Bird's Eye Views of Central Italy

Top contributor and drone pilot Alta Movie srl brings us this breathtaking DVOW nominated film from the great city of Rome, Italy.  The video opens with shots of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument on the Piazza Venezia, before cutting over to the opposite side of the Tiber River for shots of St. Peter's Basilica and Square in Vatican City.    Starting at the :34 mark, there's a nice shot of the Castel Sant'Angelo; following which you'll be taken to the southeast to see the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, and the ruins of the Forum.  

The magic of Central Italy is on full display in this outstanding drone reel from top AirVuz contributor and pilot Fabel Movie Maker.  The video beautifully captures the stunning diversity of the landscapes of the region, which includes Lazio, Umbria, and Marche.  Covering a variety of seasons, his reel will take you over the region's plains areas, waterfalls, hills, and peaks of the Apennine Mountains; you'll see some magnificent looking hilltop villages.  The video was filmed with a DJI Mavic Pro.

Aerial cinematographer Mauro Pagliai says he has an obsession with time that leads him to create videos like this - lucky us! Shot entirely on a DJI Mavic 2 drone (other than the intro and closing shots of his pup, Logan) the Drone Video Award winner gives a master class in Waypoint flying and hyper-lapses. The magnificent sunsets and sunrises of the countryside of Central Italy, busy streets of Rome surrounding the Coliseum, and more make this Drone Video of the Week Winner quite the treat. 

Multiple Drone Video of the Week nominee and winner Mauro Pagliai created this remarkable aerial film of Italy's capital city of Rome, an early epicenter in the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. In this incredible production, this talented aerial cinematographer reveals the gentle re-awakening of the historic city from the quarantining and lockdown measures enacted due to the devastating outbreak. His incredible edit of these slowly filling streets was not surprisingly crowned as the Drone Video of the Week winner in July 2020. 

Contributor FredricoC spent ten days traveling through the Umbria and Marche regions of Central Italy with a DJI Mavic Air drone, creating this beautiful video to memorialize the trip.  Umbria is close to the geographic center of the country.  Situated to the northeast of Rome, it's home to some of Italy's greatest cultural treasures.  Marche lies immediately to the east of Umbria.  Its landscape transitions from the stunning Apennine Mountains in the center to the Adriatic sea on its eastern side.  

Contributor druno discovered some of the unseen beauties in his homeland of Lazio, a region of central Italy. Through the lens of a drone he moves through narrow passageways in the wilderness and the iconic hilltop village of Calcata that sits in the middle of the landscape.  He was able to capture the distinct character of the quaint Italian town, secret waterfalls, and antique landmarks in this drone footage.  Lazio occupies the center of Italy's western coast and includes the city of Rome.  

Fabel Movie Maker used both the DJI Mavic Pro and Phantom 4 Pro drones to create this spectacular tour of his native Umbria region in Central Italy.  Sitting in the center of the "Boot" of Italy, Umbria is a largely rural region.  Landlocked, its main physical feature is the Apennines, a chain of Mountains that run down the "spine" of Italy.  It's also home to numerous lakes and rivers.  While it has few large cities, it features many small towns and villages, some of which date to the Antiquity.

Contributor Zippomaker brings us this beautifully captioned aerial tour of the castles of the Lazio region of Central Italy.  This large and very historic region is situated on Italy's west coast, a bit south of Rome. The region's proximity to Rome made its mountain passes highly desirable locations for castles and fortresses. Highlights of the video include bird's eye views of Castello Cantelmo Rocca Guidonesca  Ferento, Civita Bagnoregio, Vulci, Chiesa Santa Martiri, Contrada de Torchi, and more. 

Contributor Seppiolone created this beautiful drone video of the Etruscan city Civita di Bagnoregio in Central Italy.  It's situated in Viterbo, one of the provinces which makes up the official Lazio region to the north of Rome.  The magnificent and extremely well-preserved town is built on a hilltop plateau, but is vulnerable to collapse due to soil erosion.  It dates to 2500 BC, over two millennia before the establishment of the Roman Republic.  Depending on the time of year, the town has between 10 and 100 residents.  

