Mastroianni and Ekberg in the Trevi Fountain: surely THE definitive romantic image of Rome

Gore Vidal, who had a distinguished cameo in Fellini’s iconic Roma, once said that Rome is the city of illusion: “Not only by chance you have here the church, the government, the cinema. They each produce illusion.”

If we look at Europe’s memorable cities, Rome, with its 2000 years of history, has been the backdrop of choice for many a discerning director. This is no doubt due in part to the city’s propensity to go beyond being a mere picturesque setting, and instead, often play a role as prominent as any of  the actors. Many of the city’s best known landmarks have become veritable movie stars, from the Pantheon to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Coliseum, to less recognisable side streets and alleyways.

It’s hard to pick the most famous or popular movie made in Rome. In 1960 Italian director Federico Fellini produced La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life). La Dolce Vita is remembered for its iconic image of Anita Ekberg standing in the Trevi Fountain, but the movie is actually about the mad, money-driven, attack-dog mentality of the paparazzi and the soulless journalists they work with. Fellini’s presentation of 1960′s Italian society is as unique as it is genuine – a society that no longer believes in its traditional values. The main hero is a journalist (Marcello Mastroianni) who zigzags through life, encountering the fascinating world of glamour that defined Rome at the time. After the film premiered, Rino Barillari, the King of Paparazzi who lived and worked in Rome at that time spoke up: “La Dolce vita is impossible to see or touch—it’s a way of life.” The film was shot almost entirely in a Cinecitta creation of Rome’s Via Veneto which remains to this day one of the most chic areas in Rome for seeing and being seen.

Another excellent film portraying Rome is The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Bicicette) from 1948. Vittorio De Sica won his second Oscar for this picture which mirrored everything that was wrong in war-ravaged Italy. Using non-professional actors and colourful details, the film is a true-to-life portrait of post-war Rome and its citizens as they look desperately for work.

The protagonist, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), is struggling to find steady employment and feed his family. When he finally manages to find work he is forced to gamble everything he owns to pawn a bike which is required for the job. As hinted in the title, his bike is stolen from him on his first day. Ricci and his little son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) go on a wild chase around Rome in order to find the bike. De Sica builds up a slow, inevitable gripping mood, leading to a climactic finale. One of the classics scenes was shot on Lungotevere Ripa, in the largest Roman Porta Portese flea market when father and son are on the point of getting their bicycle back. But the thief escapes again and after an unsuccessful chase along the Lungotevere Bruno and Ricci are left in despair.

Roman Holiday's eternally iconic bicycle scene

We can’t always assume that the Rome in the movies is an accurate representation of the real city. William Wyler’s Roman Holiday (Vacanze Romane), filmed in 1953 presents a vision of Rome as it no longer is – so idealised, in fact, that it maybe never was. This light-hearted film is a variation on the Cinderella tale.  The Princess (Audrey Hepburn) slips out of the palace at night to escape from her boring official duties. The hero, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) is a cynical American journalist who reports on the Princess’ escape. While writing up the scandalous gossip that could help save his career, he is (somewhat predictably) forced to question his feelings for Hepburn’s character.

Two remarkable scenes stand out: the first is where the two heroes tour the city on a Vespa motorcycle and the second features the Campidoglio, near the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. A well-known sculptured monumental stone representing a fluvial divinity with wide-open mouth is called La bocca della verità (The Mouth of the Truth). Here Joe tells Anna the legend according to which, in Roman times, anyone lying while sticking his hand in that mouth would be bitten by it. Audrey Hepburn, though a beginner as an actress, is already unforgettable in this role, which in fact garnered her an Oscar.

Moving on to more recent triumphs, 1999 brought us Anthony Mingella’s take on The Talented Mr. Ripley. The hero, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) has been charged by an American millionaire with the task of convincing the millionaire’s son Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) to return to the States. But Tom is fascinated by the lifestyle of the boy and becomes more than a little drawn to Dickie. In the centre of Piazza Mattei stands the picturesque Turtle Fountain (Fontana delle Tartarughe). Here we find Tom Ripley settling down in Rome, after murdering his friend Dickie in a boat off the coast of Sanremo. Tom tries to conceal the murder he committed by taking the identity of his friend. This way, he also manages to receive Dickie’s huge income and can afford one of the finest apartments Rome can offer. The film offers a vision of life for American expats in 1950s Italy and enthrals its viewers with its gorgeous scenery as much as it does with the intrigue.

It is both ironic and apt to conclude this article with the most well-known and expensive film about Rome, that was not filmed in Rome at all. In 2000, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was released, a film that claimed five Oscars.

Gladiator is famous for its amazing scenes recorded in the Rome’s Colosseum for which a full-scale replica was built over several months in Malta costing an estimated $1 million. The Colosseum is of course one of Rome’s wealthiest landmarks that draws tourists from all over the globe. Gladiator is a historical action-drama starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Crowe portrays the loyal General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when the Emperor’s ambitious son Commodus (Phoenix) murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge murder of his family by his Emperor.

Gladiator: Rome as it was, or was it?

Gladiator was both critically-acclaimed and commercially successful, but, like most films based in antiquity, was criticised by historians for its abundant inaccuracies. Nonetheless, it is considered a classic among many, because of its epic nature, beautiful setting, vivid battles, and refined direction. Although the topography, views and ground plan of ancient city-centre are entirely fictionalised, Scott gives us the city of Rome in all its glory, and the Colosseum is accurately portrayed as the stadium for the Roman people.

Also Watch:

●        Accattone – Pier Paolo Pasolini’s gritty, realistic portrait of Vittorio Accattone, a pimp living in Rome’s impoverished suburbs in 1960s Italy. Accattone was Pasolini’s first film and provides an engaging character study and overview of post-war Italian society.

●        Bellissima – Luchino Visconti’s 1951 film centres on screen legend Anna Magnani and her touching, comic performance is dazzling. In Bellissima, Magnani plays a working-class Roman mother fascinated by the movies and determined to have her young daughter enter the world of the cinema.

●        Romanzo Criminale – Set in the murky criminal underworld of 1960s Rome, Michele Placido’s Romanzo Criminale is a slick, modern film with stunning cinematography and engaging performances.

●        Roma, Città Aperta – Roberto Rossellini’s neorealist masterpiece set during the German occupation of Italy in World War Two. Roma, Città Aperta is a powerful, ground-breaking work that changed Italian cinema.

●        L’Ultimo Bacio – An easy-watching Italian romcom, Gabriele Muccino’s L’Ultimo Bacio travels through the streets of Rome and the lives of its beautiful people.