Roman Holiday filming locations

ROMAN HOLIDAY LOCATIONS

On the verge of the high-budget peplum era (which had directed the eyes of the audience to the stories of the Roman Empire), a romantic story about a European princess became an international page-one movie for millions of movie enthusiasts worldwide. From the Shakespearean story of Romeo and Juliet, drowned in blood warfare between their families, to a dearhearted heiress of a throne and an American reporter. All we have now, seventy years past, is a wild guess of how much representatives of the past generations have visualized one’s trip to Italy over one’s desire to share a touch of the emotions between Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.  The travel topography of our well-loved characters along the streets of Rome comes over to grasp two dozen Roman holiday filming locations, all set within a central part of the ancient city, within walking distance from one another. Unlike the movies to come, including a pleiad of inspired newcomers, Roman Holiday does a fine job in steering a topographical note of Rome and favors the indeed sets of the given locations, yet attaching new predestination to some of them (such as the Embassy or American News Service Office).

 

PALAZZO BARBERINI—PRINCESS’ EMBASSY 

The movie comes to light with an event of rare significance for the admired citizens of Rome. A ceremonial march keeping the spirit of the ancient manifestations, taken by a royal family, placed on a high grandstone. In a cinematic pursuit to dramatize the importance of the day, the camera takes out VIP cars, which are leading one’s way through the incrusted gates of a building that can only be attributed as a palace. A few moments later, we could see both the privileged guests of the evening and the householders. A young princess Anne, subordinated in some measure to a family commitment as well as to a lack of choice, welcomes the numerous VIP guests in a dignified manner.  As late as a few hours later, Princess slips away from the Embassy in a way like a bird from a golden cage.

As far more than three centuries before the visit of the Roman holiday filming crew and their eternal gift of a luxurious VIP ball, the very location, close to the heart of Rome,  had been known as a vineyard of the famous Sforza family. After selling the territory to another moneyed family, historically recognized as the Barberini dynasty, and the inauguration of the household head with the highest title of the Roman Pope, the former open site was now accompanied by a luxurious palace, made as a distinct contrast to the biblical image of the followers of God. The subsequent three centuries witnessed the creation and constant accession of one of the most impressive collections of art, accumulated by the representatives of the Barberini family. As late as 1949, only four years before the filming of the Roman Holiday, the place was bought by the state of Italy. Notwithstanding the establishment of the museum, some rooms of the palace have been rented to the officers’ club of the Italian army for another half a century. Nowadays, the former residence of the Pope is allocated ‘Gallerie Nazionali d’Arte Antica’ with a collection, only 20% of which can be displayed within the halls of Palazzo Barberini. 

 

THE ROMAN FORUM

Once the cover of the Embassy and self-proclaimed golden prison with a pure palace look, Anna takes notice of a loving couple on a Vespa transport (motor bicycle). This scene would be later recreated mirror-wise with Joe. Her early enthusiasm is not being reversed with fear and a surprising desire not to be immune to sleeping pills. A few minutes from that scene, Joe, a character of Gregory Peck, is making his way along the streets of Rome on the scent of a card game with his friends. He gets around to a crossroads of two cozy streets: Via Del Tulliano and Villa Dell’Arco di Settimio, to gain sight of a young girl, taking a relaxing sleep in the foothills of ‘Arco di Settimio Severo’ (The Arch of Septimius Severus).

This Arch of Triumph of white marble was erected as far back as 203 A.D. to glorify the victory of Emperor Septimius Severus against the Middle-East Empire of that time. Princess Anne has subconsciously taken refuge at the foot of the monument, 23 meters high and 25 meters wide. Joe can’t leave a girl on the street at night and takes advantage of a taxi passing by, first to try to reveal the girl’s address, and then takes her to his apartment after comic and pointless efforts. The authentic street with both automobile and pedestrian movement, which had once passed along the Northern part of the Roman Forum, was only partially preserved, with restricted access for all comers. Currently, this part of the forum is closed to visitors, yet it is reachable with the zoom of your photo cameras in pursuit of gaining all the photos of the Roman Holiday locations. It is interesting to note that thirty-two years later, the famous Griswold family started their tour across Rome with the panorama over the Roman Forum just a few dozen meters from the spot where Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn were seated. 

 

VIA MARGUTTA 51—JOE’S APARTMENT

Upon a comedy dialogue with a taxi driver and a piece of semi-useful information on his family and trio of ‘bambinos’ (children), Joe finally announces his address in Rome as Via Margutta 51. This cozy street once found its place between two well-known Roman squares, which are Piazza Del Popolo and Piazza Di Spagna. A footpath across narrow courtyards indeed resembles the authentic atmosphere, which has been preserved even sixty years after the movie was made. It is easier than a challenge to trace the route of our characters, yet the apartment itself, as well as the staircases, were created as a studio set. Some picturesque terraces of the district give you a chance to be satisfied with panoramic panoramas over everlasting Rome, still without recognized landmarks such as the Coliseum, Roman Forum, and Spanish Steps. 

