t Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni in the Trevi Fountain in La Dolce Vita
Home of the Roman Empire and a major centre of the Renaissance, Rome has captured the imagination of many great writers and film makers. Trace the steps of some of the most famous films and books set in Rome.
t Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni in the Trevi Fountain in La Dolce Vita
A paparazzo, played by Marcello Mastroianni, looks for love among the decadent nightlife of Rome in this iconic Fellini film. In a famous scene, Anita Ekberg, playing a Swedish film star, takes a dip in the Trevi fountain.
Charles Dickens visited Rome in 1844–45, witnessing an execution, Carnival, an Easter ceremony in which the Pope washed the feet of 13 men and a fireworks display at Castel Sant’ Angelo. He published an account of his travels in Pictures from Italy in 1846.
Starring Audrey Hepburn as a princess and Gregory Peck as an American journalist, Roman Holiday gives a sight-seeing tour of Rome, featuring Vespa-riding and romantic scenes at the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.
In 1820 Keats rented a house with his friend Joseph Severn at the foot of the Spanish Steps, where he died of consumption the following year, aged only 25. His death inspired Shelley’s poem, Adonaïs. Visit the house where Keats lived, now a museum containing original letters and other mementoes, including those of fellow romantic poets, notably Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Lord Byron (1788–1824)
Byron’s experiences in Rome in 1817 were the inspiration for several episodes in his epic poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. The Tomb of Cecilia Metella inspired the line: “But who was she, the lady of the dead, Tomb’d in a palace?”
Edith Wharton (1862–1937)
Edith Wharton’s short story Roman Fever, published in 1934, is set in Rome. The Forum is described as the “accumulated wreckage of passion and splendour”, acting as a metaphor for the main characters.
Dan Brown (1964– )
In Dan Brown’s best-selling thriller Angels and Demons, published in 2000, a cardinal is murdered in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria and another is drowned in the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi.
Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)
Fellini’s surreal and ironic omage to his adopted city features a bizarre fashion show in the Vatican with outrageously dressed priests and nuns on the catwalk.
L’Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
Starring Monica Vitti and Alain Delon, this disturbing film about a doomed love affair opens with Vitti splitting up with her lover in the deserted streets of EUR.
The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
This film centres on a desperate father searching the markets of Rome for his stolen bicycle (without which he will be unable to work). Rubbish collectors give him a lift across the Tiber to Porta Portese.
Eat Pray Love (Ryan Murphy, 2010)
Julia Roberts plays author Elizabeth Gilbert, who comes to Rome to rediscover the joy of eating after the breakup of her marriage. She wanders through the city, indulg-ing in gastronomic delicacies.