25 years later, The Talented Mr. Ripley still stands as one of the best adaptations of Patricia Highsmith’s psychotic character, Tom Ripley. This 1999 film was the definitive Ripley adaptation — at least, it was until Netflix’s Ripley came out — and inspired thousands of travelers to fly to Italy and find the charming town of Mongibello.
Unfortunately, you can’t find Mongibello when the credits roll, but you can take the train to visit all of the filming locations for The Talented Mr. Ripley and take the ferry to the beach where Ripley met Dickie.
Movie poster for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). Image Credit: Miramax
The Talented Mr. Ripley filming locations
In the case of The Talented Mr. Ripley filming locations, there’s a bit of life imitating art. Though (almost) all filming was completed in Italy, where the original book was set, some of the locations are actually pretending to be someplace they’re not…
Ischia Island & Procida Island
Ferry terminal: Ischia
Ischia and Procida Islands teamed up to create the fictional Mongibello in The Talented Mr. Ripley. You’ll recognize Castello Aragonese in Ischia Ponte as the backdrop of where Tom first arrived in Mongibello. Palazzo Malcovati in Ischia is a private residence that portrays Dickie’s apartment where Marge’s place is closer to Piazza dei Martiri in Procida. Piazza Malcovati was where the Festival of the Madonna (and a tragic death) is seen. That bus ride along the coast he took to get to Ischia? Those panoramas are actually in Porte Ercole, which is much closer to Florence than Ischia.
Read also: explore southern Italy and its islands with Frecciarossa and ferries
Naples
Train station: Napoli Centrale
Real-life Naples is only a ferry ride away from Ischia, so it’s fitting that Mongibello is so fictionally close to filming locations for The Talented Mr. Ripley like the Galleria Principe shopping mall. Naples had a chance to cosplay a character as well; the Teatro di San Carlo pretended to be Rome’s opera house.
Read also: 10 best things to do in Naples
View over rooftops of Polermo in Italy. Image Credit: Getty Images, Gary Yeowell
Palermo
Train station: Palermo Centrale
A short but sweet entry, Palermo only gets a quick nod in the film. Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio gets a cameo role as a church supposedly in Venice, but is actually a 12-minute walk from the train station.
Rome
Train station: Roma Termini
Rome gets a lot of love in cinema and its filming locations for The Talented Mr. Ripley continue that trend. We think there’s something in the fine print that forces film crews to shoot at the Piazza Navona because it’s in countless movies like Eat, Pray, Love. When production rolled into the Eternal City, they also made sure Capitoline Hill, the Spanish Steps, Via dei Condotti, and the Ponte Sant’Angelo all made the final cut.
Tom Ripley, as Dickie Greenleaf, checked into The St. Regis Rome (one of the best hotels in Rome, naturally), though its interiors were actually Palazzo Taverna. Freddie’s apartment in Piazza Mattei (aka Piazza Gioia) is a half-hour’s walk west near the Ponte Garibaldi.
Anzio
Train station: Marechiaro
Though technically part of the Metropolitan City of Rome, Anzio is on the Italian coastline due south of the Eternal City. In the film, the Paradiso sul Mare and Anzio beach are pretending to be San Remo.
Venice
Train station: Venezia Santa Lucia
The final scenes and filming locations for The Talented Mr. Ripley take us to Venice. The Piazza San Marco, and its Caffè Florian, are featured. Unsurprisingly, when Dickie’s dad comes to Venice, he checks into the Hotel Europa & Regina which is The St. Regis Venice (the Greenleafs have great taste).
Spiaggia dei Pescatori beach in Ischia. Image Credit: Getty Images, Orietta Gaspari
Where is the beach in The Talented Mr. Ripley?
If you’re looking for the beach where Ripley meets up with Dickie and Marge, sail to the island of Ischia and head to Bagno Antonio between Ischia Porte and Ischia Ponte. Quite honestly, this island has gorgeous beaches galore like Spiaggia dei Pescatori and Miramare e Castello so you’ll have plenty of sun to soak up without running into a wannabe Ripley.
