Film production in Italy
Italy is covered here with 14 locations. Between the longest and shortest day, usable light swings by up to 6h 58min depending on where you shoot — planning across the country is not planning one single kind of day.
Locations at a glance
The table shows June and December daylight for each location — the two numbers a schedule hinges on across the year.
| Location | Daylight June | Daylight December | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trieste | 15h 41min | 8h 43min | 6h 58min |
| Milan | 15h 39min | 8h 44min | 6h 55min |
| Venice | 15h 39min | 8h 44min | 6h 55min |
| Verona | 15h 39min | 8h 44min | 6h 55min |
| Turin | 15h 36min | 8h 47min | 6h 49min |
| Bologna | 15h 32min | 8h 51min | 6h 41min |
| Genoa | 15h 31min | 8h 52min | 6h 39min |
| Florence | 15h 26min | 8h 56min | 6h 30min |
| Rome | 15h 13min | 9h 09min | 6h 04min |
| Bari | 15h 07min | 9h 14min | 5h 53min |
| Naples | 15h 05min | 9h 16min | 5h 49min |
| Cagliari | 14h 55min | 9h 26min | 5h 29min |
| Palermo | 14h 48min | 9h 32min | 5h 16min |
| Catania | 14h 44min | 9h 36min | 5h 08min |
What that means for planning
Trieste has the widest swing at 6h 58min, Catania the narrowest at 5h 08min. The wider the spread, the more a schedule has to differ between summer and winter — same setup count, different hours to fit it in.
Concretely: in December, the sun in Trieste sets at 16:22, with golden hour starting as early as 15:33. Put the exterior at the end of the day and you shoot it in the dark, or not at all.
TillyGen folds each location's sun position straight into the schedule. An exterior that no longer fits before sunset in December is flagged in the plan, not discovered on the day. The same calculation sits behind every location page for this country.
Film incentives and rebates
Italy grants foreign productions a 40 % tax credit on Italian costs. Italy pairs the high rate with Cinecittà in Rome and looks that cannot be doubled; applications run through an Italian production service company.
What that means in practice depends on the qualifying share: on a €1m budget with 60 % qualifying spend, the 40 % rate returns roughly €240,000. Provided without warranty. Permit and incentive conditions change; the responsible authority is always the binding source.
As of: 2025-01 · Source: cinema.cultura.gov.it
Permits and local requirements
Filming permits are granted locally almost everywhere, not nationally: the city or district you shoot in is the responsible body, and processing times differ considerably within the same country. Public space, traffic areas and drone flights each run through separate procedures.
File early enough that a refusal still leaves room for a cover location — not so late that the permit becomes the condition for the only possible shoot day. Only the responsible local authority gives binding information.
Frequently asked
How many locations in Italy are covered here?
14. Locations are included when there is an evidenced production landscape — not every town in the country.
Which location in Italy has the longest shooting days?
In June, Trieste with 15h 41min of daylight. In December that drops to 8h 43min.
When is the best time to shoot in Italy?
On daylight length alone, June. Whether that also means the steadiest weather depends on the location — the individual location pages carry rain days and sunshine hours per month.
Do I need a separate permit for every location?
As a rule yes, as soon as public ground is involved. Private locations run through the owner; traffic areas and drones add further procedures. The local authority is always the binding source.