Call Me By Your Name is set in “somewhere in northern Italy”, and Luca Guadagnino found that somewhere in a corner of Lombardy that almost no tourist goes to. Not Tuscany, not the lakes: the flat, hot, quietly beautiful farmland around Crema, an hour southeast of Milan.
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That is what makes this the best film pilgrimage in Italy. You get an entire summer’s worth of cinema in a town with no crowds, no queues and no inflated prices. Here is where everything is, and the honest note about the villa.
Before You Go
- Getting there: Crema is about an hour from Milan by train from Milano Centrale or Lambrate, changing at Treviglio. Bergamo airport is the closest.
- You will want a car or a bike. Crema itself is walkable, but Moscazzano, Pandino and the countryside locations are spread across a few miles of farmland. The film is largely about cycling between them, and honestly that is still the best way to do it.
- Time needed: a day for Crema and the villages, two if you add Bergamo or the waterfall.
- When: late spring or early autumn. The film is set in a heatwave and the Po valley in August genuinely delivers one, which is less charming when you are cycling through it.
The Locations
1. Villa Albergoni, Moscazzano
- Address: Via Montodine 3, Moscazzano CR, about five miles south of Crema.
- The scene: the Perlman house. The apricot trees, the pool, the bedroom, the whole summer.
- Today: the important part. It is a 17th-century private estate and it is closed to the public. It was on the market for a while after the film and remains privately owned. You can see the walls and the gates from the road in Moscazzano and that is the entire experience. Do not attempt to go in, and do not photograph over the wall into the grounds.
- Our honest take: this is the location everyone comes for and the one that gives you the least. Set your expectations low, spend five minutes, and put your energy into Crema.
2. Piazza del Duomo, Crema
- Address: Piazza del Duomo, 26013 Crema CR. About a half-mile walk from Crema station.
- The scene: the square where Elio and Oliver drink, talk and circle each other. The cathedral facade behind them is the single most recognisable image in the film after the villa.
- Today: completely open, free, and genuinely lovely. The town has embraced its association gently: there are usually a table, chairs and bicycles arranged in the square for photographs. It is charming rather than tacky, and the cafés around the edge are the real reason to linger.
- Our tip: this is the heart of the trip. Give it an evening, not twenty minutes. Crema at dusk with the swifts going over the square is the closest you will get to being inside the film.
3. The War Memorial, Pandino
- Address: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III, 26025 Pandino CR, a few miles northwest of Crema.
- The scene: the “berm” monument, where Elio and Oliver stop and where a great deal is said without being said.
- Today: a public square in a small town, free and open. Pandino also has a genuinely impressive 14th-century Visconti castle that almost nobody visits, so you get a second attraction for the detour.
4. Cascate del Serio
- Address: near Valbondione, in the Val Seriana, Bergamo province.
- The scene: the waterfall where they swim.
- Today: here is a crucial practical detail almost nobody mentions. The Cascate del Serio is the highest waterfall in Italy at around 315 metres, and it is dammed. It only flows on a handful of scheduled release dates each year, usually a few Sundays between spring and autumn. Turn up on the wrong day and you will find a dry cliff. Check the published release dates before you make the two-hour drive from Crema.
5. Bergamo
- Address: Città Alta, Bergamo. The hotel used in the film was on Via Gombito and has since closed.
- The scene: the trip away together, near the end, before everything changes.
- Today: the hotel is gone but Bergamo’s upper town is one of the loveliest walled cities in Italy, reached by funicular and almost entirely intact. It is about an hour from Crema and is worth a full day on its own merits, film or no film.
6. Pizzighettone Station
- Address: Pizzighettone CR, south of Crema.
- The scene: the goodbye at the station, identified in the film as Clusone.
- Today: a small working station. Pizzighettone itself has substantial medieval walls you can walk, which makes the detour worthwhile.
7. Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione
- Address: Piazza Orti Manara 4, 25019 Sirmione BS, on Lake Garda.
- The scene: the Roman ruins, where Mr Perlman’s archaeology and the film’s whole preoccupation with antiquity and desire come together.
- Today: a ticketed archaeological site on a promontory jutting into Lake Garda, and spectacular. It is about 90 minutes from Crema and firmly a separate excursion, but it is the one location that is a genuine destination in its own right.
How to Plan It
- One day: train to Crema, hire bikes, do Piazza del Duomo, Moscazzano and Pandino. This is the essential version and it is lovely.
- Two days: add Bergamo, staying the night in the Città Alta.
- Three days: add Sirmione and Lake Garda, or the waterfall if the release dates line up.
Call Me By Your Name Locations: Your Questions Answered
Where was Call Me By Your Name filmed?
Almost entirely in Lombardy, around the town of Crema and the villages of Moscazzano and Pandino, with additional filming in Bergamo, Pizzighettone, the Val Seriana and at Sirmione on Lake Garda.
Can you visit the villa?
No. Villa Albergoni in Moscazzano is privately owned and closed to the public. You can see it from the road outside and nothing more. Please respect that.
Can you stay at the villa or nearby?
Not at the villa. Crema has a handful of small hotels and B&Bs and is the practical base. Bergamo, an hour away, has far more choice and is a nicer town to spend an evening in.
Is the waterfall always flowing?
No, and this catches people out. The Cascate del Serio is dammed and only released on a few scheduled dates each year. Check the calendar before travelling or you will arrive at a dry cliff face.
Is Crema worth visiting on its own?
Yes, and that is rather the point. It is a handsome, unhurried Lombard town with a beautiful cathedral square, good food and almost no tourism. Even if you had never seen the film, it would be a pleasant day out of Milan.
Where to Stay
Crema for proximity, and staying in town means you get the Piazza del Duomo in the evening once the day visitors have gone, which is the best thing about the whole trip. Bergamo’s Città Alta for atmosphere and a much wider choice of places to eat and sleep. Milan if you want a city base and are treating this as a day trip, which is entirely reasonable given it is an hour on the train.
More film trails from us: Ocean’s Twelve in Amsterdam, Ferris Bueller in Chicago and Home Alone in Winnetka.
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