Italy has a well-organized network of local and regional film commissions that have the expertise to assist international productions.
Some film commissions handle enquiries directly through their in-house location experts, others provide assistance through external professional or organizations (location scout, location managers, scout locations companies, production service companies).
Most of the film commissions can help with finding the right location and negotiate with location owner (public or private), providing your production with useful local contacts (including the police and local authorities) and other important local information (crew contacts, production facilities, accommodation and other useful support).
Each film commission is responsible for a specific territory - a region, a province, or a city - and can offer preliminary scouting services free of charge to any professional (i.e. director, assistant, production manager) appointed by a production company. Most of the film commissions have a location database that can be searched directly on their website.
Please refer to the
Film Commission Network section of this website to access detailed information about each regional film commission and relevant contacts.
General Information on Locations and Filming Permits
There are several ways to find the perfect location for your production in Italy. You can hire a local location scout/manager, use the services provided freely by the Regional Film Commissions (some of them provide in-house location scouting service) or use the expertise of local location scouting companies or production service companies.
A local contact will find locations, negotiate with owners and agree contracts in a much more effective and efficient way.
You will also get a thorough understanding of the requirements of Local Authorities when seeking permission to film in public spaces and on the application process (which can sometimes take up several weeks).
Please refer to the section of this guide for detailed contacts about all the Regional Italian Film Commission.
For a list of Location Scouting Companies and Production Service Companies please check the corresponding section in the Directory.
Regarding filming permits it is important to specify that there is not single permit that covers all of Italy or all of a specific territory (region, province, city).
Each location requires a specific permit.
In some cases, a written agreement is all that’s necessary.
In other cases, a fee is required, the amount depending on the location, the type of project and the length of the shoot.
With regard to locations and related authorization for movie and television filming, it is important then to distinguish between public and private locations:
Private Locations:
For private areas, negotiations are carried out directly with the owner of the property or with the legal representative. It is sufficient to enter into a normal lease or rental agreement in which all technical and logistical aspects of filming and related pricing are agreed to.
Certain problems related to filming should be taken into consideration which should be specified when entering into the agreement: vehicle parking, use of rest-rooms, the option to store equipment inside (if filming lasts several days), authorizations to move furnishings, the ability to use telephones, and insurance policies.
The owner frequently requests a security deposit that is returned at the end of filming if there is no property damage.
Public Locations:
Film production companies intending to shoot in Italy (films, TV shows, commercials, documentaries, etc) requiring the use of public space, or within state-owned sites of historical, artistic or architectonic interest or housing art or antiquities collections, must obtain a number of permits in advance which vary according to the type of filming and the municipality you submit the authorization to.
Generally speaking the modalities are as follows:
For each location it is necessary to start by requesting a general permit to the individual public agency responsible for the area or subject matter (it could be the City Hall of the city, or a Film Commission (if there is one covering that area, or to the Agency for the use of Public areas).
The request, to be completed on the letterhead of the production company, is the same for the various agencies, and must include generally the following details:
- 1) title of film, documentary, video clip, commercial, etc;
- 2) subject matter of the production;
- 3) intended filming locations (plus area occupied by both the set and related staging and technical equipment in square meters);
- 4) intended dates for filming;
- 5) list of technical equipment that will be used;
- 6) list of vehicles and related license plates;
- 7) proof of stipulation of an insurance contract which specifically covers any damage to third parties (physical persons or property) during filming;
- 8) names of all the members of the crew;
- 9) description of scenes (frequently if necessary to submit an excerpt of the script of the scene to be filmed, and sometimes, the entire script);
- 10) any intended requests for closure of public thoroughfares;
- 11) any other useful information or special requests;
- 12) payment of administration fees, tax for use of public space and, if necessary, of relevant dues (for filming in cultural, historical and/or artistic state owned properties: see below).
After submitting the initial request, the agency will contact the public safety authorities in the area where the filming will take place in order to determine if the filming could constitute a public danger or could interfere with the regular activities of the area (traffic issues, coincidence of other events in the same area, etc) hence prohibiting the filming.
In Italy, in fact, the Unified Public Safety Code requires advance written notice to be submitted to the public safety authorities in the area. This notice does not constitute an actual authorization by the authority receiving it, but allow the authority to get started on the authorizations for the filming in an orderly manner.
It is advisable to request your shooting permit to the local agency responsible for the authorization as much in advance as possible in order to make the necessary arrangements and be sure of obtaining the permits in time for your production.
State-owned sites of cultural, historical and artistic interest
Photography and filming (both for cinema, television, commercials, etc) in state-owned sites of historical, artistic or architectonic interest, or inside buildings housing art and antiquities collections, is regulated by Legislative Decree n.42, dated January 22, 2004 (ex law n.4, dated January 14, 1993 (aka Ronchey Law) and ex Legislative Decree n.490 dated October 29, 1999), which entrusts the granting of the necessary permits to the individual head curator that controls and manage the site/building.
In applying, the applicant must provide the proper office (Museum or local Monuments and Fine Arts Bureau) with all relevant details connected to the shooting. The relevant fees and dues and the authorization are determined arbitrarily by the head curator, according to the subject matter of the project, the kind of production (feature film, commercial, documentary, etc) and the length of the shoot.
If a location is particularly important from an artistic and /or archeological point of view, a security deposit might be required, for the purposes of issuing the authorization, and it will be returned at the end of filming, once it has been cleared that any damage has been done to the property.
For instance, if you want to shoot a scene in front of the Coliseum in Rome, you need to obtain not only the filming permit from the City Hall (through the Cinema Office) but also a permit from the local police headquarter (in case of Rome, this is usually done directly by the Cinema Office anyway) and from the specific “Monuments and Fine Arts Bureau” (Sovraintendenza alle Belle Arti) that is responsible for that area (in this case the Coliseum).
All of the Regional Film Commission can help to liaise with all these offices making the whole procedure simpler and smoother but sometimes it is necessary to approach all of these entities one by one.
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