaning and messages of classical art, and the next time you are in Rome, you will definitely see the paintings and sculptures, symbols, and architecture from a completely different point of view.
- Starring – Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor
- Where was it filmed? Rome
Watched by Kenny of Knycxjourneying.com
Two Popes
- Year of release – 2019
- Genre – Biographical Drama
In 2012, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce), deeply disappointed in the Catholic Church’s direction, asked Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) to let him retire.
Pope Benedict refuses the cardinal’s consent to retire and invite him to the Vatican to discuss the matter. In subsequent discussions, The two Popes – current and future (at that time) discuss the future of the Roman Catholic Church, the world they live in, dogmatic matters, and the music they listen to. The conversations are deep and same time funny; we see two different personalities, both responsible for the future of the Catholic Church.
During this fascinating discussion, Pope Benedict tries to check whether cardinal Bergoglio, a man whose attitude he does not fully understand, will be able to complete the work begun by their predecessors, which he himself couldn’t carry on his shoulders anymore.
If you want to know and see what is happening behind closed Vatican doors, watch Two Popes.
- Starring – Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict and Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Jorge
- Where was it filmed? The Vatican
Watched by Ania from The Travelling Twins
The Talented Mr Ripley
- Released – 1999
- Genre – Psychological Thriller
The Talented Mr Ripley is a 1999 film adaptation of a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith, which was originally published in 1955.
The movie stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, who befriends Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), the son of a shipping magnate, and his beautiful girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) by pretending to be an old Princeton classmate of Dickie’s.
The first part of the film sees Tom, Dickie and Marge relaxing on a luxurious and extravagant holiday in the fictional Italian seaside resort of Mongibello. The scenes in Mongibello were filmed in Positano on the Amalfi Coast and on the islands of Ischia and Procida in the Bay of Naples. The beautiful narrow streets of Marina di Corricella on Procida are clearly recognisable and make the perfect backdrop for the trio’s idyllic, sun-soaked Italian vacation, although the production was apparently plagued with uncharacteristically bad weather. Later scenes in the movie take part in Rome and Venice.
The Talented Mr Ripley was nominated for five Academy Awards and five Golden Globes. Jude Law won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dickie.
- Starring -Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
- Where was it filmed? Ischia, Procida, Positano, Rome and Venice
Watched by Helen of Helen on her Holidays
An Italian Dream
- Year of release – 2019
- Genre – Sentimental Drama
An Italian Dream is a feel-good story based on the real-life of Enrico Piaggio – the inventor of the Italian icon – Vespa scooter.
It’s 1945, and Enrico’s factory is in ruin, and all its employees are about to lose their jobs. Enrico feels very responsible for all his workers and their families that rely on the factory salaries to come up with an idea to save his company and provide the financial means to all its loyal employees.
He comes up with a new mode of transport – a small but capable vehicle that at the same time is very affordable – a scooter. The time is ticking, there are people that want to take over his factory and many obstacles to overcome.
The only way to make Enrico’s idea a success is to get Vespa featured in William Wyler’s movie – Roman Holiday about a couple in love travelling Italy, hopefully on Vespa.
- Starring – Alessio Boni, Violante Placido
- Where – Pontedera
Watched by Mal from Raw Mal Roams
Pompeii
- Year of release: 2004
- Genre: Action
The movie Pompeii is a film that depicts the tragedy of the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD that killed thousands of people.
Expect lots of action, fighting and special effects, plus a healthy dose of Romance. While the graphic annihilation of Pompeii makes a thrilling film in itself, the story also gives an intriguing insight into the political contentions between the city and the Roman Empire.
The storyline follows an orphaned child whose village was massacred by Romans. You will be glued to your seat as you watch his journey to become a champion gladiator and the constant battles to avenge his past.
Pompeii is a Netflix movie that will keep you glued to your seat. It also helps bring vivid picture to this terrible historical disaster. You can visit the ruins yourself as a day trip from popular holiday destinations such as Naples or while on an Amalfi Coast road trip.
- Starring: Kit Harrison, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Jessica
- Filmed: While set in Pompeii the majority of scenes were filmed in Canada
Recommended by Kerry Hanson from VeggTravel
Best Italian romance movies on Netflix
Out of My League (Sul Più Bello)
- Year of release – 2020
- Genre – Romance/drama
Set in northern Italy in the city of Turin, ‘Out of My League’ (‘Sul Più Bello’) is a sweet (and sad) romantic movie based on a novel with the same name by Eleonora Gaggero, who also plays in the film.
It follows Marta, a young, bubbly, and quirky girl who suffers from cystic fibrosis, a genetic and incurable illness that damages the lungs and other organs in the body. Being an orphan, she lives with her two best friends in the house she inherited from her parents.
When she comes across the undeniably handsome Arturo, she doesn’t waste any time and essentially starts stalking him. She sees herself as an ‘ugly duckling’, so she doesn’t think someone like him will like someone like her. When he faces her, she manages to get a date with him (without telling him about her illness). Will this unusual situation turn into true love?
- Starring – Ludovica Francesconi and Giuseppe Maggio
- Where was it filmed? Turin
Watched by Or from My Path in the World
Caught by a Wave
- Year of release – 2021
- Genre – Romance/drama
Set on the beautiful island of Sicily, Caught by a Wave (Sulla Stessa Onda) is an Italian romantic drama directed by Massimiliano Carnaiti.
Currently streaming on Netflix in the Italian language with English subtitles, the film tells the story of two college students, Sara and Lorenzo, who meet at a summer camp and fall in love. Not long after their courtship commences, their budding relationship faces its first challenge as Sara confesses to Lorenzo that she’s suffering from a rare degenerative disease. After a tense scene where the pair are out on a sailboat and Sara collapses in pain, she can’t keep her secret from her suitor any longer and reality comes crashing down on the duo.
With one brilliant Sicilian sunset after another as their backdrop, the rest of the film follows the pair as they navigate the uncertainty of Sara’s future while trying to kindle the first sparks of their young romance.
- Starring – Elvira Camarrone, Roberto Christian, Donatella Finocchiaro
- Where was it filmed? – Sicily
Watched by By Emily from Wander-Lush
Call me by your name
- Year of release – 2017
- Genre – Romance, Drama
Call me by your name is an equally beautiful and heart-wrenching story of love and self-discovery that has won over audiences around the globe. It features the story of Elio, a 17-year-old who is spending the summer of 1983 with his parents at the family’s idyllic Italian villa in the northern region of Lombardy.
During this time Elio’s father invites a charming 24-year-old US graduate student to help him with his research. Soon, both Oliver and Elio realize a shared romantic connection and an ensuing journey of discovery follows. It’s a poignantly beautiful film where the stunning Italian surroundings act more as a backdrop to the ensuing storyline, instead of being the main star.
Today, you can visit beautiful Crema, where most of the film was shot, by travelling an hour by car or 1.5 hours by train. Other key filming locations include Bergamo where the couple spent a couple of nights away, as well as the Grotte di Catullo ruins.
- Starring – Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Amira Casar, Michael Stuhlbarg
- Where was it filmed – The main location in and around Crema, Lombardy
Watched by Marco from The Avid Campers
Plan your trip to Italy
With all the inspiration you now have after watching all these Italian movies on Netflix you may want to start planning your trip to beautiful Italy!
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