In the Hand of Dante: Real Filming Locations

In the Hand of Dante, directed by Julian Schnabel and produced by Martin Scorsese, has one of the starriest casts in recent memory: Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Jason Momoa, John Malkovich and Al Pacino. The film alternates a New York smuggling story with a parallel tale of Dante Alighieri fleeing to Sicily — and much of it was genuinely filmed across Veneto and Sicily.

Venice

Venetian locations include the Marciana Library in St Mark’s Square, the island of Forte di Sant’Andrea, Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù and The Gritti Palace, the historic hotel on the Grand Canal. The Gritti is also home to Bar Longhi, one of Venice’s most elegant historic bars, open to the public — a good stop if you’re following the film’s trail (it isn’t confirmed whether the bar itself appears on screen).

Verona and Padua

In Verona, the crew used the State Archives and the Tower of the Castelvecchio Museum; in Padua, the CNR (National Research Council) building.

Palermo

For the scenes set in Dante’s Sicily, filming took place in Palermo’s historic center, the port area and the Partanna neighborhood.

Medieval Lazio

Some medieval-set scenes were filmed around Tarquinia, Bracciano and San Pellegrino, the medieval quarter of Viterbo.

What to eat along the way

• In Venice, cicchetti and a spritz at the bar, the classic Venetian way;
• In Verona, Valpolicella wines (Amarone above all) and risotto all’Amarone;
• In Palermo, great Sicilian street food: arancine, pane e panelle, sfincione.

In short

In the Hand of Dante is a rare case of a Hollywood production that crossed half of Italy, from Venice to Sicily. If you’re into recent Sicilian film locations, also read our piece on Nolan’s The Odyssey in Favignana or The Talented Mr. Ripley in Venice.