Principal photography for "Miracle at St. Anna" lasted nine weeks, beginning in October 2007 and concluding in December of that year; filming took place in Italy, New York, Louisiana and The Bahamas. The film was the first by Lee to be shot in Europe, and the director insisted on shooting on locations where the story is set. Filming began in Tuscany, where the Tuscan regional government gave Lee permission to film where the actual events took place. According to producer Luigi Musini, "Miracle at St. Anna" was shot along the Gothic Line, which was the major line of defense in the final stages of World War II: "The location is highly representative of what the war was in Italy, what our resistance was. True dramatic episodes took place there.” The first ten days of filming took place on the Serchio River, covering the battle sequence that opens the film. A scene that recreates the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre was shot where the atrocity took place; the massacre—in which over 500 villagers were murdered by German occupation forces—is re-enacted in the film. Filming then took place in Rome for one month; in New York for four days; in White Castle, Louisiana for two days; and in The Bahamas for two days.