Nolan's Odyssey was filmed right out there
In spring 2025 Christopher Nolan brought Matt Damon to Lipari, Vulcano and Basiluzzo to film the return of Odysseus. It wasn't a convenient choice: for Homer, these islands were the kingdom of Aeolus. Where he filmed, and what you can see yourself.
The set was an hour away by sea
Between April and May 2025, after seven weeks in the Egadi Islands, the production of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey moved to the Aeolian Islands. For weeks, off this coast, ten period tall ships sailed alongside a vessel built on the model of ancient craft: Nolan wanted the sea scenes shot actually at sea, with the actors aboard, keeping computer graphics to a minimum. The film reached Italian cinemas in July 2026.
Why these islands
It wasn't a matter of convenience, and this is the part almost nobody tells. In the Odyssey, Odysseus lands on Aeolia, the island of Aeolus, god of the winds, who gives him a bag containing every contrary wind — and his crew open it out of curiosity, blowing the ship back. That archipelago, by classical tradition, is this one: the Aeolians are named after Aeolus himself. Nolan came to film the Odyssey in the place where the Odyssey is set.
Lipari: the sirens and the «wandering rocks»
Lipari stood in for one of the poem's most famous episodes, the encounter with the sirens. And here is the detail that matters most locally: Nolan used the sea stacks of Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda — the ones you see from the Quattrocchi viewpoint — as the «wandering rocks», the Planctae of Book XII, the crags that move and crush ships. The harbour of Pignataro, on the island's eastern side, became the crew's logistical base, tall ships moored in a row. Lipari →
Basiluzzo, Pietra del Bagno, Vulcano
The other locations are the archipelago's wildest places. Basiluzzo, the uninhabited islet north-east of Panarea, and the stack of Pietra del Bagno: filming there required a specific authorisation from the Sicilian Region, following an environmental impact assessment, because these are protected areas. And Vulcano, with its fumaroles and black rock against the blue, for the primordial landscapes. Panarea → · Vulcano →
What you can actually see, and how
Here's the difference between a news article and people who live here. From land, for free: Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda are clearly visible from the Quattrocchi viewpoint, on the road to Quattropani on Lipari — it's the most famous photograph of the Aeolians, and now you know what it is. Only from the sea: Basiluzzo and Pietra del Bagno; you can't land freely, but circling them by boat is possible and worth it. On foot: the crater of Vulcano, when the traffic light is green. Access rules →
The Odyssey day, from here
The film's locations are rocks and islets: most can't be reached by scheduled hydrofoil, which runs port to port. With a boat, you leave from the marina below us and choose the route: Vulcano and a circuit of Lipari's stacks in half a day, Basiluzzo and the Panarea islets with a full day. It's exactly the kind of trip our RIB exists for. Hire with skipper, from €300 →
The film, in two lines
91 days of shooting across six countries, a budget of around $250 million and over 600 kilometres of IMAX film. Matt Damon is Odysseus, Tom Holland Telemachus, with Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth and Elliot Page around them. Beyond Sicily — the Aeolians and the Egadi, with Favignana in the leading role — filming took place in Greece, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland and on the coast at Ostia.
One honest note before you go
There is no «location tour»: no signs, no sets left standing, and none of the places was permanently altered — in protected areas the obligation was precisely the opposite. What you'll see is the landscape, which was spectacular before the film and will be after. The added value is knowing what you're looking at: that this rock, for Homer, used to move.
Frequently asked questions
Where was Christopher Nolan's Odyssey filmed in Italy?
In Sicily, mainly on Favignana in the Egadi Islands and across the Aeolians — Lipari, Vulcano, the islet of Basiluzzo off Panarea, the Pietra del Bagno stack and the Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda sea stacks — as well as the coast at Ostia near Rome.
Can you visit the Odyssey filming locations in the Aeolian Islands?
You can see them, but there is no signposted route. Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda can be viewed from land at the Quattrocchi viewpoint on Lipari; Basiluzzo and Pietra del Bagno only from the sea, circling them by boat; the crater of Vulcano can be climbed on foot when access is permitted.
What are Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda?
Two sea stacks off the western coast of Lipari, visible from the Quattrocchi viewpoint. In Nolan's film they stand in for the «wandering rocks», the Planctae of Book XII of the Odyssey.
Why did Nolan choose the Aeolian Islands for The Odyssey?
Because by classical tradition the archipelago is Aeolia, the island of Aeolus, god of the winds, who in the poem gives Odysseus the bag of contrary winds. The Aeolians take their name from Aeolus: Nolan filmed the Odyssey where the Odyssey is set.
Related destinations: Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Capo d'Orlando.
Stay in Capo d'Orlando
A base in the centre — and everything else becomes a day trip.
The port for the Aeolians is 45 minutes away, the Nebrodi right behind. Breakfast served early for dawn departures.
Direct booking, no intermediaries · See the rooftop →