Naman Shrestha
Directed by Joe Wright, ‘Cyrano’ is a romantic drama that centers upon a wordsmith named Cyrano who feels that his appearance is unworthy of his luminous friend Roxanne’s love. Therefore, Cyrano helps a young man Christian woo her by pouring his heart out in the love letters he writes on behalf of Christian. What makes the situation sad is that Cyrano has yet to confess his feelings for Roxanne, who falls in love with Christian at first sight.
This musical drama film features some stellar performances from the likes of Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. It is based on Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical of the same name, which itself is based on the 1897 play ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ written by Edmond Rostand. To do justice to the film’s classic origin, the director had to choose something dramatic and theatrical as its filming location. Are you interested in learning more about the filming locations used as backdrops in this movie? Well, we will cover all of the details for you!
Cyrano Filming Locations
Even though the original story of Cyrano and Roxanne is set in 1640 France, director Joe Wright and Sarah Greenwood (responsible for production design) wanted ‘Cyrano’ to be portrayed in a bit more fanciful European country in the late 17th and early 18th century. So, they decided to film this musical on the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea — Sicily, Italy. Greenwood told The Hollywood Reporter, “The palette came out of where we were [in Noto],” remembering “this beautiful stone that changes with the light.”
A new adaptation of #Cyrano is being made by director Joe Wright. Here are a few #onsetphotos from #Sicily 🇮🇹#PeterDinklage is Cyrano 🎭
#bts #PeriodDrama #filming #Noto #Scicli #adaptations #movies pic.twitter.com/prJmQCAcP8
— Period Drama World (@WorldPeriod) August 17, 2021
The principal photography commenced around October 2020, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Sicily was used as a prominent filming location for a number of movies in the past, such as ‘The Godfather‘ and ‘Aquaman’. Let’s look at the specific locations that served as backdrops for the filming of ‘Cyrano’!
Noto, Sicily
Noto in southeastern Sicily served as one of the major filming locations for the production of this musical drama. The famous and royal Noto Cathedral was used as a backdrop for several scenes, specifically when Cyrano meets with Roxanne. Apart from that, the filming crew was also seen shooting some scenes in Palazzo Castelluccio at Via Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour.
Church of Montevergine, a Baroque-style Roman Catholic church in Via Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour, was also used as a filming location, which made for the ideal backdrop for various scenes in the movie.
Syracuse, Sicily
Known for its ancient ruins, Syracuse was the perfect city on the island of Sicily for shooting a large number of scenes for the musical drama. One of the locations in this historic city that served as a filming site was Castello Maniace, a famous citadel and castle in Via Castello Maniace. Several iconic scenes were also shot in Ortygia, which is also known as Citta Vecchia, home to many historical landmarks. Joe Wright chose this prestigious location to capture some of the important scenes for ‘Cyrano’.
Scicli, Sicily
The symbolic and historic Church of Saint Matthew, also famously called Chiesa di San Matteo, was used as a backdrop for several scenes, and the production in this site was done around December 2020.
Catania, Sicily
The cast and crew of ‘Cyrano’ were also spotted filming for the movie in Palazzo Biscari, a monumental private palace in the port city of Catania in the eastern part of Sicily. As per reports, the private palace on Via Museo Biscari hosted the production of the film for two days in late 2020.
The crew chose Mount Etna as the backdrop to capture the movie’s dramatic and climactic war scenes, which proved to be one of the most challenging sequences to shoot, as revealed by the cinematographer, Seamus McGarvey. In an interview with Variety, McGarvey stated, “Since we were prepared to shoot at 16,000 feet, and there was a massive snow dump that happened. Our set, camera platform, and everything were completely inaccessible. So we had to move down the mountain and improvise that entire sequence with a camera and a tripod.”
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