 

GALLERIA ALBERTO SORDI – AMERICAN NEWS SERVICE OFFICE

All while a beautiful stranger woman comes to life in Joe’s apartment, he makes his way to the office of the American New Service and his boss, Mr. Hennessy, in a bit to talk a lot of nonsense about his presence at yesterday’s dinner party at the Embassy. Similar to a scene within Joe’s apartment in Rome, the interior of the News office was no more than a studio set, including the outside look of the office window with ALL THE NEWS / ALL THE TIME inscription. On the other hand, a panorama from the window to the streets gives us a clear understanding of the location in Rome. We can notice Fontana di Piazza Colonna, a Roman fountain with a four-century history, which had once provided the citizens with clean water as a life-saving alternative to muddy water from the Tiber River. One of the shots also includes a perspective over the Colonna di Marco Aurelio, a column 40 meters high erected back in the II century to honor the victory of Marcus Aurelius. 

 

TREVI FOUNTAIN AND A BARBERSHOP

Our delighted princess, charmed with a city and her freedom, unveils herself walking along the streets of Rome. Anne is enveloped with the simplicity of a street life full of children under one’s feet, fish merchants, and watermelons of 10 kg. Now being accompanied by her new sandals, bought just on the street, Anne takes a turn from Via Del Lavatore street to be magnified by a famous Fontana Di Trevi, an architectural complex with more than two centuries of history, full of city legends, charming tourists traditions and bearded beliefs. Even considering the fact that back in 1953 the square was not so constantly crowded with tourists as nowadays, Joe succeeds in spying on a stranger girl without her notice. Anne makes a stop just in front of a barbershop with a respective BARBIERE sign. A mirror inside the improvised showcase as well as drawings of the hairstyles draw Anna’s attention and hand her over to the mastery of Mari Delani.  Present-day, almost seventy years after the Roman Holiday was filmed, the location accommodates a leather store with handbags and purses, now attracting new generations of girls and women. 

 

THE SPANISH STEPS

A few seconds after a change of scene, the camera follows Anne on her way along  Via Dei Condotti, a merchant street that opens the famous front panorama at Piazza Di Spagna, as well as the legendary Spanish Steps. The movie grants us the most breathtaking perspectives over the legendary Roman landmark, from Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio, a French church over the Spanish steps in Italian Rome, to Fontana Della Barcaccia, a recognized fountain, created with the talent of two representatives of the famous Bernini family. In the same way, as millions of tourists before and after the movie was filmed, Anne falls into a sweet temptation to taste the legendary GELATO ice cream, just at the foot of the Spanish steps. The princess takes her time on one of the stone platforms of the architectural complex, a place that is now forbidden for taking any food, including the famous Tiramisu. In a comic contrast, Anne leaves an empty waffle of her gelato right on the steps. A few moments later, Joe walks up to Anne, and this scene would later become one of the most recognized shots of the Roman Holiday movie. Six decades later, the filmmakers of U.N.C.L.E. included the Spanish Steps in their list of memorable Roman locations. 

 

ROCCA CAFE

After a friendly pact on the mutual walking leisure along the streets of Rome, the duo of our characters finds a stop location within one of the street cafes of Rome, just a few steps from the magnificent PANTHEON, a popular movie location (for example, known for ‘Angels & Demons‘). Roca Cafe once found its place on the VIA DELLA ROTONDA street, named after Santa Maria Rotonda, the Christian name of the church, once placed inside the ancient landmark. For no less than five centuries, the open site around the ancient temple had been a refuge for merchants and a pedestrian artery within the heart of Rome. Joe, Anne, and photographer Irving Radovich spend their daytime chatting a few meters from the columns of the Pantheon. They choose to order a glass of champagne and a cold coffee, and only a few minutes later, the Princess takes her first (and probably the last) cigarette in her life. Present day, Via Della Rotonda 25 accommodates a REPLAY fashion store.

 

COLISEUM

Irving fails to gain a clear answer to the upcoming destination of Joe and Anne, yet the scene is being passed into another one on the motorcycle. The movie duet passes the TEATRO MARCELLO, an ancient theater with a history of two thousand years, often misregarded as the Coliseum. This city landmark is located within easy distance of Piazza Venezia Square. The background panorama of the upcoming scenes includes a part of the Vittoriano (Vittorio Emanuele II Monument) far behind. Finally, another shift of the camera interspaces the shot with a magnificent Coliseum, a worldwide recognized landmark of Rome, a reminder of the once vanished glory of the Roman Empire. The scene takes Joe and Anne from behind, all while they are moving along Via Dei Fori Imperiali up to the legendary arena. A movie visit to the Coliseum turns out to be a source of some breathtaking panoramas with the best inner dimensions and angles of the arena, which had seats for 50,000 people. 