Contributor Zippomaker created this beautiful drone video of Monterano, an ancient village just outside of Rome, Italy.  Monterano was an Etruscan village, part of the Etruscan Empire which corresponded roughly to modern day Tuscany but extended further south into what is now Lazio (the region which surrounds Rome in the west-central part of the country).  The once-mighty Etruscan civilization eventually came under the domination of Rome by about the 4th century BC when the city on the Tiber River was still a republic.

The region of Lazio in central Italy is probably best known as the home of the Eternal City of Rome, but much of it is rural.  Covering most of west-central Italy, the landscape here transitions from the coast to a broad plain to the foothills of the Apennine Mountains as one moves from west to east.  This drone video by top contributor druno beautifully captures the varied landscapes of the region; particularly beautiful is the rather dramatic way in which the plains give way to the mountains.  

The region of Umbria in Central Italy was devastated by a massive earthquake in 2016.  The quake, which registered a 6.6 on the Richter Scale, killed nearly 250 people.  It also wrought massive devastation on some of Italy's greatest cultural treasurers.  In this drone video, contributor Lorenzo shows us magnificent pre-earthquake footage of the abbeys and churches of Valle Castoriana and Valnerina, many of which were severely demaged by the earthquakes and have yet to be fully restored.

Contributor Mauro Pagliai skillfully combined drone and ground camera footage to create this video of Marino, a town in the southern part of Italy's Lazio region.  It's in the Alban Hills, just a short distance from the regional (and national) capital, Rome.  Marino has been settled since the Antiquity, and played a part in various struggles which occurred in the region throughout the Middle Ages.  It's known for its fine wine and its Grape Festival, an annual celebration which dates to 1924.

Top contributor Druno, who was a winner at the second Annual Drone Video Awards, created this beautiful aerial of a small town near the hills of the Lazio region of central Italy.  These lands were once controlled by the Etruscan Empire, which predated the Roman Republic and Empire by several centuries.  This video was filmed in the eastern part of the region, with a backdrop of the foothills of the Apennine Mountains.  The title references the ancient Etruscan town of Falerii, which was situated in the vicinity.   

Check out this stunning drone video from Central Italy, compliments of contributor Why Not Channel.  It's the area around the town of Trevi, in the Umbria region near the center of the "boot" of Italy.  It's situated on a hilltop which affords commanding views of the plains of the Clitunno River as well as the mountains which surround the valley.  The town, which dates to the Antiquity, is home to a number of historical sights, including about 20 churches and an art museum known for its medieval paintings.  

Check out this stunning drone video of a well-known lake in Central Italy, compliments of contributor Fabel Movie Maker.  It's called Lake Trasimeno, and it's in the Perugio Province of the region of Umbria.  With a surface area of just under 130 square km (a bit under 50 square mi.) it's the fourth largest lake in Italy after Garda, Maggiore, and Como Lakes (all of which lie in the northern part of the country).  With no major rivers or streams flowing out of Lake Trasimeno, its water level fluctuates significantly based upon rainfall.  

Prepare to be blown away by this stunning drone video by zimascio of Tivoli, an ancient town just northeast of Rome, Italy.  An Etruscan city that was absorbed by the Roman Republic, Tivoli became a getaway for the Roman elite during the Empire period. The video features all of Tivoli's most well know sites, including the Aniene River falls; the ruins of Hadrian's Villa, a UNESCO World Heritage site;  and the Villa d'Este and its gardens, a magnificent 15th century Renaissance manor which is also a UNESCO site.

Contributor and drone pilot Gioorig created this magnificent drone video from a spot on the eastern coast of Italy.  It's a peninsula called Monte Conero, and it is situated just south of the port city of Ancona in the Marche region.  Most of the area is covered by a state park, which is home to numerous hiking trails.  The mountain itself has a peak elevation of  a bit under 600 meters (around 1.9k ft.), making it the highest point on Italy's long Adriatic coastline between the port of Trieste and the "heel" of Italy in Apulia.  

