Pope Joan Filming Locations: Morocco's Ouarzazate Sets

Some films build ancient Rome on a soundstage; Pope Joan built it in the Sahara. The Pope Joan filming locations are centred on Ouarzazate, Morocco, where the production recreated the city’s streets at Atlas Studios instead of filming in Rome itself. Producer Oliver Berben said the desert town came closest to the team’s idea of a Rome in decline — shabby, sun-baked and convincing on camera.

In this guide, we break down where Pope Joan was filmed, why Morocco stood in for ancient Rome, and how to visit the Ouarzazate sets on a private trip.

Ouarzazate and Atlas Studios: Rome in Morocco

The documented heart of the Moroccan shoot is Ouarzazate, the desert gateway known as the Hollywood of Africa. For this production — titled Die Päpstin in German — the Roman exteriors point to the Ouarzazate film studios, specifically the Atlas Corporation Studios, or Atlas Film Studios, on the town’s north-western edge.

This is the long-established backlot that also hosted Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. Its earthen facades and open desert staging were already familiar to the production team.

What the production found in Ouarzazate:

• Atlas Studios backlot: A long-established desert studio with dressed facades and open staging space.
• Reliable desert light: Clear skies and warm tones that read as the ancient Mediterranean on camera.
• Skilled local crews: Set builders experienced in dressing large period exteriors.

Producer Oliver Berben explained that filming in Rome was considered and then rejected. The real city could not match their vision of a decaying medieval capital.

The Desert and Kasbah Landscape of Ouarzazate

Pope Joan Morocco is more than a single backlot. Around Ouarzazate, earthen kasbahs, palm oases and rocky desert form the wider film country that makes the region so convincing on screen. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait Benhaddou lies about thirty minutes away, its pisé towers a familiar sight in desert productions.

No source confirms a specific Ait Benhaddou or desert-camp scene for Pope Joan, so treat these as the region that shaped the film rather than verified sets. What is certain is the landscape itself: the same light, earth and horizons that drew the crew here.

Taourirt Kasbah sits right in town, a restored earthen fortress tied to the powerful Glaoui family. The Ounila Valley adds palm corridors and Berber villages, while the Atlas foothills frame long horizons that fill wide desert shots. Both are easy to fold into a single unhurried day.

How Morocco Recreated Ancient Rome on Screen

Rebuilding ancient Rome in the Sahara sounds unlikely, yet the region’s materials made it work. Morocco’s earthen architecture, dry light and empty horizons let designers raise Roman-era streets that could be controlled for weather, light and action. They built reusable facades, then aged them with local earth and pigment.

Why Morocco doubled for Rome:

• Buildable terrain: Open desert ground for constructing reusable streets and facades.
• Controllable light: Consistent sun for shooting long exterior sequences.
• Experienced infrastructure: Workshops, storage and crew on site year-round.
• Proven crews: Teams who have dressed sets for decades of international shoots.

This follows a long Moroccan tradition. The country’s studios have doubled for ancient cities, desert kingdoms and distant capitals for decades, and local crews know how to age a new set until it looks centuries old.

The Other Pope Joan Locations: Germany

Morocco handled the Roman exteriors, but part of the Die Päpstin filming locations sits in Germany. The production shot at Burg Querfurt, the cloister of Landesschule Pforta and the church of St. Cyriakus at Gernrode, with Schmidtheim in the Eifel standing in for Joan’s childhood village. Burg Querfurt provided Count Gerold’s castle, while the Pforta cloister and Gernrode church supplied monastic interiors. Claims about other European locations are not supported by reliable sources, so we leave them out.

Plan a Pope Joan Film-Location Trip in Morocco

Base in Ouarzazate and the film story sits within a short drive. You can tour the Atlas Studios backlot in the morning, then spend the afternoon among kasbahs and palm valleys. A private vehicle and driver handle the logistics so you can follow the light and linger where the shots were framed.

How to plan the visit:

• Start with Atlas Studios: Join a guided backlot tour and ask which facades served period productions.
• Add Ait Benhaddou: Around thirty minutes away, best seen in early morning or late afternoon light.
• Go private: A driver-guide handles gates, parking and timing while you explore.

For a route built around the region’s cinematic landmarks, our 4-Day Guided Morocco Tour: Ouarzazate to Marrakech links the studios, kasbahs and High Atlas crossings. If you want more desert, the 4-Day Morocco Desert Tour from Ouarzazate adds dunes, gorges and oasis valleys.

We can customize a tour to match your needs — design your perfect itinerary