Me at Bagno Vignoni
on my birthday
(not clickable)

Rediscovering Tarkovsky's "Nostalghia"

Andrei Tarkovsky shot "Nostalghia" in Tuscany in 1983. On a recent trip thorugh Italy I came across two of the sets he used for his film, Bagno di Vignoni and the Abbadia di San Galgano.

Both sets played a very important role in the film, Bagno Vignoni serving as the culmination scene, San Galgano being the backdrop of a marvellous dream sequence staging a small Russican cottage from his childhood in a medieval Tuscan Abbey.

While both scenes show Tarkovsky's genius in designing a very own world the actual monuments are quite mundane compared to what you see in the film. It is no surprise to discover that Tarkovsky's crew did a great job in changing and designing the sets to his needs. Go watch the film again and then make a trip to Tuscany.

More links

Nostalghia.com - An Andrej Tarkovsky Tribute
A beautiful website and perhaps the most comprehensive collection of links to Tarkovsky's work

Enigma Galgano
Maurizio Calì's most personal and informative website on the Abbey

Abbey San Galgano
A website dedicated to this marvellous ruin and its adjacent Hermitage

Bagno Vignoni
Yahoo Search results

Abbadia di San Galgano
Click on the pictures to get a bigger view