EMILY IN PARIS ROME

Season 5 opens from above.

The first images are framed over Palazzo ex Unione Militare, filmed from the terrace of Zuma Rome. The monumental façade, crowned by a bronze eagle and star, anchors the opening episode in a Rome that feels formal, elevated, and unmistakably institutional.

Rather than beginning at street level, the series chooses distance and perspective. Rome is introduced as power, history, and ceremony — seen from a refined vantage point where the calm of the terrace contrasts with the severity of the palazzo. That tension sets the rhythm for what follows.

From there, the season moves closer to the city’s surface.

The opening titles unfold above Fontana delle Rane in Piazza Mincio, where the circular geometry of the fountain becomes a clear, graphic marker. Shot from above, the square reads instantly — a visual reset that signals a new chapter while remaining grounded in everyday Roman life.

Just beyond the fountain, the camera frames the mosaic arch of Palazzo senza Nome, one of the defining landmarks of Quartiere Coppedè. Set directly on the square, the blue-and-gold archway feels like an urban threshold — blending Art Nouveau, medieval references, and fantasy. Rome appears layered rather than monumental, familiar yet slightly surreal.

By opening the season here, the series establishes its Italian language immediately: architectural, street-level, and deliberately non-touristic. Rome is not introduced through its most recognisable icons, but through a neighbourhood where geometry, texture, and daily movement quietly coexist.

The Roman chapter then moves indoors, inside the Dolce & Gabbana boutique at Piazza di Spagna.

Located just steps from the Spanish Steps, the flagship space blends monumental architecture with high-fashion theatricality. Marble columns, gilded details, and deep red interiors create an environment that feels unmistakably Roman while remaining globally luxurious.

Rather than serving as a simple retail backdrop, the boutique operates as a narrative interior — a place where fashion, power, and identity intersect. The use of a real, working luxury space grounds the scene in authenticity, allowing heritage and contemporary style to exist within the same frame.

From Rome, the season expands outward.

Key scenes are filmed at Villa Parisi in Frascati, historically known as Villa Taverna Borghese, set within landscaped grounds overlooking the Roman countryside. The shift is immediate: quieter, slower, and deliberately removed from the city’s pace.

The exterior establishes symmetry and scale, while the interiors reveal frescoed corridors, vaulted ceilings, and finely detailed rooms that guide movement with painterly depth. Long axial views, open shutters, and direct connections between salons and garden terraces allow light and landscape to flow naturally through the space.

Villa Parisi functions as a narrative counterpoint. Where Rome is layered and kinetic, Frascati feels ordered and contemplative — reinforcing Italy’s ability to shift tone within short distances while remaining visually coherent.

Perched above the historic center of Rome, Hotel Eden appears in Emily in Paris Season 4 as a symbol of refined Italian elegance and quiet luxury. Rather than relying on overt spectacle, the hotel brings a sense of intimacy and exclusivity — a setting that feels private, cinematic, and deliberately understated.

Known for its panoramic views over the Eternal City, Hotel Eden offers interiors that balance classic Roman sophistication with contemporary design. Soft light, carefully curated spaces, and a muted color palette make it an ideal location for character-driven scenes where atmosphere matters as much as dialogue.

What makes Hotel Eden particularly compelling on screen is its ability to convey luxury without excess. It reflects a distinctly Italian approach to elegance — timeless rather than trendy — aligning seamlessly with the visual language of Emily in Paris as the series expands beyond Parisian chic into a more layered European aesthetic.

Overlooking the historic heart of Rome, Terrazza del Pincio appears in Emily in Paris Season 4 as a moment of visual pause — expansive, contemplative, and unmistakably cinematic. From this elevated viewpoint, the city unfolds in layers: domes, rooftops, tree-lined avenues, and distant landmarks forming a panorama that instantly situates the story within Rome’s grand scale.

Unlike more crowded or overtly touristic viewpoints, the Pincian Hill offers a composed, almost classical perspective of the Eternal City. Its symmetry, open sightlines, and natural framing make it a powerful location for wide establishing shots, allowing the city itself to speak without distraction.

