Beautiful Mediterranean locations that starred in the movies
To mark the release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, we reveal the Mediterranean locations where this - and other iconic films - were shot.
Mother Lode
“Mamma, ooh-oo-ee-oooh, didn’t mean to make you cry...” Oh, hang on, that’s from the wrong mega-selling chart hit from 1975. And sorry, Mr Mercury, your long-delayed biopic isn’t quite ready yet. Instead, this week’s big cinematic news is the release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Which, of course, is the sequel to Mamma Mia!, the 2008 tethering of ABBA’s music to a tale of love, romance and multiple dads, which grossed £470 million and made a star of the Greek island of Skopelos. So obviously, this one was filmed in Croatia. On the isle of Vis. It will make it very famous. You can read more about it at croatia.hr and tz-vis.hr.
Cher Price
Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep reprise their roles from the first film. Cher is an addition to the cast. Are you only writing that as an excuse to use the “Cher Price” pun? Yep. What did you really want to say? That you can find fine lodging on Vis. Such as Villa Aphrodite, which sits on the east coast of the island. It sleeps up to 10, and is available for the week starting Sept 29, from €4,550/£4,028 (croatianvillaholidays.com).
High Vis
It takes a little effort to reach Vis. There is no airport. The best plan is to fly to Split, then grab a ferry (returns from 108 kuna/£13 per person; jadrolinija.hr). The crossing takes just over two hours, so you’re bound to be hungry when you get there. Konoba Jastozera (jastozera.eu) in Komiza not only excels at freshly grilled lobster, it appears in the film.
Hvar and away
It’s not just Vis. Croatia has 1,107 islands in the Adriatic and Insight Vacations (insightvacations.com) offers a 14-day Country Roads of Croatia group jaunt visiting Korcula and Hvar. Departures in August from £3,495pp – flights extra.
Greek retreat
The new film was made on Vis, but the plot pretends that everybody is still on Skopelos. Tsk. However, if you want the real deal, you can still find it this summer. Perhaps via James Villas (jamesvillas.co.uk), whose Pirgos Epavlis option sleeps five and can be hired for a week starting from September 19 for £497pp (maximum capacity; flights from Gatwick).
Splash & dash
Feeling art house? Luca Guadagnino’s 2015 cinematic masterpiece A Bigger Splash had death, deceit, Tilda Swinton as a rock star and Dakota Johnson as a teenage seductress. It also had Pantelleria, Italy’s volcanic speck 35 miles (56km) off the Tunisian coast. Inaccessible? Nope. Stay for a week, from Aug 18, at the Hotel Mursia & Cossyra, via specialists viverepantelleria.it. For €1,397pp, with flights from Rome.
Captain's fable
What of 2001’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin? It had war, tragedy and Nicolas Cage being way too old for Penelope Cruz. But it also had Kefalonia looking at its loveliest. A seven-night getaway to the Cavos Inn, on the west coast in Assos, flying out of Manchester on August 11, is £734pp (two sharing), with ionianislandholidays.com.
Ripley effect
Although it ventured into dark narrative corners, 1999’s The Talented Mr Ripley made glorious use of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Ischia and (especially) Positano. The latter remains as grand a prospect in 2018 as in the fictional Fifties. A three-night stay at its five-star Hotel Covo dei Saraceni starts at £1,045pp with flights – via coxandkings.co.uk.
Troy boy
The Mamma Mias are not the only movies to have been conjured on Mediterranean shores. Take Troy. It had Brad Pitt in sculpted armour. And it had Riviera Bay on the west coast of Malta, pretending to be ancient Turkey. A seven-night stay at the Radisson Blu Resort, adjacent to said sands, starts at £1,358pp, with flights from Gatwick on August 18, via ba.com/holidays. Note. Price does not include 2004-edition Pitt. Sorry.
Mini Mia
Like the idea of the new Mamma Mia! film, but don’t fancy Croatia just now? OK. Try The Montague on the Gardens (montaguehotel.com) in Bloomsbury, London. It has double rooms from £227, and is currently serving a “Mamma Mia 2” cocktail (£15) that salutes the Croatian flag in a red-white-and-blue blur of vodka, blue curaçao and cranberry juice.