Top contributor Druno, who was a winner at the second annual Drone Video Awards, used a DJI Mavic Pro to create this stunning continuous shot of a hilltop town in the mountains of Lazio, Italy.  The coloring of the town's buildings, set against the misty green hills of the region, is simply spectacular.  While the Lazio region is home to Rome and is the second most populous of Italy's 19 regions, much of it is rural and semi-rural and has a landscape which somewhat resembles that of neighboring Tuscany.  

Lazio is the main region of west-central Italy and the country's second-most populous  However, roughly 70% of its population of a bit under 6 million lives in Metropolitan Rome; its four provinces outside of Rome are among the country's most rural.  Running east and southeast of Rome, the landscape is characterized by rolling hills which run into the foothills of the Apennines.  It's a glorious country any time of year but especially in the Fall, as you'll see from this beautiful drone video by Fabel Movie Maker.  

AirVuz contributor and pilot Fabel Movie Maker used the new DJI Mavic Air 2 drone to create these fantastic drone views from several sites in Central Italy.  All three are in Perugia, the main province of the landlocked Umbria Region.  The first spot is the Hermitage of Serrasanta, a monastic site in the Apennine Mountains.  The second is the Via Valsorda area in the commune of Gualdo Tadino, about an hour's drive northeast of the provincial capital.  The third spot is the village of Fontemaggio in the commune of Sigillo.

A pair of historic towns in Italy's Umbria region are on aerial display in this drone video by Manutoni24. The first is Assisi, an ancient city which was the birthplace of St. Francis and the site of the founding of the Franciscan religious order in the early 13th century.  The second city is Gubbio, which is even older - remains dating to the Bronze Age have been found here.  Lying in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, Gubbio was known as one of the main centers of pottery during the Renaissance. 

Top contributor minglam created this marvelous aerial view of Bagnoregio, a village in Central Italy.  It's located in Viterbo, the northernmost of the four provinces (plus the capital district) that make up the Lazio region.  Bagnoregio was founded by the Etruscans (a civilization which covered much of present-day Tuscany and beyond) before the rise of Rome, which lies about 75 km (around 45 mi.) to its south.  It sits on a plateau overlooking the Tiber River valley which is continually shrinking due to erosion. 

Check out these fantastic drone views of the walled Italian city of Urbino, compliments of contributor Marco Miele.  The city is located in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains in the northern part of the Marche Region, close to the border with the neighboring region of Emilia-Romagna.  Given its strategic location, the town played an important role in Italian affairs from the late Roman period through the Renaissance.  The video features amazing views of the town and its great landmark: the Ducal Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  

But for the fact that it was filmed with a 21st-century piece of technology, this stunning scene from Central Italy could have taken place hundreds of years ago.  AirVuz contributor and pilot Why Not Channel used a drone to film a group of wild horses atop a small mountain in Umbria, a region which covers the geographic center of the country, northeast of Rome.  One of Italy's most rural regions, Umbria is crossed north to south by the Apennine Mountains, which form the region's naturally boundary with Marche to its east.      

Talented content creator Marco Miele brings us this beautiful drone video of  famous medieval Italian fortress.  Gradara Castle is located in a town of the same name in the Marche region of east-central Italy.  Dating to the 11th century and distinguished by its 800 meter (about 2.7k ft.) outer wall, it's one of the region's most popular tourist attractions.  The castle was fought over by two rival Italian noble families of the Middle Ages, and earned a reference in Dante's immortal Divine Comedy.  

Check out this beautiful video of an iconic looking town in the heart of Italy, compliments of contributor and drone pilot Fabel Movie Maker.  He used a DJI Mavic Pro drone and an Osmo-stabilized ground camera to film the village of Scheggino in Perugio, the easternmost of the two provinces which make up the Umbria Region of Central Italy.  The town, which is distinguished by its reddish-colored buildings, is located about 60 km (around 36 mi.) southeast of the province's namesake capital city.  

