Sicily, Italy

In INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, the fifth film in the series about the archaeology professor's adventures, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) searches for a mechanism designed by the mathematician Archimedes. This dial can reveal fissures in time and may even be used for time travel. The story is largely set in 1969, against the backdrop of the first moon landing.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:40:09

Indiana Jones has since retired, but his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) persuades him to help her ensure that the ancient artefact does not fall into the hands of Dr. Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi who now works for NASA under the name Dr. Schmidt on the Apollo moon landing program. Filming began on 4 June 2021 at the British Pinewood Studios and ended there on 26 February 2022.

Besides in the studio, filming also took place on various locations in Great Britain, including London, Glasgow (seen in the film as New York), Glencoe and Bamburgh Castle.

Neapolis Parco Archeologico, Syracuse, 9 July 2025

In the autumn of 2021, filming took place in the Moroccan cities of Fez and Oujda, preceded by a shooting period in October at various sites and cities in Sicily. Between 4 July and 15 July 2025, we were on the Italian island where we visited several locations. I usually blog about one location, but this time I choose to write a blog post about different locations from one film, all of them in Sicily.

After escaping from Voller, Indiana and Helena, together with the young Moroccan boy Teddy Kumar (Ethann Isidore), travel by boat from Greece to Sicily in search of Archimedes' tomb. In the film, the map shows that they go ashore in Syracuse, the place where Archimedes was born and died in the third century BC.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:37:07

However, the scene that follows was filmed in Cefalù on the north coast of the island. In Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), named after the cathedral that also appears in the film, Teddy sits on the steps in front of the church while Helena buys sandwiches.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:37:10

Duomo, Cefalù, 14 July 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:37:29

Piazza del Duomo, Cefalù, 14 July 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:37:52

Piazza del Duomo, Cefalù, 14 July 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:38:18

Piazza del Duomo, Cefalù, 14 July 2025

A little later, she walks over to Indiana, who is buying supplies for their expedition. The shop is located on the same square, on the corner of Via Seminario and Via Mandralisca.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:38:41

Via Seminario, Cefalù, 14 July 2025

Teddy buys an ice cream and walks to the beach. He stands in Porto Pescare (Fishing Port) and looks out over the Molo di Cefalú (Cefalú Pier). A moment later, he sees Voller.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:39:16

Porto Pescare, Syracuse, 14 July 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:39:26

Porto Pescare, Syracuse, 14 July 2025

From Via Vittore Emanuele, Indiana sees Teddy being kidnapped by Voller and his henchmen. The streets of Cefalù were modified in detail to resemble an Italian town in the 1960s.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:39:41

Via Vittore Emanuele, Syracuse, 14 July 2025

The scene that follows, in which Indiana and Helena steal a car from a newlywed couple, was filmed in Castellammare del Golfo, west of Palermo on the other side of the island. We did not visit this village, but we did visit the next location: the temple of Segesta in the Parco Archeologico, located in north-western Sicily. This Doric-style sanctuary was built around 425 BC but was never completed. Indiana and Helena stop their car here but pay no attention to the temple; they walk staright to the cave where Archimedes' tomb is said to be located.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:40:52

Tempio di Segesta, 6 July 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:41:03

Tempio di Segesta, 6 July 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 1:41:04

Tempio di Segesta, 6 July 2025

The entrance to the cave is called Orecchio di Dionisio (Ear of Dionysius) in both the film and in real life. It is not located near the temple of Segesta but in the Neapolis Parco Archeologico in Syracuse. The painter Caravaggio came up with the name in 1586. It is not a natural cave but a limestone quarry that was excavated in Greco-Roman times to store water. The cave is 65 metres deep and there is no tomb. In the film, the cave appears much deeper, but these scenes were shot in the studio.