The close of the film Gladiator sees Maximus standing alone in a field of hauntingly lit wheat, caressing it with his hand. This was filmed just below the walls of Pienza in the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Val d’Orcia – Valley of the Orcia River. It’s a stunning Tuscan landscape that changes in different light with the movement of the sun. It’s has inspired artists, poets and writers for generations, so it’s little wonder that when looking for an Italian location to film paradise, Ridley Scott chose it Val d’Orcia.