Lake Trasimeno is the fourth-largest freshwater body in Italy.  It's located in Peruglia, a northern part of the Umbria region, near the border with Tuscany.  The lake covers just over 128 square km (a bit under 50 square mi.), making it slightly smaller than Lake Como, Italy's third-largest lake.  This drone video by Fabel Movie Maker combines ground camera and drone footage of this stunningly beautiful lake as well as the following nearby spots: Sant'arcangelo, San Feliciano, Monte del Lago, and Torricella.

Check out this fantastic drone video of an important ancient ruins site near Rome, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Zimascio.  It's a complex known as Hadrian's Villa, and it's located in the town of Tivoli in the hills east of Rome.  Built in the 2nd century AD for the Emperor Hardian, who is believed to have eschewed the traditional retreat on Rome's Palatine Hill.  During much of his rule, Hadrian actually made Tivoli his permanent home and governed the vast Roman Empire from this spot. 

AirVuz contributor and first-person view (FPV) pilot Davide Tomei used an FPV mini-quad to film one of the most prominent examples of Italy's Fascist-Era architecture.  It's the Town Hall of Latina, a city which was created under Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by draining an area which had been useless swampland.  Located about an hour's drive southeast of Rome, it's the second-largest city in the Lazio Region after the national capital.  The video also captures the fountain which sits adjacent to the Town Hall. 

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor RnConti brings us this beautiful drone video from the western coast of Italy.  The video was filmed at Terracina, which lies on a shallow bay of the Mediterranean Sea, roughly halfway between Rome and Naples in the Latina Province of Lazio.  In ancient times, Terracina was situated at an especially strategically important location: it sat on the Appian Way, an important road which connected Rome with southern Italy, at a point where the Lepini Mountains reached the coastline.  

New contributor Flyage brings us this marvelous Christmastime drone video from the Eternal City of Rome, Italy.  The "star" of the video is the world's largest and most famous church: St. Peters Basilica.  Formally known as Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, it's located in the small enclave on the west side of the Tiber River known as Vatican City.  Believed to be the burial site of St. Peter, the Renaissance style church was completed in 1626 following a construction period of over a century.  

San Benedetto del Tronto is one of the most important port cities on Italy's eastern (Adriatic Sea) coast.  It's located in Ascoli Piceno, the southernmost of the five provinces which make up Italy's region of Marche.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor and pilot Marco Miele, you'll get an aerial tour of the city, which has a population of around 100k.  The video features daytime and nighttime shots of the city's harbor, which is still home to one of the largest fishing fleets in Italy.  

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Fabel Movie Maker brings us this spectacular drone video from the mountains of Central Italy.  The video was filmed near the town of Costacciaro in Perugia, the larger and easternmost of the two provinces which make up the country's region of Umbria.  The setting is the Apennine Mountains, a chain (actually a series of chains) which run down the "spine" of peninsular Italy.   The filmed area is part of Monte Cucco Regional Park, which is located near the northeastern corner of the province.   

AirVuz contributor Marco Miele brings us this excellent drone video of an Italian town which was devastated by an earthquake in 2016.  The town of Norcia is located on a plain in Perugia, the larger of the two provinces which make up the region of Umbria in Central Italy.  The birthplace of St. Benedict, the town was rocked by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in August of 2016 which was followed two months later by a 6.5 magnitude quake.  The latter caused extensive damage, including the destruction of the Basilica of St. Benedict.  

In this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor Marco Miele, you'll get a bird's eye view of the area around the Italian village of Castelluccio.  It's located near the town of Norcia in Perugia, one of the two provinces which make up the Umbria region of Central Italy.  The town lies in the Apennine Mountains, which consists of a series of three chains running down the "boot" of Italy.  The village lies at an altitude of 4.75k ft. above sea level (around 1.45k m), making it one of the highest settlements in the Apennines.   

