Rome in 7 stages: on the sets of the TV series Skam Italia, the everyday life of people in Rome
4 minutes
Index
Just as the stories of the group of teenagers at the centre of the story, grappling with their discovery of love and sex and the difficulties of growing up and making choices, are relatable to the audience of fellow teens, so too are the settings in which the various seasons of this teen drama were filmed: squares, meeting places, and urban and natural landscapes very familiar in particular to the young people of Rome, the city in which this Italian series is set.
A map has even been created on the series' Facebook profile of all the sets of Skam in Rome. Allow us to guide you on an itinerary of Rome and its surroundings, among the local bars, familiar sights and favourite haunts of locals and tourists alike, to relive together the emotions and atmospheres of the series.
Kennedy High School: the headquarters
A walking tour of Rome based on the Italian TV series Skam could begin nowhere else. More than any other location, at the centre of the lives of the teenagers is the J.F. Kennedy Secondary School, on Via Nicola Fabrizi, between Monteverde Vecchio and Trastevere. Many scenes are filmed here, on the premises of the real school, from classrooms and corridors to the patios and the broadcasting room of Radio Osvaldo, the school radio.
Trastevere: the epicentre of every plot
All around, you see the district of Trastevere, one of the most iconic in Rome, the scene for many of the adventures of the young people in Skam. Sets include the Il Baretto cocktail bar, which has the same name in real life and is located on Via Garibaldi, and Piazza San Cosimato, where you can find the popular Cinema America, the scene for many significant events, including the clash between Martino, played by Federico Cesari, and Eva (Ludovica Martino).
One of the most scenic locations is the stairway on Viale Glorioso, which divides upper and lower Trastevere, just a few steps from Piazza San Cosimato, the scene for the climax of the show, in which Eleonora (Benedetta Gargari) improvises a Baby K song to try to console her friend Eva.
The Ara Coeli steps: Eva’s refuge
From here, you can enjoy spectacular views of the ruins of imperial Rome. From the top, you can access the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, but the Ara Coeli steps, a stone's throw from the Capitol, near the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument, are still a fairly secluded place in Rome, off the tourist track. It is therefore no coincidence that Eva often retreats here to think when she is sad or in a crisis: Giovanni, played by Ludovico Tersigni, often finds her here.
Gay street: meetings and misunderstandings
Via San Giovanni in Laterano hosts the famous Gay Street, where Martino pretends to end up by chance and where he first meets Filippo, Eleonora's brother (Pietro Turano). This area, which bears the same name in real life, is a stone's throw from the Colosseum and is a popular meeting place for the rainbow community, officially inaugurated in 2007 with the pedestrianisation of the street at night and Alessandro Cecchi Paone as “godfather”: the street is dotted with gay and gay-friendly venues, such as the famous Coming Out, opened in 2001.
The Baths of Caracalla: meetings on the bench
All the scenes set at the usual bus stop were filmed at the Baths of Caracalla, by the Circus Maximus. This is the backdrop for some of the most intense moments, such as the meeting between Martino and Niccolò. In the same area, on via Fabio Cilone, the daring scene is filmed in which the boys run away from the party surrounded by police.
Giovanni's houses in Garbatella and on Lake Bracciano
Another location that appears often in the series is Giovanni's house in the Garbatella district. Not far from there are the beautiful murals of the Tor Marancia condominium museum, a temple of Roman street art, which serves as the backdrop for some scenes in the series.
Speaking of Giovanni, not in Rome, but in Bracciano, some fifty kilometres north of Rome, is his family's enchanting lake house, where, in the first season, he enjoys a romantic getaway with Eva, only to be “gatecrashed” by the arrival of Martino and Elia (Francesco Centorame).
Also in season two, the group spends a few days' holiday there: Martino is joined by Niccolò (Rocco Fasano), and the two spend the night together and wake up to the notes of Cesare Cremonini's Buon viaggio.
In the fourth season, the group returns to Bracciano to celebrate the 100 days to Maturity ritual.
Fregene: Casa Albero, an eloquent backdrop to the discourse on freedom
Still outside the city, in the pine forest of Fregene, is Casa Albero, where Filippo reunites with Martino and gives him a heartfelt speech on freedom and identity.
Designed by architect Giuseppe Perugini and also known as the “experimental house”, it is an example of constructivist architecture from the 1960s. Made of glass, raw concrete and steel, its design is the result of a reflection on the relationship between the home and the surrounding environment, a context that successfully emphasises the sense of estrangement and research that the scene evokes.
