The Decameron: Is Villa Santa Real?

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Quickly gathering millions of viewers is Netflix’s playful dramedy, The Decameron. We follow a bunch of Florentine nobles who, amidst the raging Black Death, flee to a majestic countryside villa on the invitation of a Lord. What ensues is a lockdown-style drama featuring a tight cast of boisterous characters who bounce off each other as well as the walls. At the centre is Villa Santa – which ‘is like another character of the story,’ says production designer Luca Trachino. But where was The Decameron filmed? And is the villa real?

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Tony Hale as Sirisco, Karan Gill as Panfilo, Lou Gala as Neifile, Douggie McMeekin as Tindaro, Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Misia, Zosia Mamet as Pampinea, Tanya Reynolds as Licisca, and Amar Chadha-Patel as Dioneo in Episode 103 of The Decameron

(L to R) Tony Hale as Sirisco, Karan Gill as Panfilo, Lou Gala as Neifile, Douggie McMeekin as Tindaro, Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Misia, Zosia Mamet as Pampinea, Tanya Reynolds as Licisca, and Amar Chadha-Patel as Dioneo in Episode 103 of The Decameron. Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix © 2023

Where Was The Decameron Filmed?

The Decameron was filmed at Cinecittà in Rome, a world-famous film studio – meaning most of the action we see was filmed on set. ‘In the script, I realised that many scenes were going to be shot in rooms and on stages,’ shares production designer Trachino. ‘So I proposed to have a central courtyard in this villa that could give airiness and openness to the scenes that are actually shot on stage, to bring the environment, the landscape, and nature inside the villa. And especially the dining room, I made it like a loggia, so that it could also be open to the natural light on stage.’

Castello Ruspoli is Villa Santa in The Decameron. (Mtl1969, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Is Villa Santa Real?

While most of The Decameron was filmed on set, the exteriors of Villa Santa were filmed on location at Castello Ruspoli in Vignanello, Viterbo, 56 km north of Rome on the border of Tuscany. This privately owned castle – and its verdant, maze-like garden of hedges, one of the nation’s best-preserved examples of an Italian Renaissance garden – was built around 1574, so it wouldn’t have existed when the action of The Decameron takes place. Nevertheless, this mediaeval castle is the perfect stand-in, with cavernous interiors produced by Trachino at at Cinecittà.

Other scenes were filmed on location in Viterbo, including during the journeys the duos make to Villa Santa. Scenes supposedly in Florence were filmed in Quartiere San Pellegrino, the well-preserved mediaeval corner of Viterbo with narrow streets, tiny houses and churches galore – the perfect stand-in for 14th century Firenze. Gutters, cables, some windows and flues were covered to ensure the mediaeval look.

Can You Visit Castello Ruspoli?

Yes, Castello Ruspoli is open to visitors from Marchto November every year despite being privately owned by the Ruspoli family. Guided tours take visitors around the gardens and inside the castle, providing insight into the history of the Castello. Every Friday afternoon, tours are delivered in English.

Details: Tickets start from 10€ and must be booked in advance. Children under five and visitors with disabilities are welcomed for free. Book at castelloruspoli.com

Creating Villa Santa

So, where did Trachino begin when bringing the interiors of Villa Santa to life on set? ‘There was a desire to give the characters and the era a vibrancy, an immediacy,’ he shares. ‘On one hand there was historical research and accuracy, but on the other hand there was a certain freedom and stylization to bring a modern audience into this era. And I really liked the series’ use of both comedy and drama, this idea that the sets were going to be somehow idyllic and yet at the same time they were places of tragedy and drama and murder.

‘The villa is like another character of the story,’ he continues. ‘It’s a place that has very different phases, because on one side it looks almost like a paradise, and then, on the other side, it’s very mysterious and layered, and also is reminiscent of previous ages, so there’s pieces of Roman sculptures left in the garden. I wanted to show that the villa had different layers and floors, so there are tunnels and hidden corridors, and I wanted to give a lot of depth to the surroundings so that the actors could live in this environment.’

The Villa is brimming with historical references and cultural allusions. ‘I incorporated a lot of references from art history,’ says Trachino. ‘For instance, in the dining room, I took reference from Leonard da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper, but also from big paintings by Paolo Veronese, and in the atrium we used some paintings by Giotto.’