The air inside Hotel Italia tastes of old cedar, bitter espresso, and the ghost of someone else’s cologne. Lucas Kazan—if he were the director of this unwritten film—would frame the lobby in a single, unbroken steadicam shot. Marble floors reflect the weary feet of travelers who arrived decades ago and never quite left. A brass bell sits on the front desk, untouched. The register is open to 1973.
A second installment titled The Innkeeper: Hotel Italia 2 was released in 2003 . This sequel was filmed in the Tuscan countryside near Florence and was loosely based on the 1752 play "La Locandiera" by Carlo Goldoni. Key Cast and Crew The 1999 production featured a cast including: Pietro Cattani Ettore Tosi (who also served as a producer on the sequel) Tiziano Cortese Marco Ramazzotti Geographic Distinction: Hotel Italia in Kazan, Russia hotel italia lucas kazan
The film opens with a non-explicit, deeply erotic scene. A man (Basten) wakes up alone on a rooftop terrace. He walks to a stone balustrade. Below, in the courtyard, another man (De Luca) is washing his chest with a bucket of cold water. They make eye contact. No words. For two minutes, the camera cuts between the morning steam rising from the younger man’s skin and the older man’s hand gripping the stone railing. It is pure Hitchcockian suspense applied to erotic cinema. The air inside Hotel Italia tastes of old