Get a unique pespective of a historic town in Central Italy with this fantastic first person view (FPV) drone video by contributor and pilot CinematicPier.  He filmed the town of Passignano sul Trasimeno, which lies on the northern side of Lake Trasimeno (Italy's fourth-largest by surface area) in the province of Perugia in the region of Lombardy.  The video includes great footage of the town's most well-known landmark: the castle known as La Rocca di Passignano sul Trasimeno.  This video was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list.  

Check out these beautiful wintertime views from the Apennine Mountains in Central Italy, compliments of contributor fabio sauli.  It was filmed at Campo Staffi in Frosinone, the southeasternmost of the four provinces (excluding the City of Rome) of the country's Lazio Region.  Campo Staffi is located in the far eastern side of the province, near the border with the neighboring region of Abruzzo to the east.  This area is near the center of the Apennine Mountains, which form the natural boundary between Lazio and Abruzzo.  

Check out this fantastic drone video of a hilltop town in Central Italy, compliments of Pascar.  The town of Orte is situated in Viterbo, the northernmost of the five provinces (including the Metropolitan City of Rome) which make up the region of Lazio in the west-central part of the country.  Located about 60 km (around 37 mi.) north of central Rome, Orte is built atop a cliff comprised of a volcanic-origin type of rock known as tuff.  Settled since the Etruscan period, Orte occupied a key strategic location during much of the Antiquity.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist Mauro Sciambi used a DJI Mavic 3 to create this stunning aerial view of a lake in the hills of Central Italy.  It's called Piediluco Lake (Lago di Piediluco), and it straddles the province of Terni in the Umbria Region and the province of Rieti in the neighboring region of Lazio.  The lake is sourced with inflows from the Fuscello, Velino, and Nera Rivers; the last of these inflows was created via a large hydro-engineering project which was undertaken in the 1920's.  

AirVuz contributor Pascar brings us this stunning drone video of a hilltop village just east of Rome, Italy.  It's called San Gregorio da Sassola, and it's located in the outer reaches of the Metropolitan City of Rome, the official region which includes the Italian capital and its surroundings.  Located about 30 km (a bit under 20 mi.) east of central Rome, the town lies in the hills which rise up from the coastal plain upon which Rome sits, and which in effect are foothills of the Apennine Mountains that run down the "spine" of Italy.

Top contributor and FPV drone pilot alessandrodionisivm
 brings us this fantastic FPV tour of the famous hilltop town of Narni, Italy.  The commune is situated overlooking a canyon of the Nera River in the province of Ternia in Umbria.  Inhabited since the Paleolithic era, Narni was known as Narnia during the Roman period, when it was seen as an important strategic outpost.  In the 20th century, British author C.S. Lewis used the town's Roman name for an imaginary land immortalized in his Chronicles of Narnia series (1950-56).  

Check out these fantastic drone views from Italy's Apennine Mountains, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Dr. Jffry.  He filmed the Monte Terminillo, a masif of the Central Apennines, the middle part of the chain of mountains which runs down the "spine" of peninsular Italy.  Located about 20 km (around 12 mi.) from the town of Rieti in the province of Rieti (part of the region of Lazio), Monte Terminillo has a peak altitude of about 2.2k meters above sea level (around 7.3k ft.).  

AirVuz contributor Pascar brings us this excellent drone video from the medieval Italian city of Arsoli.  Arsoli is located about 60 km (around 35 mi.) east-northeast of central Rome in the province of Lazio.  As you'll see in the video, the city is dominated by its fortified castle, which dates to the 11th century.  The well-preserved city center is home to popular annual fair held on St. Bartholomew's Day.  During the Antiquity, the springs surrounding the city were used to provide water to Rome.  

Top contributor druno brings us this fantastic first person view (FPV) drone fly-through of a well-known mansion in Central Italy.  It's called the Villa Farnese (not to be confused with the Palazzo Farnese in Rome), and it's a pentagon-shaped manor in Viterbo, one of the provinces of the Lazio region.  Considered one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture, the mansion was constructed in the 16th century by the powerful Farnese family.  It's now Italian state property and operated by the Museum Center of Lazio.  