The terrace’s timeless quality aligns seamlessly with the series’ aesthetic language — elegant, romantic, and aspirational — while grounding the narrative in a real, lived-in Rome rather than a postcard version of the city.

This sequence was filmed at Piazza della Bocca della Verità, where ancient Rome intersects with the city’s everyday rhythm. Framed by the Temple of Hercules Victor and the bell tower of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the location blends monumental history with active urban life — scooters, cars, and pedestrians moving through a space shaped over centuries.

The setting captures Rome not as a static landmark, but as a living city, making it a powerful choice for scenes that require authenticity, scale, and cinematic contrast within a single frame.

This sequence was filmed along the narrow streets surrounding the Trevi Fountain, capturing Rome at ground level — intimate, textured, and quietly cinematic. Framed by historic facades, religious shrines embedded into building corners, and cobblestone pavement, the setting reflects the everyday rhythm of the city rather than its monumental landmarks.

These streets act as natural connective tissue within Rome’s historic center, allowing characters to move seamlessly between iconic locations while remaining grounded in authentic urban space. It’s a Rome that feels lived-in — layered with history, motion, and subtle visual detail.

Located in the heart of Rome’s historic Jewish Ghetto, Da Giggetto appears in Emily in Paris Season 4 as part of the city’s everyday rhythm — lively, textured, and deeply rooted in place. With its outdoor tables set directly on the cobblestones and a facade that has barely changed over decades, the restaurant embodies a Rome that feels lived-in rather than curated.

The surrounding streets offer a rare mix of intimacy and energy. Locals, visitors, and passing traffic move through the space naturally, creating an atmosphere that feels spontaneous and social — an ideal backdrop for moments that rely on authenticity rather than spectacle.

Choosing a location like Da Giggetto reflects the production’s broader approach to filming in Italy: favoring places with cultural weight and real urban life over polished, touristic settings.

The Spanish Steps appear in Emily in Paris Season 4 as a symbol of Rome’s effortless elegance — open, social, and unmistakably iconic. Framed by the Trinità dei Monti above and the rhythm of Piazza di Spagna below, the location blends architectural symmetry with constant movement, creating a space that feels both monumental and intimate.

Rather than treating the steps as a static landmark, the series uses them as a living urban stage — a place of passage, pause, and everyday interaction. The warm stone, cascading stairways, and surrounding facades offer a timeless visual language that needs no embellishment.

From the Spanish Steps, the route naturally leads south toward the historic heart of Rome, ending near the Roman Forum at Antica Trattoria Angelino. The transition from open monumental space to an intimate, ivy-lined square mirrors a shift in the city’s rhythm — from spectacle to everyday life.

Antica Trattoria Angelino sits quietly within this urban pocket, defined by outdoor tables, weathered facades, and a lived-in atmosphere shaped by routine rather than tourism. The setting feels authentic and social, allowing Rome to exist in the frame as a functioning city rather than a curated landmark.

Teatro di Marcello introduces a quieter, more contemplative layer of ancient Rome in Emily in Paris Season 4. Defined by its rhythmic stone arches and expansive foreground of traditional sanpietrini cobblestones, the location brings a sense of depth and stillness rarely found in the historic center.

At night, the softly lit facade and open space create a cinematic calm — monumental yet restrained. The architecture anchors the frame in history, while the surrounding streets allow the city to breathe, offering a setting that feels intimate, grounded, and visually controlled.

This location reflects a refined approach to filming in Rome: choosing places with strong architectural identity and emotional weight, without relying on overt spectacle.

Perched above the city, Il Giardino Ristorante at Hotel Eden offers a refined counterpoint to Rome’s street-level intensity. Set within a discreet terrace overlooking rooftops and domes, the space feels composed and intimate — luxury defined by restraint rather than display.

Soft daylight, muted tones, and carefully framed sightlines allow the city to remain present without dominating the frame. The setting delivers elevation in every sense: a pause above the noise, where atmosphere and dialogue take precedence over spectacle. It’s a Rome seen from within — calm, controlled, and quietly cinematic.

