Nishan Chakrabartty
An engaging crime drama, ‘Gomorrah’ is about Italy’s Neapolitan mafia, AKA the Camorra syndicate. A clever wordplay on the term Camorra, ‘Gomorrah’ attaches Biblical association to the violence sedimented in the Italian society across history. The story follows the Savastano crime family headed by Pietro Savastano. The aging patriarch finds himself at loggerheads with his frivolous son, Gennaro, who wants to take over the family. Amidst the chaos, Ciro Di Marzio, a trusted member of the Savastano clan, tries to navigate his way across the infightings and looming threat from a rival mob boss, Salvatore Conte.
The gritty realism and brutal violence give a veritable outlook to the series. The mafia is shown in a no-holds-barred approach, and the characteristic elan of the crimelords take a backseat in this show. The story’s narrative is based upon Roberto Saviano’s book, ‘Gomorrah: Italy’s Other Mafia’ which includes real-life stories of the Casalesi clan. The investigative reports and stories drawn from the book make ‘Gomorrah’ an enthralling watch. The locales in the film substantiate the happenings of the criminal underbelly, which might make you wonder about its filming locations. Well, here’s all you need to know!
Gomorrah Filming Locations
Since the Camorra syndicate is based in the Neapolitan region, the series is extensively shot in Naples, Italy. Owing to the international ventures of the lead characters, filming also took place in London, England, Bulgaria, Spain, and Germany.
Naples, Italy
One of the most iconic locations of the series is the Le Vele Housing complex located in the Scampia neighborhood of Naples, Italy. It is both the fictional and real-life location where ‘Gomorrah’ was filmed. Unfortunately, Naples’ citizens didn’t like the association of their place with the mafia and were divided in their opinion. The Le Vele Complex was designed to provide a housing facility to the lower strata of the society in post-war Italy but turned into a hostile place because of the morbid murders and the criminal happenings.
A turf war between Di Lauro Camorra Clan and The Secessionists in 2004 proved to be fatal for Le Vele’s image. As of now, the complex has been evacuated and is demolished, with only one block preserved for posterity. Apart from filming in Scampia, the production crew shot some sequences in towns between Naples and Rome to access the broader roads in between. Besides Naples and its Secondigliano region, the series has also been filmed in Bologna, Italy.
London, England
As Gennaro ventures into international waters for business opportunities, the show was filmed in London, England. Certain scenes were filmed at the Chandos House, a former embassy on Queen Anne Street in Marylebone, London. The Chandos House is minutes away from the BBC’s broadcasting house.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a picturesque Balkan country of Europe known for its beautiful Black Sea coastline. Some of the scenes in ‘Gomorrah,’ especially the ones featuring Ciro Di Marzio, were filmed in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria.
Barcelona, Spain
To showcase the full extent of the Savastano Family’s outreach, certain sequences were also filmed in Barcelona, a city in Spain’s Catalonian region. The filming at this location was clubbed along with shooting in Italy, with the process spanning approximately thirty weeks.
Germany
Being a German co-production, Germany featured as one of the prominent international locations where ‘Gomorrah’ was filmed.
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