Best Italian Movies: Oscar and Cannes Winners, and Where They Were Filmed (2026)

The best Italian movies are also great travel primers. In fact, they show Rome, Sicily and the islands as Italians see them. This list uses one clear rule: each film won an Academy Award or the Palme d’Or, or it has locations you can visit.

Last updated: September 25, 2026

The best Italian movies at a glance

Neorealism: where the best Italian movies begin

After World War II, directors took their cameras into real streets and cast ordinary people. This style, called neorealism, changed cinema worldwide. In Bicycle Thieves (1948), Vittorio De Sica follows a father and son across Rome in search of a stolen bike. The film received an honorary Academy Award before the foreign-language category became competitive.

Similarly, Roberto Rossellini shot Rome, Open City (1945) in a city just freed from occupation. Both films show a Rome that tourists rarely see: working-class neighborhoods, markets and tram lines.

Fellini’s Rome and Rimini

Federico Fellini’s films won the foreign-language Oscar four times. According to the Academy, La Strada won Foreign Language Film at the 1957 ceremony, the first year the award was competitive (checked September 2026). He then won again for Nights of Cabiria, 8½ and Amarcord.

La Dolce Vita (1960) won the Palme d’Or, according to the Festival de Cannes (checked September 2026). Its most famous scene, Anita Ekberg wading into the Trevi Fountain, still draws crowds; read the story of the Trevi Fountain before you go. Meanwhile, Amarcord recreates Fellini’s childhood in Rimini on the Adriatic coast.

Visconti and the grand epics

Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard (1963), with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale, also won the Palme d’Or. It adapts Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel about a Sicilian prince as Italy unifies. Above all, watch it before a trip to Palermo; our list of things to do in Sicily helps you plan the island.

Modern Italian movies with Oscars

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Giuseppe Tornatore’s love letter to a village cinema won the Oscar for Foreign Language Film at the 1990 ceremony. Tornatore filmed it in Sicily, with the village square in Palazzo Adriano and scenes in Cefalù and Bagheria.

Mediterraneo (1991) and Il Postino (1994)

Gabriele Salvatores’s Mediterraneo, about Italian soldiers stranded on a Greek island, won Foreign Language Film at the 1992 ceremony. By contrast, Il Postino is an Italian, French and Belgian co-production. It won the Oscar for Luis Bacalov’s score, and the crew filmed it on Procida and Salina. You can see Procida’s pastel harbor on a Procida boat tour.

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Roberto Benigni’s tragicomedy won three Oscars at the 1999 ceremony, according to the Academy: Best Actor for Benigni, Foreign Language Film and the score by Nicola Piovani (checked September 2026). Meanwhile, the first half takes place in Arezzo, in Tuscany.

The Great Beauty (2013)

Paolo Sorrentino’s portrait of a jaded writer in Rome won Foreign Language Film at the 2014 ceremony. It is also a tour of hidden palazzi and terraces; follow it with our guide to The Great Beauty locations.

Watch, then visit: best Italian movies for trip planning

In practice, the best Italian movies also work as a travel checklist. So pick the films that match your route.

• Going to Rome: La Dolce Vita, Bicycle Thieves and The Great Beauty. Then see the city at its best on a Rome night tour or explore our Rome travel guide.
• Going to Sicily: The Leopard and Cinema Paradiso.
• Going to the Bay of Naples: Il Postino, then a day on Procida.
• Going to Lombardy: Call Me by Your Name (2017), an Italian co-production filmed around Crema; see our Call Me by Your Name locations.
• Visiting in fall: the Rome Film Festival screens new films across the city.

Planning a trip around more recent films? See where The Talented Mr. Ripley was filmed, where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed, and whether Montezara from La Dolce Villa is a real place.

Best Italian movies: frequently asked questions

What is the most famous Italian movie?

La Dolce Vita (1960) by Federico Fellini is probably the best known. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and its Trevi Fountain scene is one of the most famous in film history.

Which Italian movies won an Oscar for best foreign film?

The competitive winners include La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, 8½, Amarcord, Cinema Paradiso, Mediterraneo, Life Is Beautiful and The Great Beauty, among others.

What Italian movie should I watch before visiting Rome?

Start with La Dolce Vita for the classic image of the city. Then watch The Great Beauty for a modern view.

Where was Cinema Paradiso filmed?

In Sicily. The village square is in Palazzo Adriano, and the crew also filmed in Cefalù and Bagheria.

How many Oscars did Life Is Beautiful win?

Three, at the 1999 ceremony: Best Actor for Roberto Benigni, Foreign Language Film and Original Dramatic Score.