1. How did Volterra prepare itself to manage the possibility of “New Moon” being filmed in town?

For a few months now we’ve been monitoring the “New Moon” phenomenon, not just for what relates to the movie (due to the actual uncertainty on the matter), but also for what relates to the book, that instead has a sure reference to our town. We realized it’s a unique opportunity for us.

The visibility of Volterra to the world is actually at unthinkable levels, and we must succeed in using this visibility to promote and introduce Volterra to a wider audience. Town Institutions clearly understood the importance of the phenomenon, so they constituted a Town Consortium (with the presence of the Volterra Municipality, Foundation “Cassa di Risparmio” savings bank and touristic consortium) that will have the responsibility of managing all themes related to the phenomenon (e.g. contacts with the production studios, with the local publishers, with the blogs, etc.).

Volterra’s Dumase studio, to facilitate the diffusion of the news, created the website Newmoonvolterra.com that became an international reference for anyone interested in the “New Moon” phenomenon.


2. Why do you think the filming location should not be Cinecittà (Rome’s international film studios), that would enable to recreate the scenes much easily, or any other city, but Volterra instead, also considering potential logistic difficulties?

We strongly believe in the concept that reality and trueness have always a greater value than fiction.
Volterra is, without any doubt, reality, as it is the city in which Stephenie Meyer set the book, and that’s why we always took for granted that it would have been the filming location. Right now, the image of our square and of Palazzo dei Priori is vivid in the mind of the readers of the book: even a quick look at the fan blogs or youtube videos reveal how Twilight fans identify Volterra as the central place of the book.

Moreover, New Moon director Chris Weitz said, upon being hired, that he would respect the book’s contents. We understand production requirements, and it did not seem unfair for the set to be completely recreated in studios set in the United States, or even in Cinecittà, as long as Volterra’s image would have been truthfully rendered.

However, when we knew for certain that Volterra was under serious scrutiny, but it would have not been the film location, we hardly got to understand the reasons behind that decision. That’s why the “I love volterra!” petition was born to support Volterra’s cause to host the filming of New Moon. It’s crucial to get support from all of the Twilighters. (Did you see how Volterra matches to the magic of the book in our photos and videos? Please sign the petition!)


3. How do you think Volterra could setup to receive the film production? Did you have any past occasion to host movie productions?

Yes, Volterra was the set of important Italian movie productions in the past, and always proved to be up to the situation.

The first big production was, in the 60s, Luchino Visconti’s “Sandra of a Thousand Delights” with Claudia Cardinale: the movie was completely filmed in town. Later, Ermanno Olmi’s “Keep Walking” and one of the very first Italian tv series, “Ritratto di donna velata”, which had an incredible success in Italy.

We deeply know our Town, its magnificent locations, our citizens and the professionals who reside there. And so we’re certain we can offer the film production a support that's completely up to the expectations. We have already identified various technical locations and services to make available and we’re waiting to discuss with the film production to solve any eventual problems that might eventually emerge.


4. The popularity of the New Moon book, and soon, of the movie, has surely attracted attention upon Volterra. Did you setup initiatives for the tourist who is also a fan of Twilight? Do you have some other initiatives planned for the period following the release of the movie, to the purpose of keeping fans’ interest alive?

The Touristic Consortium, of which I’m administrator, rapidly responded by creating a travel offering, “The shadow of the Volturi” (“L’ombra dei volturi”) that binds together the mysteries of the etrurian civilization and the true unique locations described in the New Moon book. A new and different way to visit our town, also by staying close to our historical roots.

We are creating initiatives with a very precise objective: to offer Stephenie Meyer fans a splendid, fascinating city, full of mysteries and magic. Not an artificial and fake “NewMoonLand” .
Regarding the future, we’re planning a series of initiatives. Our aim is to maintain a high level of interest on Volterra, even if the movie would be filmed somewhere else. (Did you sign the petition to tell Summit Entertainment to film New Moon in Volterra?)


5. In order to Support Volterra’s cause, the Committee set up an internet website, which promotes a petition. Are you happy with the number of signatures received up to now? A good share of them were made by visitors from the United States, are you surprised by that?

We’re not surprised of the success the petition is having. As we were saying before, in Twilighters’ imagination Volterra has a special place, which it will keep even in case the movie is filmed somewhere else.

As such, we think is normal that many fans signed the petition and will probably consider the hypothesis of another filming location as a betrayal of Stephenie Meyer’s book and of their expectations. The petition started from the Italian fans and is now expanding throughout the United States and around the world. It’s the confirmation that what we thought since the beginning is a common will of the fans: to see the real Volterra in the New Moon movie.


6. What can a fan do to support Volterra’s cause in hosting the production of New Moon?

Surely, the best way is to sign the petition and spread the word. We’re sure that NewMoonVolterra.com website, that in the last days reached an incredible amount of visitors, is constantly monitored by the Production staff, who cannot show indifference towards the thousands of fans who demand the respect of the book’s truthfulness.

sign the online petition!