The journey through Val d’Orcia introduces a completely different rhythm to Emily in Paris Season 4. Rolling hills, cypress-lined ridges, and wide open horizons replace the density of the city, offering a cinematic sense of space and calm. This UNESCO-protected landscape is instantly recognizable — not through landmarks, but through its natural geometry and light.

Much of this sequence unfolds along the SP146 road between Pienza and San Quirico d’Orcia, one of Tuscany’s most iconic routes. The road curves gently through the countryside, creating fluid movement within the frame and allowing the landscape to unfold organically. It’s a visual language rooted in openness and transition — a pause between destinations that becomes a destination in itself.

Rather than anchoring the story to a single building or village, Val d’Orcia functions as atmosphere: a place defined by motion, distance, and the quiet elegance of the Italian countryside.

The town referred to as Solitano in Emily in Paris Season 4 does not exist in real life. All sequences set in this fictional Italian village were filmed in Ostia Antica, a historic medieval borgo located just outside Rome.

Ostia Antica was chosen for its enclosed scale, stone walls, and absence of modern visual noise. Its fortified gates, narrow passages, and timeworn textures create the illusion of a remote Italian town frozen in time — without the logistical challenges of filming in an active contemporary city.

By using Ostia Antica as a stand-in for Solitano, the production was able to construct a fully controlled narrative environment while maintaining an authentic, centuries-old Italian atmosphere.

The café seen on screen as “Caffè di Ugo” does not exist in real life. It was a temporary set built specifically for the production in Piazza della Rocca, within the medieval village of Ostia Antica, just outside Rome.

Chosen for its compact scale and timeless character, Piazza della Rocca offers a rare sense of containment — a fully enclosed square framed by weathered facades, stone paving, and climbing greenery. This made it an ideal environment to construct a believable, lived-in café without visual interruptions from modern elements.

Rather than dressing an existing business, the production opted to build the location from scratch, allowing full control over layout, signage, furniture, and movement. The result feels organic and authentic, while remaining entirely designed for camera, blocking, and continuity.

Porta Pinciana appears as a dramatic threshold between Rome’s historic core and the quieter elevation of the Pincian Hill. Set within the Aurelian Walls, the gate’s massive brick arches and rhythmic stonework create a powerful sense of passage — a city crossing from intimacy to openness.

By night, the location becomes especially cinematic. Controlled lighting accentuates texture and depth, while the curvature of the road and wet sanpietrini reflect light and motion. The result is a frame that feels timeless and graphic, grounding the scene in Rome’s layered history without visual clutter.

The choice of Porta Pinciana underscores a recurring location strategy: using gateways and edges of the city to signal transition, momentum, and emotional shift — Rome not as a backdrop, but as narrative structure.

Set within the intimate confines of Piazza Mattei, Fontana delle Tartarughe becomes a natural open-air stage in Emily in ParisSeason 4. Framed by historic palazzi and warm stone paving, the fountain’s sculptural symmetry and compact scale create a setting that feels personal rather than monumental.

Unlike Rome’s grand showpiece fountains, this location operates on proximity. The audience is close, the space is enclosed, and the city’s presence is felt through sound, light, and texture rather than scale. It’s a Rome experienced at human distance — elegant, social, and quietly cinematic.

The choice of Piazza Mattei reflects a refined location approach: selecting places that allow emotion and performance to unfold without visual noise, while remaining unmistakably rooted in the city’s historic fabric.

What Emily in Paris Season 4 and 5 ultimately demonstrates is not just Italy’s visual appeal, but its narrative flexibility. From Rome’s historic density to the controlled intimacy of Ostia Antica, from the open horizons of Val d’Orcia to elevated city rooftops, Italy functions as a fully adaptable production landscape rather than a collection of static landmarks.

Each location serves a specific purpose — movement, pause, transition, or emotional shift, proving that successful filming in Italy depends less on iconicity and more on local understanding. Logistics, permits, timing, and spatial control all shape what appears effortless on screen.

This is where experienced film production companies in Italy make the difference. Working with teams on the ground in Rome and across the country allows productions to navigate complex historic environments while preserving visual integrity and creative freedom.

From city centers to countryside, from heritage locations to purpose-built sets, location scouting across Italy remains a strategic process — one that transforms real places into believable worlds on screen.