The famed director Ridley Scott knew he could only find the right light to portray paradise in Tuscany, specifically in the Val d’Orcia. Those who have seen the blockbuster movie will be familiar with the scene where Maximus rides back home from the war along a cypress lined path to arrive only too late to save his family. This scene is shot in the Sienise countryside. The scenes where Maximus dreams of paradise are shot instead in the Val d’Orcia, the valley most often captured in Tuscan postcards. Film location: Val D’Orcia valley