Rome · Venice · 2015–2019 · Paolo Sorrentino
The series could not film in the Vatican, so Sorrentino built one out of Italy. Burn a ballot and the smoke will tell you where.
Seven ballots in the stove. Burn one.
Medals: Jude Law (Frederic Auerbach, CC BY-SA 3.0) · John Malkovich (Elena Ringo, CC BY 4.0) · Paolo Sorrentino (Pietro Luca Cassarino, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Fumata · seven ballots, one stove
Location filming is forbidden inside the Vatican, so The Young Pope made its own. Each slip below names a room you see on screen. Put it in the stove: black smoke means it was not filmed there, and the white smoke that follows names the place that played it.
Location filming is forbidden inside the Vatican, and The Young Pope was largely based at Cinecittà.
The rooms and the places that played them.
Turismo Roma: Sorrentino’s locationsItaly for Movies: The Young PopeItaly for Movies: The New Pope
Seven ballots in the stove. Burn one.
0 of 7 burned
The stove is cold. Pick a ballot.
San Giorgio Maggiore
Between December 1799 and 14 March 1800, with Rome occupied by Napoleon’s troops, the cardinals met here, on the first floor of the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore, and elected Pius VII.
It was a real conclave, held on an island in the lagoon.
Vaporetto line 2 to San Giorgio, across the basin from San Zaccaria. The Cini Foundation shows the monastery and its refectory on guided tours; check days and book.
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Piazza Navona to Piazza Venezia
The papal apartments and Pius XIII’s bathroom were built on one floor of Palazzo Braschi.
Its baroque grand staircase was the set for the pope’s investiture, and Pius XIII’s strange meeting with the Italian Prime Minister was shot here.
Cosimo Morelli designed the palace from 1790 for Luigi Braschi Onesti, nephew of Pope Pius VI. It houses the Museo di Roma.
The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 7pm.
Now the Museo di Roma, between Piazza Navona and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The grand staircase is inside the museum.
The Apostolic Palace was re-created in Palazzo Venezia for The Young Pope.
In The New Pope, Cardinal Spalletta advises John Paul III by the fountain in the courtyard, and the cardinals cross the Sala Regia and pass the monumental staircase on their way to the Sistine Chapel.
Cardinal Pietro Barbo built it in the 1450s and reigned as Pope Paul II from 1464; it became a papal residence in 1469.
The museum opens every day, 9.30am to 7.30pm; the Giardino Grande is free to enter.
A national museum on Piazza Venezia. The garden with the fountain is free to walk into.
Orto Botanico · the Janiculum
In episode three of The New Pope the prelates climb this staircase on their way to the Sistine Chapel. Open the spouts and send them up.
Eleven spouts, all dry.
Largo Cristina di Svezia 23A, Trastevere, Rome
The botanical garden stood in for the Vatican Gardens. In The New Pope, cardinals meet in its bamboo forest to weigh up the next pope.
In episode three of The New Pope, the prelates climb the Fountain of the Eleven Spouts on their way to the Sistine Chapel.
The garden covers 12 hectares on the Janiculum slopes above Palazzo Corsini, and has been on this site since 1883.
A ticketed garden at the foot of the Janiculum, entered from Largo Cristina di Svezia beside Palazzo Corsini.
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January 2016 · nights in St Mark’s Square
The Young Pope ends here. In Venice Pius XIII shows his face to the faithful for the first time, and collapses mid-speech. The New Pope picks up with him in a coma.
The finale speech in Piazza San Marco, the January 2016 night shoots with the square sealed off, and Pius XIII’s collapse after showing his face.
Italy for Movies: The Young PopeANSA: Filming of The Young Pope heads to Venice (7 January 2016)Italy for Movies: The New Pope opener stars the refectory of San Giorgio Maggiore
Piazza San Marco, Venice
At the end of The Young Pope, Pius XIII speaks to the crowds in Piazza San Marco.
Filming came to Venice in January 2016 for night shoots in St Mark’s Square and Campo San Vio, both sealed off.
The New Pope begins after Venice: Pius XIII collapsed there while speaking to the faithful, to whom he had at last shown his face, and lies in a coma.
It is the principal public square of Venice, with St Mark’s Basilica at its eastern end.
Venice’s main square. Come late at night or very early to see it nearly empty.