 

PIAZZA VENEZIA

Paying additional attention to the previous scene, our loving couple had already had the joy of seeing an astonishing panorama of the transport heart of Rome. Nevertheless, the upcoming sequence takes us behind the Joe-Anne pair, who make their way along the Via Del Corso, a street that had been used as a link in a transport chain between ancient Rome and the Adriatic coast as far back as the 3rd century A.D. The camera reveals an awe-inspiring panorama of the Piazza Venezia and the Vittoriano monument. This pompous background, in some sense, dominates the Vespa motorbike of our couple. The location was also used in U.N.C.L.E. 

 

POLICE STATION

As a result of a vertigo-inducing, if not to say a shattering ride along the streets of Rome, Joe and Anne find themselves within a local police station, no less than in the role of peace-breakers and trouble-makers for the citizens of the ancient city. A few seconds before a semi-infamous final, Capitol Hill has inflicted the scene of a Vespa chase.  Later on, the conflict is to be settled, and Joe, Anne, and Irving find themselves within an open terrace of the police station. This filming location could be easily found at the ‘Piazza Della Bocca Della Verità’ square. The background image of a site is to be determined by Tempio Di Portuno, an ancient temple of the 1st century B.C., later turned into a catholic church for centuries. Another effort of our attentiveness reveals a silhouette of the Foro Boarino (Forum Boarium), named after an old cattle merchant nearby. 

 

THE MOUTH OF TRUTH

Joe, Anne, and Irving resume their Rome walking to the south of the previously visited locations, next to the Forum Boarium. The trio of characters does a little more than a few dozen steps to reach the famous Bocca Della Verita, an antique marble plate of the 1st century A.D. The aureola of the face delivers an ancient presentation of the Triton, a son of Poseidon, in Greek mythology, as well as the Ocean, a later Roman analog to the godhood of the Hellas. Throughout the last three centuries, an antique artifact has been kept in this very place, against the wall of the Santa Maria Cosmedin catholic church. Since Anne is not ready to reveal her royal heritage to Joe, she finds a poor enthusiasm to probe an age-old superstition dealing with the possible amputation of a hand for the liars. However, Joe lightens the mood and takes the heat off the situation with a joke. Once you have decided to visit the famous landmark, you should take into consideration the fact that an early visit would probably face you with a bar since the site is to be open no earlier than 9.30 a.m.

 

ROMAN HOLIDAY THE WALL OF WISHES

Another Vespa ride is to be followed by a scene near a godlike wall with an underpart covered with inscriptions and plates with the wishes of people. Joe narrates a short story, which relegates the moment to the years of the Second World War, a period of humiliating defeat for Italy. This very location is distanced to the maximum extent according to other Roman holiday filming locations. This very section of the wall could be found along the Viale Del Policlinico street and these days represents only a preserved fragment of the ancient city wall of the 3rd century A.D., attributed as the ‘Aurelian Walls’. As for the tablets with the wishes, they were moved to be preserved within Santuario Del Amore church, 15 km from Rome, a few years after the Roman Holiday was created. 

 

SANT’ ANGELO

In the evening light, Joe and Anne use a horse ride to reach one of the most gorgeous panoramas of Rome, which is open for admiration from the bank of the Tiber towards the Ponte Sant’Angelo bridge as well as the Castel Sant’Angelo fortress. The night restaurant from the movie has found a place beneath two of the architectural icons of Rome, yet it is among the most visited places in the whole of Italy. A castle, alternatively known as the Mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, with its two-thousand-year history and a pedestrian bridge over the Tiber River, was once embellished with the statues of the apostles. This evening, peace and harmony for Joe and Anne are not destined to work out for long, and the men in black suits arrive to take the princess back home. The persistent mercenaries soon find themselves in the waters of the Tiber River and hands of the Roman police, as well as Joe and Anne find the way out. 

 

THE FINAL SCENE: PALAZZO COLONNA

Just a few hours after a free will coming back to the bosom of her family, Anne finally takes part in the postponed acquaintance with the press, delayed till things are expected to go better for the royal dynasty. The movie implies the idea that we are now back in the same building of the embassy, which has been depicted within the first scenes, while the story takes us to another palace, known as Palazzo Colonna, once erected on the ruins of the antique temple. The awe-inspiring palace was owned by the Colonna family for centuries and had been added to and renovated over the span of Roman history. It is the main gallery of the palace, attributed to Galleria Colonna, which accommodates the final scene of the movie. One of the most remarkable exchanges of views in movie history symbolizes the fact that Anne has listened to reason and duty, leaving her warm sentiments for Joe as sweet memories of her days in Rome.