In the 2000 film, Malena, the fantastical city of Castelcutò is constructed using primarily images of Noto and Syracuse. Like so many imaginary cinematographic locations, Castelcutò represents a type of hyper-Sicily. In many ways the place is imagined to be a kind of co-protagonist in the storyline. It creates a perfect Sicily, dense and full, where an abundance of stereotypes help to explain the characters in the film. Without a doubt the identifying crux that makes Castelcutò recognizable is the Piazza Duomo of Ortygia and Syracuse. The location is reiterated multiple times in the film and often represents Bellucci’s “catwalk”, animated by comments from the bystanders. This unchanging location works as a counterbalance to the protagonist’s metamorphosis and parable up until the bitter end.
