Venice in the movies: Summertime UPDATE

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on the movie Summertime with Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi, which was filmed in and around Campo San Barnaba. In the post I said that Rossano Brazzi’s shop from the movie was now a toyshop, Lanterna Magica, but that it was always closed when I went by. Well, a few days later, I was passing by and it was open, so I went inside. Scenes had been filmed inside the shop and I wanted to see what it was like now.

Once inside I spoke to the ladies running the shop and explained why I was there. They instantly pointed to some stills from the movie that they keep pinned on the wall behind the counter in case anyone asks. We had quite a long chat and they encouraged me to run around the shop and take as many pictures as I liked.

In the film, the shop has a mezzanine upstairs. This has now been turned into a full floor but they have retained a hole in the middle with a copy of the metal railings to retain a bit of the original atmosphere.

Anyway, here are some picture of the shop. It’s actually a pretty nice toyshop now so if you’re passing drop in and say, ‘Hello!’

Lanterna Magica
The counter. You can see the stills from Summertime on the wall underneath the clock.

 

stairs
The original stairs leading to the first floor.
upstairs
Upstairs with the reduced version of the mezzanine railings in the middle.
ponte san barnaba
The Ponte San Barnaba, which Katharine Hepburn crosses on her way to the shop, from the upstairs window.
lanterna magica
The delightful Manuela and Beatrice who run Lanterna Magica.

5 thoughts on “Venice in the movies: Summertime UPDATE”

  1. How wonderful! I am so enamored with the movie “Summertime” that I studied it repeatedly until I noted all of the locations, and I located all when I was there in Venice. This shop playing a principle location was a must see. Manuela appears to be the young woman I met there in March 2014. The shop now appears to be more fully stocked. I wish I had the gift of language as I would have enjoyed a conversation. I did see the movie stills. Thank you so much for presenting these photos and your report. Carry on with your informative stories! Grazie mille.

  2. Isn’t it wonderful searching out film locations? I really enjoy it and have quite a few more to come in future posts. I must say that Manuela and Beatrice were lovely and we had a nice old chat. They shop had previously been on the Giudecca. I wonder if you went there just after the relocation. Anyway, I’m glad you liked the story. Thanks!

  3. Hi there, this is a great site. So informative. Good knowledge for my next trip to Venice.
    Regarding film location – I loved Pane e tulipane. I would love to know where this was filmed . The views of the canals and bridges was evocative.
    I wonder if you could do an article on that.
    Regards.

    1. It’s one of my favourites too and on the list for a future post. Stay tuned and glad you like the site.

  4. I would love to see future posts on the films Don’t Look Now and The Comfort of Strangers. Both are creepy and eerie movies set in Venice that I loved. Although Summertime is probably my favorite film set in Venice. 😍

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