Tom Ripley travels across Italy amid his ambitious schemes.
It’s almost a cliché, but the locations in Netflix’s Ripley are like characters in the action.
The limited series adapts Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr Ripley and moves from New York City to a flurry of locations across Italy set in the early 1960s.
The story follows American con artist Tom Riley (Andrew Scott) as he is tasked with heading to Italy to bring home an old acquaintance and a wayward scion of a shipping dynasty, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), now living a relaxed life away from his family responsibilities as a carefree painter.
Actress Dakota Fanning, who portrays Dickie’s girlfriend Marge Sherwood in the series, told Netflix: “We were filming in so many of the most beautiful cities in the world; Rome, Venice, Capri, the Amalfi Coast. Naples had its own grit and electricity.
“It’s interesting because I do think that the show portrays the country in a different way than most people have seen Italy.”
Where was Ripley filmed? Stunning locations from gorgeous Netflix series
New York City, New York, USA
One of the most iconic cities in the world, New York City is the location for much of the premiere episode of Ripley, as we follow Tom Ripley’s hand-to-mouth existence in the sprawling metropolis – which feels all the more oppressive in the almost gothic black-and-white.
Atrani, Italy
Atrani is the setting of multiple episodes in the series, as this is where Dickie and Marge live in Italy. The small city on the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno is in the Campania region of south-western Italy. The area today has a population of around 900 people.
The winding steps and mountainous exteriors make it a visually stunning backdrop.
Production designer David Gropman told Netflix: “It was just the incredible geography of that town, the relationship of the main square to the beach, all of those unbelievable paths, that maze of stairs and corridors through the mountain.”
The location provided the production with space for Marge’s home and Ripley’s hotel room in the village too.
Capri, Italy
The setting of Dickie Greenleaf’s villa was not filmed in Atrani, despite it being set there. Instead, this was filmed on the glamorous Italian island of Capri.
The island is legendary for being the home of Emperor Tiberius during his retirement from Ancient Roman politics.
In recent decades, Capri has continued to be legendary as a holiday destination for the rich and famous.
Rome, Italy
The main location of the action from episodes 4 to 6 of the series, the ancient capital city of Italy and the previous centre of the Roman Empire means the city is brimming with ancient architecture and cobbled streets that are as old as time.
Here, Tom Ripley begins to build a new life with a new name, but it is also where further crimes occur and everything threatens to unravel.
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Palermo, Sicily, Italy
The medieval streets and numerous statues of the capital of the Italian island of Sicily, Palermo, are a key feature of the seventh episode in the series, which sees Tom Ripley hiding out in Southern Italian territory.
Recently showcased on the HBO series The White Lotus, Palermo also provides a location brimming with uncertainty, as Tom Ripley moves through the city with fear of being watched by authorities – and he’s wise to worry.
Venice, Italy
The principal location for the finale episode, few places in the world are as romantic or as iconic as Venice.
Brimming with canals and the absence of automobiles, Venice has not much changed from the time of Tom Ripley.
Its medieval magnificence but inevitable doom to sink beneath the waters only adds to its romanticism, making it the perfect site for the show’s climax.
Ripley arrived on Netflix on Thursday 4th April. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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