Somewhere in Northern Italy, 1983 - Visiting the filming locations of ‘Call Me By Your Name’

It is no secret that I am a big fan of the book and film, ‘Call Me By Your Name’. So when I organised a camping trip around France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Italy with my family, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to visit some of the places where the film was set. We had spent the previous day in Venice, and we were heading west towards Milan, so I devised a route that would allow us to visit some of the best places from the film.

We started off by driving to a spit of land called Sirmione. Here, the scene at the archeological site, Grotte di Catullo, was filmed as well as the scene where they swim at Jamaica Beach. We arrived at around midday and were struck by how beautiful the town was. It felt like a lovely mix of tourism and traditional Italian architecture. The town itself was right next to the crystal clear Lake Garda. The Grotto was built at the end of the 1st Century BC and at the beginning of the 1st Century AD. With a small entrance fee of €2 for under 25’s, it felt so magical to see somewhere from the film as well as an interesting and ancient archeological site. We stopped for lunch here and then headed towards our second location.

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The second location from the film we visited was called ‘Fontanile Quarantina’. This is from the scene where Elio and Oliver visit ‘Elio’s special place’, which is a small body of water which appears to be in the middle of nowhere! It was quite difficult to find, because it was near some fields, but we finally saw it and parked in the nearby town of Capralba, which was only a 15-minute walk from the water (You're actually not allowed to drive on the dirt paths, you can only walk and cycle). It's location is actually not that far from Crema, and is a lovely place to dip your feet in and cool off from the hot Italian sun. In the film, they cycle here, and afterwards have their first kiss on the grass nearby. Oliver exclaims “It’s freezing!” when he puts his foot into the water, and I have always wondered whether this was actually the case or if this line was just for the film. As it turns out, the water is ice-cold, to the point where my feet actually felt slightly numb after a few minutes.

Elio: "This is my spot. It's all mine. I come here to read. I can't tell you the number of books I have read here."

Oliver: "I like the way you say things. I don't know why you keep putting yourself down though."

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Additionally, to get to this body of water, we parked the car nearby and walked along a small gravel dirt track for around 15 minutes. I soon realised that this was the path in which Elio and Oliver can be seen cycling down in the film.

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Next, we visited Crema, where Elio and Oliver are often seen cycling to, as it is the closest major town to their villa. Although the white metal chairs that they sit on are not there, it was really interesting to see the beautiful clocktower and architecture in the town square. I also realised that I had found the alleyway that Elio walks down with Marzia.

Oliver: "So what does one do around here?

Elio: "Wait for the summer to end."

Oliver: "And what do you do in the Winter? Wait for the summer to come?"

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The final location we visited was the war memorial in Pandino Town Square. The memorial from World War I is dedicated to the youth of the town who perished in the Battle of Piave. After reading more about this battle, I learned that over 170,000 people died over the span of 8 days, from the 15th-23rd June 1918.

This scene from the film is also important because it is the first time that Elio and Oliver truly confess their attraction towards one another. Although they allude to it earlier in the film, they state it more clearly in this scene.

Elio: "If you only knew how little I know about the things that matter."

Oliver: "What things that matter?"

Elio: "You know what things."

Oliver: "Why are you telling me this?"

Elio: "Cause I thought you should know."

Oliver: "Because you thought I should know?"

Elio" "Because I wanted you to know."

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Overall, I had a lot of fun visiting these set locations. The book and film are such masterpieces, and I enjoyed bringing the scenes to life. While I did not visit all of the locations, I was happy with the ones that I chose, because they felt like the main ones. If you're looking to visit the locations, you could also visit the Perlman Villa Albergoni, just south of Moscazzano, as well as Bergamo and the waterfall they visit called Cascate del Serio. Maybe I will try and visit those places the next time I am in the region!

Here is a map of the locations that I visited:

I hope this blog post helped anyone who is thinking of visiting the locations, and good luck with your travels! :)