Contributor ALBIREDBULL87 used a DJI Phantom 3 drone to create this beautiful drone video of a lake in central Italy called Lago Turano.  It's a reservoir lake which was created by the construction of the Turano Dam in the 1930's.  The dam is located near the town of Posticciola in the Rieti Province.  The province lies on the eastern side of the Lazio region, near the geographic center of the country.  The video includes shots of the lake as well as the beautiful village, as well as a nearby village called Stipes.  

Take a first person view (FPV) drone tour of the Italian city of Anzio in this excellent piece by former DVOW Finalist Mauro Sciambi.  The seaside town is located on the Tyrrhenian Sea (an inlet of the Mediterranean) in the region of Lazio, about a 45 minute drive south of Rome.  The city was the site of a famous World War II battle in which an Allied attempt to move up the Italian coast via an amphibious landing in January, 1944 was bogged down for months under heavy German resistance, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties.

In this video, top contributor zippomaker gives us some highly creative first person view (FPV) drone views of several well-known medieval sites in Central Italy, primarily in the Lazio region:  the ruined fortification of Torre Flavia in Ladispoli, near Rome; Colonna Castle in Genazzano, just east of Rome; the village of Castel San Pietro Romano; the castle of Torre Alfino in the province of Viterbo; Castel di Tora in the province of Rieti; San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome; the hill town of Narni in Umbria; and more.  

Get a unique perspective of one of the most famous monasteries in Italy in this excellent first person view (FPV) drone video by AirVuz contributor and FPV pilot palodanieliph.  Farfa Abbey is a monastery of the Benedictine Order in the commune of Fara in Sabina, about a 45 minute drive north of Rome in Rieti, one of the provinces which make up the west-central region of Lazio.  Founded in the 4th century AD (prior to the fall of the Roman Empire), the current structure was completed in the 10th century.  

Check out this drone video of the Italian town of Passignano sul Trasimeno, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Marco Miele.  The town lies on the northern shore of Lake Trasimeno in Perugia, one of the provinces which makes up the region of Umbria near the geographic center of the country.  The lake covers almost 50 square mi. (just under 130 square km), making it Italy's fourth-largest lake by surface area.  The video includes footage of the hilltop fortress perched over the town as well as the two small nearby islands. 

Italy's Apennine Mountains isn't a single chain but actually a series of three chains which run down the "boot" of Italy, in most places forming the boundaries between different historical regions.  In this drone video, you'll get an aerial view of some spectacular Apennine landscapes around the town of Castelluccio.  It's located in the far southeastern corner of the province of Perugia, the larger of the two provinces of Umbria; the Emilia-Romagna region lies to the east and Marche to the southeast.  

Contributor Enricocif created this beautiful drone video of an important Italian fortress.  Gradara Castle is located in a town of the same name in the Marche region of east-central Italy.  The original structure dates to the 11th century.  Distinguished by its 800 meter (about 2.7k ft.) outer wall, it's one of the biggest tourist attractions in Marche.  Gradaro Castle was also believed to have been the scene of a semi-mythical love story which is part of Dante's Divine Comedy, one of the great works of literature.  

AirVuz contributor Alessandrone brings us this excellent drone video of the Italian hilltop town of Trevi.  It's located about a two-hour drive north of Rome in Perugia, one of the main provinces of the Umbria region of Central Italy.  Known for centuries for its fine olive oil, it's situated on the slopes of the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, overlooking the Clitunno River.  The video features footage of some of the top sights of this ancient city, including the Romanesque style Duomo of Sant' Emiliano and the Madonna delle Lacrime.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor seanalami brings us this stunning drone video of Rome, Italy.  Shot with a DJI Mavic 3, the video opens with some magnificent shots of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, followed by the Colosseum, one of the most famous ruins of Ancient Rome.  At about the 1:45 mark, you'll fly over the Piazza dell'Esquilino and its namesake obelisk.  At around 2:45, you'll return to the Victor Emmanuel Monument, followed by a great shot of the adjacent Piazza Venezia traffic hub at around 3:25.