The English Patient - Italian Movie Trips

Set in several medieval buildings and churches throughout Italy including the hotel and monastery at San'Anna In Camprena, The English patient tells the story of an anonymous British soldier, so disfigured by injuries that he has apparently lost his will to live. The ministrations of a selfless nurse steadily reveal the true nature of his many injuries.

Locations in Italy:

Arezzo

Arezzo is a wealthy medieval town of gold factories and antique flea markets. Not only was the musical scale invented here, but Arezzo is also the town where the poet Petrarch first set down his little sonnets. You'll want to find Piero Della Francesca's stunning series of frescoes depicting the history of Christ's true cross and detailed portrayals of seminal Christian allegories.
region name: Tuscany

Pienza

A small village, Pienza is the birthplace of Pope Pius II. His strongest desire was to have his hometown redesigned as a renaissance ideal and the architect Rossellino spent many years attempting it, with a carefully planned (Unesco World Heritage recognized) central square and several elegant palace facades, including the Pope's own palace, where you can see how he lived the Renaissance ideal on a smaller scale.
region name: Tuscany

Rome

Layer upon layer of civilizations and past empires are stacked and impacted into every meter of this religious and political capital, ramrod exclamation point for one of the world's greatest cultures, past or present. You can begin with the churches, the coliseums, the Roman forums, or hundreds of museums, but it's likely you'll have many reasons to come back, if only to survey the latest discoveries within the eternal city.
region name: Latium

Siena

Quintessential medieval hilltown and busy university center, Siena is where medieval Italian history stopped while Florence lead the Renaissance. Every year a short and sometimes violent bareback horse race is held in the exquisitely tranquil town square. The disembodied head of the city's -- and country's -- patron saint, St. Catherine, still sits in a local church. You'll also find it appealing to browse the distinctive Sienese school of art, such as the Allegory of Good and Bad Government, much of which is likely to use Siena's namesake reddish coloring.
region name: Tuscany

Trieste

Trieste is the absolute corner of traditional Western Europe, a major port sitting at the very border of Slovenia, where the Austrian-style cafes are renowned and international artistists traditionally stop to finish their work. James Joyce wrote "Portrait of the Artist" in Trieste and given its proximity to the sea and long history of eclectic ruling cultures, the creative preparation of seafood is yet another artistic mainstay at area restaurants. Don't miss the opportunity to leave the city center and visit the long concrete promenade and popular sunbathing area, with its quiet views of tethered tankers in the distance and the white, otherwise tranquil Miramare castle above (built by the former emperor of Mexico, who lost his life in an uprising).
region name: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Venice

For centuries this town interconnected by its series of canals and small bridges was also the most important and opulent of the many warring Italian republics. As a crossroads for international trade and boundary adjustments of reigning empires, Venice reflects the influence of many and the dominion of none. Home to both Marco Polo and Byzantine churches (such as St. Mark's Basilica), Venice has the most perfectly balanced , indescribably exquisite public square and setting, and that in a country which has essentially perfected the transformation of public life into art.
region name: Veneto

Tours and links:
Photos of the monastery and its surroundings
Extraordinarily detailed account of settings