Cascate del Serio Waterfall
Another well-known filming location is Cascate del Serio, Italy’s highest waterfall, located around 50 kilometres north of Bergamo, near the Swiss border. It is considered one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Europe.
The decision to use this location in Call Me by Your Name was a deliberate one. In an interview with Amuse, the director spoke about why the waterfall was chosen as the setting for this moment in the film.
“A Place Where There Are No Words”
“They go to a place where there are no words.
They go to a place where they just interact with nature because I thought it was a moment of absolute surrender to their own intimacy.”
— Luca Guadagnino
Filming the Waterfall
Filming at Cascate del Serio was not without its challenges. The waterfall is closed for most of the year, and shooting during peak tourist periods was not possible.
“We knew that the waterfall was closed for most of the year and it was definitely not possible to shoot the scenes when it was full of tourists. The permits were quite complicated to obtain, but thanks to the Valbondione municipality, they were opened for us on a priority basis, which for safety reasons could not exceed half an hour.”
— Luca Guadagnino
Legends of the Serio Cascades
The dramatic natural setting of the Serio waterfalls has long been associated with myths and legends, many of them centred around love.
According to one local legend, a wealthy landlady once fell in love with a humble young man. When he rejected her advances, as he was already in love with another girl from the village, the landlady became enraged and imprisoned the girl in her castle. The young woman wept endlessly, and her tears eventually turned into a river. The flood destroyed the castle and gave birth to the beautiful cascades that still flow today.
Related filming locations:
– Scenes from Moscazzano
– Scenes in Pandino
Featured image: Call Me by Your Name Japanese brochure (2017)