Rome's legendary Cinecittà is only a subway ride away from the city centre.
John and I bought entry to both the front and back lots.
The front lot has three museums of Cinecittà history and film-making.
These are costumes from Fellini's movies -- on the right Anita Ekberg's gown and coat from the Trevi Fountain sequence in La Dolce Vita.
In the middle of the main courtyard sits the mysterious head that rises from the Venetian canal in Fellini's Casanova.
But the backlot is where things got interesting! Here's Studio Number Five the biggest sound stage on the lot and where Fellini filmed Juliet of the Spirits among many other movies. He even had a bedroom in the building.
Up a short street we entered the set for HBO's ROME TV series.
The magic of the movie world -- scaffolding holds the fabricated buildings in place.
We had expected the back lot to be a busy, touristy place but we had a nice group of about 25 people on our English-language tour.
We had the freedom to wander around
and find our own perspectives on the evocative space.
I liked this street with insulae and shops
and this palace next to a frescoed wall.
John wandered down this colonnade.
We left the set and passed a warehouse barn from Gangs of New York (top left)
as we entered into a set representing ancient Jerusalem.
It's easy to forget that the exotic marble facade is actually made of thin, moulded fibreglass.
Another temple mixing architectural elements from several Middle Eastern kingdoms and periods.
Off we trod again, this time into a Medieval set
again mixing different cultural and period elements.
The cathedral and bell tower are the focus of the set just as they would be in a real town.
Great faux stone and wood architecture. What fun to see it up close!
Last stop on the tour was "The Swimming Pool," a large tank backed by a huge concrete wall. Sea scenes were shot here with the wall used as a "blue screen" for adding background later.
Cinecittà is easy to get to and fun. Allow half a day.
