The locations in Mediaset’s fiction featuring Francesca Chillemi as a journalist in search of her roots have never been simple places: at numerous turns they have driven the action, pushing the protagonist, for example, to leave Paris in order to finally find answers to questions about her past.
Thus it is not surprising that the settings of Viola come il mare 3, airing in prime time on Canale 5 from November 4, 2026 (and available in full on Mediaset Infinity from the same day), were carefully chosen among elegant aristocratic palaces, terraces with panoramic views, and seaside villages where time seems to have stood still.
What it’s about
Viola come il mare 3 opens with the protagonist about to marry Inspector Francesco Demir: a much-loved character, played by Can Yaman (the Sandokan of the Rai series of the same name), who mysteriously disappears in this season. In his place appears Massimo Paternò: another police inspector, played by Rodrigo Guirao Diaz, who is also Viola’s neighbor and who, above all, begins to help her solve mysterious cases such as the one at the center of this new season, that of Alice D’Amario, a girl more closely tied to the protagonist than she herself can imagine.
Where the series was filmed
The new season of Viola come il mare was shot between Sicily, Lazio, and Calabria, a real new entry among the settings of the fiction.
Palermo and Surroundings
The Sicilian locations for Viola come il mare 3 are essentially the same as in the previous seasons, concentrated in Palermo where the investigative journalist played by Francesca Chillemi has relocated. For the scenes at Viola’s home, for example, they again chose the building in the center with a stunning panoramic view of the Cattedrale.
The Sicilia WebNews editorial team, where Viola works, is based in the picturesque fishing quarter of Arenella. Other shoots were carried out near elegant aristocratic palaces such as Palazzo Artale Tumminello and, above all, the Palazzina dei Quattro Pizzi, built by the Florio family near the eponymous Tonnara.
In the maritime sequences it is easy to recognize the Foro Italico, Mondello’s seafront, and the distinctive village of Sferracavallo, as well as the nearby Terrasini with its seafront dedicated to Peppino Impastato.
Lazio
Some sea scenes were shot this season as well, as in Viola come il mare and Viola come il mare 2, in Ostia. Alongside the Roman coast, Lazio appears among the locations where the Mediaset series with Francesca Chillemi was filmed also with the province of Viterbo, at Civita di Castellana, more precisely several exterior scenes were shot, and with the Lux Vide Studios on the outskirts of Rome.
Calabria
As mentioned, the real novelty regarding the locations of Viola come il mare 3 is Calabria. Here the production (RTI and Lux Vide) chose the evocative setting of isolated coves, breathtaking panoramas, and ancient fishing villages along the Costa Viola to shoot some key scenes. In Scilla filming mainly took place near Chianalea: the picturesque fishing village with houses perched above the water and boats moored at the doorways, regarded as a sort of “Little Venice of the South.”
In several shots you can recognize the Castello Ruffo, the ancient fortress perched on the promontory looking toward the Strait of Messina, among the city’s most iconic symbols.
Moving toward the Cosentino coast, among the locations where Viola come il mare 3 was filmed are also Diamante, one of Calabria’s most appreciated seaside destinations, and Cetraro, a smaller center but no less interesting in terms of landscape and historical-artistic value.