Where is Mongibello, Italy from The Talented Mr. Ripley?
As dreamy as it seems on the screen, Mongibello is not a real place in Italy. Instead, Dickie Greenleaf had to hop between the real Italian islands of Ischia and Procida to create the fictional Mongibello.
Ischia Porto harbor in Italy. Image Credit: Getty Images, Marco Bottigelli
Was Talented Mr. Ripley filmed in Ischia?
Yes, The Talented Mr. Ripley was filmed across Italy, including in Ischia. The island of Ischia is in the Bay of Naples alongside two other islands; one of which is Procida, another filming location for The Talented Mr. Ripley.
What era is The Talented Mr. Ripley set in?
The Talented Mr. Ripley is set in the late-1950s, which makes sense as the novel that inspired the film was published in 1955.
Is the show Ripley the same as The Talented Mr. Ripley?
The Netflix show Ripley is not exactly the same as the film The Talented Mr. Ripley, but both are based on the novel, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith. The series is more of a faithful adaptation compared to the film.
How many versions of Ripley are there?
The Talented Mr. Ripley is not the first or the last on-screen adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley character. Purple Noon was first in 1960, followed by The American Friend in 1977. Ripley disappeared from the screen until 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was soon followed by Ripley’s Game in 2002 and Ripley Under Ground in 2005. Most recently, Tom Ripley hit streaming in 2024 with Netflix’s Ripley.
Watch the The Talented Mr. Ripley trailer
Check out the trailer for The Talented Mr. Ripley and stream it on Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, or other subscription streamers.
Who played Ripley better?
Thus far, there have been six Tom Ripleys: Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Barry Pepper, and Andrew Scott. Among these names, Matt Damon was the definitive Ripley, until Andrew Scott took the role. Whereas Damon’s Ripley was charming and almost a sympathetic character, Scott’s Ripley is much darker. Time will tell which is the Ripley.
Who else is in the The Talented Mr. Ripley cast?
The Talented Mr. Ripley featured a solid cast with Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan), Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law (The Holiday), Cate Blanchett (Hot Fuzz), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Mission: Impossible III), Jack Davenport, Philip Baker Hall, and James Rebhorn.
Was Leonardo DiCaprio cast in The Talented Mr. Ripley?
The character of Tom in The Talented Mr. Ripley wasn’t originally offered to Matt Damon. Leonardo DiCaprio was first offered the lead, which is no surprise as DiCaprio was coming off of leads in Romeo + Juliet, The Man in the Iron Mask, and, of course, Titanic. Damon wasn’t a bad second-choice; his lead up to The Talented Mr. Ripley included Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, and Rounders.
Is Saltburn based on The Talented Mr. Ripley?
No Saltburn was not based on The Talented Mr. Ripley. Are they similar? Sure. Obsession. Deception. A dreamy locale. The generation’s rising stars. But, alas, the writer and director of Saltburn, Emerald Fennell, flat-out stated that she didn’t draw inspiration from The Talented Mr. Ripley film.
What does the ending of The Talented Mr. Ripley mean?
The Talented Mr. Ripley is essentially the story of Tom Ripley running away from himself and doing whatever he can, to whomever he can, to be someone else. Every deceit and every death shed a little more of Ripley without replacing it with a real identity. In the end, he kills Peter, the one person who truly cares for and knows the real Tom Ripley. And with that death, we’re left looking at a man who’s succeeded in effectively killing the identity of Tom Ripley and is now forced to live his days forever running from the crimes he’s committed and the identities he’s consumed.
Download the Trainline app and plan an earnest trip to Italy where you can visit these The Talented Mr. Ripley filming locations as your true self (or so your new friends think…)
Matt Damon as Tom Ripley and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Sherwood in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). Image Credit: Miramax
