In the mural Ferraro holds a portrait of a real-life librarian, Agostino Collina, who founded the Biblioteca Andreoli in the 1940s.

In January 2019, Castaldo used enlarged cut-outs of images from the show to create the public artwork, which shows a young Lila and Lenù heading for the library’s doors while Maestro Ferraro, the girls’ childhood librarian, sits on a bench by the entrance. Rione Luzzatti is also home to Biblioteca Andreoli, a public library that features a My Brilliant Friend–themed mural created by the official set photographer from the HBO series production, Eduardo Castaldo. But the area’s vendor-filled streets offer visitors an authentic look at life for average Neapolitans, beyond the well-heeled areas of Chiaia and Volmero. Located to the east of the city center, Rione Luzzatti’s streets consist of Fascist-era housing blocks and unadorned architecture that, to some, can feel uninviting. In the novel, the neighborhood where main characters Elena “Lenù” Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo grow up is left unnamed, although it’s thought to be based on the working-class Rione Luzzatti zone.

If you want to channel Ferrante’s world, these are the spots to see: The sixth episode even takes viewers to Ischia, a handsome volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea reachable in 90 minutes by ferry from Naples. While much of My Brilliant Friend was shot on sets in the southern Italian city of Caserta, many exterior shots from the first two seasons were filmed on location in Naples. Over the course of these first two seasons, the drama unfolds against an alluring backdrop of sprawling piazzas, bustling city streets, and a craggy island surrounded by turquoise water. (It premiered on Mathe season finale airs on HBO on May 4, 2020.) The subsequent season is based on the second book in Ferrante’s series, The Story of a New Name. The acclaimed TV show premiered on HBO in November 2018 with an eight-episode season adapted from the first novel of the series (from which the show takes its name). Based on Italian author Elena Ferrante’s beloved four-part series known as the Neopolitan Novels, the story reflects on the perils that two childhood friends face growing up in post-war Naples. Set largely in and around Naples, HBO’s critically acclaimed TV series My Brilliant Friend highlights the gritty, unpolished beauty of the Italian city.

My brilliant friend book series