words by Elizabeth Ganley-Roper
The most popular and longest-standing American soap opera, The Bold and The Beautiful, or as it is known in Italy simply Beautiful, has decided to return to the Bel Paese to celebrate its 25th anniversary. While in 1997 the TV series chose Lake Como as its destination, Venice in 1999, and Portofino (Liguria) in 2002, the directors have chosen Puglia as their first location in SouthernItaly.
Between the 7th and 11th of May, the cast will be filming ten episodes, set to air in Italy on the TV channel Canale 5 in the spring of 2013. Some of the soap’s most famous stars, including Ronn Moss (Ridge) and Katherine Kelly Land (Brooke) will make the trip overseas along with three other members of the cast. The episodes will be filmed in the ultra-luxury resort Borgo Egnazia in the province of Brindisi, as well as in other parts of Puglia.
While the show’s selection of Puglia as a location isn’t official yet, a delegate from the soap opera met with the mayor of Bari, Michele Emiliano, in the city’s Palazzo. The filming of Beautiful in Puglia will also bring attention and visibility to the region, which is still largely undiscovered, considering that the soap opera is watched in 100 countries by a total of 450 million viewers.