Campo San Geremia, Cannaregio, Venice
The Italian Prime Minister holds a press conference in Palazzo Labia’s ballroom, frescoed by Tiepolo.
Tiepolo painted the ballroom with the story of Antony and Cleopatra in 1746–47.
The ballroom and some state rooms are open to view by appointment.
See the front from Campo San Geremia or the Cannaregio Canal. The ballroom is shown by appointment only.
Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi, Lido di Venezia
In The New Pope, Pius XIII walks through a group of women on the Lido beach in white swimming trunks, the Hotel Excelsior behind him.
Both series had their world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on the Lido: The Young Pope on 3 September 2016, the first television series in the festival’s programme, and The New Pope on 1 September 2019.
Giovanni Sardi designed the Excelsior, which opened in 1908. The first Venice film festival opened from its terrace in 1932, before the Palazzo del Cinema was inaugurated in 1937.
Vaporetto to Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta, then walk or take the bus down the Lungomare. The Palazzo del Cinema is a few minutes along.
Lido di Venezia
The 1908 hotel behind Pius XIII’s walk in white trunks, on the Lido beach along the Lungomare from the Palazzo del Cinema. It has the only private beach in Venice, with 300 cabanas.
See the hotelThe coast and the Majella
Sorrentino said The New Pope is about two popes who want to be forgotten. Two places for getting away: a beach where an old photograph turns up, and a hermitage where the future Celestine V, the pope who resigned in 1294, once lived.
Sorrentino’s statement for Venice 2019: two popes whose ambition is to be forgotten.
Passoscuro, Fiumicino, on the coast west of Rome
On the beach at Passoscuro, Esther finds a photograph of Pius XIII; the same stretch holds a scene with Cardinal Voiello.
Italy for Movies sets the meeting of Sister Mary and Cardinal Voiello on the Passoscuro dunes.
Fellini shot the last scene of La Dolce Vita on this beach.
It is the northernmost bathing spot in Fiumicino, with fairly unspoilt beaches and dunes.
A public beach with dunes to the north, on the coast beyond Fiumicino.
Strada Comunale Santo Spirito, Roccamorice, Pescara
In The New Pope, Cardinal Voiello, out of favour, takes refuge at the Hermitage of Santo Spirito and spends his days gardening.
Pietro da Morrone, later Pope Celestine V, lived here in 1246 and renovated it. The oldest part of the church is carved into the rock.
Celestine V resigned the papacy on 13 December 1294, five months and eight days after he was elected.
A mountain hermitage above Roccamorice, on the Majella. Drive up from the village; the last stretch is a steep ramp from the car park.
Via Jacopo Barozzi 71, Bagnaia, Viterbo
Villa Lante was one of the gardens used for the Vatican Gardens in The Young Pope.
A state-run garden in Bagnaia, just outside Viterbo, north of Rome.
Via della Curia, above the Roman Forum
The church stood in for the inside of St Peter’s Basilica.
Look at it from Via della Curia or from inside the Forum. Check before you go if you want to see inside.
The people
Paolo Sorrentino created and directed both series. Luca Bigazzi shot The Young Pope and Ludovica Ferrario designed it. Around Jude Law are Diane Keaton as Sister Mary, Silvio Orlando as Cardinal Voiello, Javier Cámara as Monsignor Gutierrez, James Cromwell as Cardinal Spencer, Cécile de France as Sofia Dubois and Ludivine Sagnier as Esther. John Malkovich joined for The New Pope, which runs to nine episodes.
Cast, crew, the seven-month shoot from August 2015, the €40 million from Sky, Canal+ and HBO, and the Venice premiere on 3 September 2016.
Malkovich as John Paul III, nine episodes and the Venice premiere on 1 September 2019.
15 places you can visit: 7 in Rome, 3 on its edges and beyond, 4 in Venice and 1 in the mountains of Abruzzo.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Now the Museo di Roma, between Piazza Navona and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The grand staircase is inside the museum.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A national museum on Piazza Venezia. The garden with the fountain is free to walk into.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Look at it from Via della Curia or from inside the Forum. Check before you go if you want to see inside.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Up the Spanish Steps and left along Viale della Trinità dei Monti. The gardens are seen on a guided tour; book ahead.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working church on the Aventine. Go quietly, or come for Sunday Vespers.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A ticketed garden at the foot of the Janiculum, entered from Largo Cristina di Svezia beside Palazzo Corsini.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A free public park. Walk in from Via di San Pancrazio; the Casino del Bel Respiro stands above its formal garden.
