Star Wars in Italy

As part of our trip to Italy in August of 2006, we took the opportunity to visit several of the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones filming locations. This is my favorite of the Star Wars movies due to the developing romance and eventual marriage of Anakin and Padme. All of these filming locations were located in or near Lake Como, Italy. As you look through our photo collection, you will find that in most cases, the first photo posted will be of a scene from Star Wars and the second picture will be one that we have taken at the same location. We hope you enjoy the tour.

The first tour stop is "Gondola Landing", where Anakin & Padme arrive by boat to go into hiding on Naboo. As you can see in the second set of photos, which are taken from slightly different angles but show the same location, in the movie a new top was digitally added onto the buildings. We took our photo from the boat that took us to the villa. And we couldn't get down to the exact gondola drop off point due to a locked gate, but we were able to get within a few feet. In the fourth set of photos, you can see that I am standing right behind the flower pot that is next to the Naboo guard.

Naboo retreat in the lake country as seen in SW Ep 2-

Arriving by boat at the Naboo retreat on our visit-

SW Ep 2 featured the forbidden love of Anakin and Padme. Their romance blossomed when Anakin was assigned to protect Padme while they hid out in the lake country of Padme's home planet Naboo.

Anakin helping Padme out of the boat at Gondola Landing-

Gondola Landing as it appeared in 2006-

Look at the flower pot and stairs by the guard above Anakin-

Standing on those same stairs and behind the flower pot-

The second tour stop is "Villa Arrival". This is where Anakin & Padme walk after getting out of the boat. Basically, they walk up the stairs which are seen in the last set of pictures, and then cross the small courtyard to the lake overlook.

Looking down at Gondola Landing during filming-

Looking down at the same location during our visit-

Hayden and Natalie on the lake from Vanity Fair magazine-

We also headed out on the lake to reach the retreat-

Anakin and Padme reaching the top of the stairs-

Steve in the exact same location five years after filming-

Anakin and Padme now crossing the courtyard-

Charlie standing by the same tree and twisted roots-

For our third stop, we're visiting the spot of the "First Kiss". Lake Como was a great place to choose for this scene. As you can see, there is no island out in the middle of the lake, it was added digitally later. I tried my best to take the last photo here with the same camera angle used during the kiss, but it was very difficult.

Anakin and Padme standing at the romantic lake overlook-

Steve admiring the view of this lake on Naboo-

Anakin and Padme sharing their first kiss-

This is the exact spot where the first kiss happened-

Next we have "Country Picnic", where the two travel out and spend some time flirting in a large meadow by a spectacular waterfall. We were taken to the exact field where this scene was filmed, but it was hard to match up the backgrounds exactly because the final shots were changed a lot with CGI. Obviously, the waterfall does not really exist. We also met the farmer who owns the land and found out he had just gotten some bad news-- the field used in the movie has been taken over by the county and is going to be developed soon. As of the time of this writing in late 2009, it is our understanding that the field where this scene took place is now gone.

We start with a photo of Padme standing in the field-

In our photo, follow the mountain ridge lines to see a match-

George Lucas handing the couple some fruit for the scene-

Very close to the spot where Anakin and Padme were sitting-

The scene opens in the meadow with majestic waterfalls-

Any part of the meadow will do, as the falls were added later-

Padme running through the meadow to check on Anakin-

The meadow area was vast with lots of mountain ranges-

A close-up shot of Padme running towards Anakin-

A close-up of the meadow and mountain range in Como-

Anakin was just pretending to be hurt in the meadow-

The meadow was very pretty in real life when we visited-

For the fifth tour stop, we have "Morning Nightmare", when Padme soothes Anakin just by her presence. After talking for a while, they decide to leave to help Anakin's mom. These are some of my favorite pictures from our day at the villa.

The morning after the nightmare at the Naboo retreat-

Same view as was shown in the movie taken from our boat-

Padme outside of her bedroom door with great concern-

Steve standing in the same place that Padme was-

Padme tries not to disturb Anakin, but he asks her to stay-

Steve reflecting back on this scene from the movie-

Anakin reveals his plan to head to Tatooine-

Another exact match five years later (even the same flowers)-

Steve reenacting one of the epic shots of the movie where Anakin looks out at the lake on Naboo-

The sixth stop was "Wedding Day", where Padme and Anakin exchange their vows as the droids look on. This was another one of my favorite spots, especially knowing that we were standing at the exact spot where Padme & Anakin got married. This was quite a special experience.

The wedding scene has a close-up of this flower pot-

The same flower pot under the same tree branch with Charlie-

Anakin and Padme secretly getting married on Naboo-

Steve at the exact spot Anakin was standing-

Another picture of the newlyweds-

Steve by the same flower pot (except with flowers)-

We next had a chance to visit the location of one of the movie's great deleted scenes, entitled "Padme's Bedroom". This is where Padme shares some of her experiences growing up. It was very interesting to see where this was filmed, because Padme's Bedroom is actually just a room at the same villa where the exterior shots of the lake were filmed, but it was cleared out and completely redecorated for the movie, as you can see below.

Padme packing some things in her bedroom on Naboo-

Padme's Bedroom as it actually looks today-

Padme sharing some stories from the old days-

Notice the location of the two windows to see a match-

Padme's Bedroom was also used for costume changes-

This was the end of the official tour as our guide departed-

This is a little known exterior shot of Padme's Parents House, which is shown on the DVD at the start of the "Padme's Bedroom" deleted scene. Right after this exterior shot, which is actually just a mirrored image of the staircase and villa, the scene shifts to Padme & Anakin talking in her room.

Padme's Parents House as shown in the deleted scene-

A close-up of the staircase and ivy when we visited-

Our final stop is taken from a deleted scene not shown on the DVD. This ninth scene is called "Naboo Departure" and is where Anakin and Padme departed from the lake country by gondola. Here is a picture of the scene being filmed and of us visiting the location. We hope you enjoyed taking the Star Wars in Italy tour with us.

Proof that the scene was filmed from a making-of book-

On the same stairs where the lost scene was filmed-