10 Famous Movie Locations in Rome

The Spanish Steps with its 138 stairs is the longest and widest stairway in Europe. It’s made famous in the movies, appearing several times in the award-winning The Talented Mr. Ripley. It is here that Tom Ripley encountered the wealthy heiress and introduced himself as another person, and where his troubles started.

The iconic, butterfly-shaped, 18^th-century Spanish Steps was also featured in other movies. In Roman Vacation, the main characters met when Audrey Hepburn’s princess character was eating ice cream while sitting on the steps. The Spanish Steps was also a meeting spot for Hayley and Michelangelo in Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love.

The splendid Trevi Fountain has starred in movies several times. It’s known as one of the most beautiful baroque fountains in the world. It was in the fountain that Sylvia and Marcello splashed around in La Dolce Vita. So iconic was this scene in the movie that it brought the fountain even more fame.

The fountain was featured in the old and famous The Roman Vacation and Three Coins in the Fountain. It’s also where Lizzie and Gordo made wishes in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. You too can throw your coins and make a wish. Interesting fact: all coins tossed into the fountain go to a charity.

The Roman Vacation, starring Audrey Hepburn, turned the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) into a world-famous attraction. This ancient marble mask stands outside the basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin. Medieval legend says that the Mouth of Truth will bite and swallow the hand of any liar who slipped theirs into the stone orifice.

This was the story that the main male character, Gregory Peck, told Hepburn’s character in the classic flick. It was one of the major scenes in the movie since both characters were not initially honest with each other. It’s also commonly thought that the famous actress was pranked by Peck who pretended his hand gotten ‘chewed off’, pulling out a ‘stump’ after hiding his hand in the sleeve of his jacket.

The Plazza Navona is one of the most beautiful squares in Rome. It is the place to find great examples of Baroque architecture, like the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers. This is also the place to find the bench in front of the Sant’Agnese in Agone church.

It was on this bench that the heroine of Eat, Pray, Love was sitting and eating an ice cream.  Why not try the Italian gelato like Julia Roberts? Take a seat and contemplate the urban masterpieces in the historic center of the eternal city!

Piazza di Pietra is a lovely small square known for the old remains of Hadrian’s Temple with its 11 columns. The place was featured in Michelangelo Antonioni’s romantic flick, The Eclipse. Here, a melancholic and pretty Vittoria, played by Monica Vitti, takes a walk after breaking up with her boyfriend when she met Piero, played by Alain Delon, with whom she then fell in love.

You can relive the romance and truly appreciate the square in the evening. Sit at one of the bars and enjoy a light and audio show projected on the impressive columns of the temple, representing its long history.

Piazza Della Rotonda is famous for the Pantheon, a Roman temple that has stood tall to its south since antiquity. One of the most preserved monuments of Ancient Rome, the plaza was featured in Steven Soderbergh’s witty heist movie, Ocean’s Twelve.

This is the place where Rusty (Brad Pitt) and Isabel (Catherine Zeta-Jones) first met. They both were sitting at a cafe just in front of the Pantheon, and she recognized him because he was being chased by the police. Don’t hesitate to take a glass of wine or coffee in one of the cafes close to the Pantheon. 

The Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo (Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo) is a small church with a beautiful exterior and amazingly decorated interiors. You can recognize it in a scene from Angels and Demons when Robert Langdon and Vittoria go to the square to look for the cardinals, and they find their first clue and the first dead cardinal.

The crypt of the church was recreated in a studio because the basilica was inaccessible to the filmmakers. Unlike the actors, you can visit the real church and contemplate the works of famous artists such as Raphael, Caravaggio, and Bernini.

Cinecittà Studios is the largest movie factory in Europe, often referred to as “Hollywood on the Tiber”. Since 1937, the studio has produced over 3,000 movies, including at least 51 award-winning ones. Among the famous productions are La Dolce Vita (1960), Cleopatra (1963), The English Patient (1996), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Passion of the Christ (2004).

The studios have opened their doors to visitors since 2011. You’ll discover the amazing outdoor sets, historic buildings, and various themed exhibitions inside. You can easily spend an entire day here learning more about past masterpieces as well as the more modern productions. Note that individual and family visits must be booked in advance.

Pigneto is a trendy part of Rome, popular among young locals. There are chill-out open-air bars and upscale restaurants. However, it was not always like that. Far from ancient ruins, Pigneto used to be a miserable slum. It was here that Pasolini filmed Accatone, a drama telling the tale of impoverished post-war Italians.

The movie features the Bar Necci where Accatone met Stella, a girl that he tried to turn into a prostitute. The topic of the movie was scandalous at that time. You can learn more about it at Bar Necci which still sells photographs and books of Pasolini who lived above the bar during the movie’s filming.

Fontana dell'Acqua Paola is featured in the opening scene of Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning drama/comedy, La Grande Bellezza. The ornate white fountain with pink stone columns is situated on Rome’s tallest hill. It was built in 1612 to mark the restoration of the 2^nd-century aqueduct supplying water from a lake 35 km north of Rome.

La Grande Bellezza starts with a scene when an Asian tourist dies in front of this glorious fountain, probably overwhelmed by the power of its beauty. ‘Breathtaking’ indeed, the fountain is one of the most evocative places in Rome and a great spot to have a glance over Rome, especially in the evening when the city is lit up.