Piazza di San Pantaleo 10, Rome
The papal apartments and Pius XIII’s bathroom were built on one floor of Palazzo Braschi.
Now the Museo di Roma, between Piazza Navona and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The grand staircase is inside the museum.
Piazza Venezia 3, Rome
The Apostolic Palace was re-created in Palazzo Venezia for The Young Pope.
A national museum on Piazza Venezia. The garden with the fountain is free to walk into.
Via della Curia, above the Roman Forum
The church stood in for the inside of St Peter’s Basilica.
Look at it from Via della Curia or from inside the Forum. Check before you go if you want to see inside.
Viale della Trinità dei Monti 1, Rome
Villa Medici is one of the gardens that played the Vatican Gardens in The Young Pope.
Up the Spanish Steps and left along Viale della Trinità dei Monti. The gardens are seen on a guided tour; book ahead.
Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta 5, Aventine Hill, Rome
The confession scenes of The Young Pope were shot inside the church.
A working church on the Aventine. Go quietly, or come for Sunday Vespers.
Largo Cristina di Svezia 23A, Trastevere, Rome
The botanical garden stood in for the Vatican Gardens. In The New Pope, cardinals meet in its bamboo forest to weigh up the next pope.
A ticketed garden at the foot of the Janiculum, entered from Largo Cristina di Svezia beside Palazzo Corsini.
Via di San Pancrazio, Monteverde, Rome
The villa stood in for the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, where Pius XIII walks with Sister Mary.
A free public park. Walk in from Via di San Pancrazio; the Casino del Bel Respiro stands above its formal garden.
Stay
The hotel on the Lido behind Pius XIII’s walk on the beach.
Lido di Venezia
The 1908 hotel behind Pius XIII’s walk in white trunks, on the Lido beach along the Lungomare from the Palazzo del Cinema. It has the only private beach in Venice, with 300 cabanas.
See the hotelGo there
Tours of Cinecittà, Rome’s palaces and San Giorgio Maggiore.
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Live marketplace results for tours of the Cinecittà studios on Via Tuscolana, where the Sistine Chapel was rebuilt. Check what each tour includes.
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A guided walk through the gardens that played the Vatican Gardens.
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Take it home
Both series’ soundtracks, on CD and digital.
Lele Marchitelli and others · 2 × CD, 2016
The soundtrack of the first series on two CDs, released in Italy in December 2016.
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Find a copyLele Marchitelli and others · Digital, 2020
The second series’ soundtrack, released in February 2020.
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Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
15 of 15 places · 15 of 15 Moments
Via Tuscolana 1055, Rome
The Sistine Chapel is rebuilt at full scale, all but its height, on a Cinecittà stage.
Piazza di San Pantaleo 10, Rome
Pius XIII’s investiture is staged on the grand staircase of Palazzo Braschi.
Piazza Venezia 3, Rome
Cardinal Spalletta advises the new pope beside the courtyard fountain.
Via della Curia, above the Roman Forum
Santi Luca e Martina plays the inside of St Peter’s Basilica.
Viale della Trinità dei Monti 1, Rome
The gardens of Villa Medici play the Vatican Gardens.
Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta 5, Aventine Hill, Rome
The confession scenes are shot inside Sant’Anselmo.
Largo Cristina di Svezia 23A, Trastevere, Rome
Cardinals meet in the bamboo to weigh up the next pope, and later climb the Fountain of the Eleven Spouts.
Via di San Pancrazio, Monteverde, Rome
Pius XIII and Sister Mary walk in the gardens of the summer residence.
Passoscuro, Fiumicino, on the coast west of Rome
Esther finds a photograph of Pius XIII on the beach.
Via Jacopo Barozzi 71, Bagnaia, Viterbo
Villa Lante’s garden is another piece of the Vatican Gardens.
Piazza San Marco, Venice
Pius XIII speaks to the crowds in Piazza San Marco.
Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
Young nuns dance in the Palladian refectory as The New Pope opens.
Campo San Geremia, Cannaregio, Venice
The Prime Minister holds a press conference under Tiepolo’s frescoes.
Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi, Lido di Venezia
Pius XIII walks the Lido beach in white swimming trunks.
Strada Comunale Santo Spirito, Roccamorice, Pescara
Voiello, out of favour, gardens at a mountain hermitage.
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