It’s funny how two television series can be filmed in the same city, yet make it feel like two completely different places.
Both Blanca and Petra are set in Genoa.
The streets are the same.
The colourful buildings are the same.
The sea is the same.
But the city feels completely different depending on who is walking through it.
Blanca experiences Genoa with curiosity and joy. She dances through her flat, walks in the rain, stops for coffee, cooks dinner and seems to embrace the city with every sense she has. Even though she’s blind, she notices everything. Genoa feels warm, welcoming and full of life.
Petra, on the other hand, barely seems to notice the city around her.
She’s always walking to the next interview, the next crime scene or the next problem. Genoa becomes a workplace rather than a place to live. The beautiful harbour, the narrow alleys and the colourful houses almost disappear into the background because Petra never stops long enough to enjoy them.
Neither version is wrong.
They’re simply reflections of the people living in them.
Blanca has built a home in Genoa.
Petra is still passing through it.
I love that the same city can tell two completely different stories without changing a single street.