Marine & Wildlife Filming

Marine and wildlife filming in Italy covers three distinct seas: the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian. It also reaches the mountain ecosystems of the Italian Alps and the Apennines, plus the wetland habitats of Sardinia, the Po delta and the lagoons of Comacchio and Orbetello.

Marine sequences range from soft-coral and posidonia-meadow work off Sardinia's Costa Smeralda and the La Maddalena archipelago to the Sicilian channel around Lampedusa and the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic. They also cover bottlenose dolphin, monk seal and sea-turtle work along the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre and Capri. We also film fin whale, sperm whale and striped dolphin sequences inside the Pelagos Sanctuary off the Ligurian Riviera. It is the largest cetacean sanctuary in the Mediterranean, jointly run by Italy, France and Monaco.

Wildlife subjects include Apennine wolves across Abruzzo, Sila and Pollino, plus brown bears in Trentino's Adamello Brenta and the rare resident groups in Aspromonte. We also cover Alpine ibex and chamois in Gran Paradiso and Stelvio, golden eagles across the Dolomites, and flamingos in the Cagliari and Oristano lagoons of Sardinia. The Marsican brown bear in Abruzzo National Park is one of Europe's rarest mammals.

Our crew works with skilled Italian wildlife cinematographers credited on Rai natural-history strands such as Geo and Linea Blu, alongside global TV networks covering Mediterranean ecosystems. Underwater operators based around Sicily, Sardinia and the Ligurian coast back them up. We set up permits through the Italian Film Commission network, the Ministry of Culture (MiC) and the regional Soprintendenze. These cover filming inside Gran Paradiso, Stelvio, Abruzzo, Cilento e Vallo di Diano, Sila and Aspromonte National Parks. We also arrange Capitaneria di Porto clearances under Ordinance No. 506/2018 for all maritime work, plus ENAC drone licensing for any aerial work over coast or reserves.

Underwater packages use RED Komodo, ARRI Alexa Mini and Sony Venice 2 cinema bodies in Gates and Subspace housings. Long-lens 600mm and 800mm kits, remote camera traps, hide systems and macro rigs round out the inventory. Our team briefs each shoot on the seasons: the wolf rut in Apennine winter, whale and dolphin activity from June to September in the Pelagos Sanctuary, flamingo nesting from April to August in Sardinia, and bear activity in spring and autumn. We also align shoots with the forty-per-cent Italian Tax Credit and the CCNL Cinema Audiovisivo where eligible.