Small town Volterra in Tuscany, Italy on a sunny day (miradrozdowski (123RF))
As a 30-something woman, I may have been way too excited to hear that an animated series based on the latest “Twilight” book, “Midnight Sun” was coming to Netflix (though sadly, at the time of writing, no release date has been announced).
For those who missed the original wave of the Twilight phenomenon and clicked on this article thinking it would be about stargazing locations in Italy, the Twilight book and subsequent movie series follows the life of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). She is a Mary Sue protagonist who is somehow average and overly clumsy but also undeniably attractive and fascinating to everyone around her when she moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father. There is a mysterious family of unbelievably gorgeous foster teenagers who all date each other, except mind-reader Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who is as Jessica Stanley (Anna Kendrick) put it, “totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, nobody here’s good enough for him.”
*Spoiler alert*
The Cullens are vampires, and Bella is the one girl Edward doesn’t find utterly repulsive. And, for four books, five movies, several companion novels and guides, the audience is forced to choose between Team Edward and Team Jacob (the werewolf best friend played by Taylor Lautner). Team Edward is the correct answer, by the way.
Fans of the series will note that much of the ending action of the second installment of the franchise, “New Moon,” takes place in Italy. As readers, we are introduced to the Volturi who reside in Volterra, Italy. The Volturi acts as a sort-of judge, jury and executor panel for the vampire community of the world. For plot reasons, Edward thinks Bella has died and has decided that immortal beauty, family and riches are no longer worth living for and has decided to walk into the sun on the day of a large festival in Volterra to expose vampires to the world. This won’t kill him but rather make him sparkle all over and force the Volturi to kill him.
If you want to see the beautiful landscapes and village centers that almost ended our young lovers’ romance (and lives), here are some places to check out.
Landscape near Montepulciano town in Tuscany region of Italy, Europe. (viliamm (123RF))
Montepulciano: While the story takes place in Volterra, the gorgeous winding roads and narrow alleys that Bella and manic-pixie-dream-vampire, Alice (Ashley Greene), speed through in a stolen bright yellow 911 Turbo Porsche were actually shot in Montepulciano. Montepulciano is about a two-hour drive south from the actual Volterra and here are places within Montepulciano where filming took place.
Piazza Grande (Where Bella rushes through the crowd to save Edward)
Note, you will not see the fountain there. Production had to create a replica of what Meyer described in the books. It was subsequently removed.
Palazzo Comunale (Where some scenes with the Volturi were filmed)
Redi Wine Cellar (More scenes with the Volturi were filmed here)
The Temple of San Biagio (More driving scenes with Bella and Alice were shot here)
Picturesque view on historic buildings of Volterra in Tuscany, Italy (darios (123RF))
Volterra: For filming purposes, Montepulciano made for easier shots, but the references made in the books and movies are made to real-life places that you can go see for yourself and perhaps bring a buddy to re-enact the famous reveal.
The Uphill and Winding Streets: If you want to feel that cardio workout Bella did as she raced to Edward to dramatically pounce on him before the final stroke of noon, make sure to make the trek to the Clock Tower by foot.
The Clock Tower: Where Edward planned to walk out and expose his sparkly face to the gathering crowd. Fellow Twi-hard, Alani Vargas, has noted that Volterra has accepted its vampire fame and that there is a tourist information center next to the Clock Tower that sells Twilight-related merchandise.
If, like me, you are waiting with bated breath for the animated installment of this fantastic franchise and can only re-read the novels and re-watch the movies so many times, hopefully, these Twilight-themed locations can help make the wait better.
