MUSEYON GUIDES » Italy

Spotlight On…Cinecittà Studios

Kellas — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:40:34 +0000

Not often does something started by a horrible dictator result in years of prosperity and art but Cinecittà Studios is that exception. Opened in April of 1937 by Mussolini in order to promote Italy and fascism with the slogan “Il cinema è l’arma più forte” (Cinema is the most powerful weapon), Cinecittà Studio is now the largest production studio in continental Europe. Located in south-east Rome, “the studio was designed as a complete center of production, with facilities covering everything from training, through the production of films, to post-production.”

During World War II, Cinecittà saw heavy bombing from the Allies and was evacuated but after the war ended, the 1950s heralded in the studio’s heyday with American production companies finding the facility a cheap place to shoot. Films such as Ben Hur, Cleopatra, Roman Holiday and Three Coins were shot there and it became the home base for Federico Fellini where he made La dolce vita and Satyricon.

Today Cinecittà continues to be a bustling studio, recently hosting the films The Gangs of New York and the HBO series Rome. Of Cinecittà and filming there, Martin Scorsese said “I’ve always felt that Cinecittà has a special magic because of all the great films that have been made there. For the many years that I had been thinking about GANGS OF NEW YORK, I always imagined it would be created with an aspect of the Italian artistry that I saw and experienced in Italian films when I was growing up.”

“The studio is closed to the public, although it occasionally opens for tours. There are plans to open a full studio tour, along with a theme park called Cinecittà World, at some point in the near future.”

Cinecittà Studios
Via Tuscolana 1055, 00173 Roma – Italia

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Location Violation: Man Takes A Dangerous Dive Into The Trevi Fountain

Gabriel — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:07:11 +0000

Not only is Rome’s Trevi Fountain the most famous “water effect” in the whole world, a genuine national treasure, and the catch basin for over €3,000 in coins thrown by thousands of well wishers every day, but it’s also one of the city’s best-known film locations. Indeed, the scene when Anita Ekberg wades into the fountain in Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” has become so iconic that it was the cover of our “FILM + TRAVEL: Europe” guidebook to the best and most famous locations on the continent. But one man seems to have taken his love for the Trevi too far.

As seen here on a clip found by our friends over at Matador, a young fellow entertained bystanders with an improvised aquatic routine in the fountain which included splashing, yelling and repeated dives into its three-foot-deep tub. Drunk, insane, stupid, inspired—we have no clue what the state of mind of this bare-chested aquaman might have been. All we know is that Marcello Mastroianni didn’t get the girl by flopping around like Flipper while he waited for the polizia, and neither should you.

For the inside skinny on movie location from Rome to Roppongi, grab a volume from our FILM + TRAVEL series.

Disaster Movie

Heather C — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:39:25 +0000

Yesterday we had a good laugh at the expense of the cast of ‘2012.’ But a look at the film’s official trailer got us thinking … is no landmark safe from Hollywood effects people? Can you spot the ones that get destroyed in ‘2012′? Let’s find them…after the jump.

From the ruins of the Statue of Liberty in ‘Planet of the Apes‘ to spaceships over the White House in ‘Independence Day,’ Hollywood sure loves some good old-fashioned disaster porn. And the latest disaster blockbuster to hit theaters, ‘2012,’ is no exception — it was even made by the people behind ‘Independence Day’.

The end-times smorgasbord of explosions and earthquakes plays off the popular paranoia surrounding the Mayan calendar, which ends on December 21, 2012. So expect this film to be filled with enough death and destruction to make Nostradamus turn in his grave. From Times Square to The Mayan temples themselves, here are some of the landmarks that won’t make it to 2013. Try to see them all, before it’s too late…

Mayan Temples, Chichén-Itzá, Mexico (see photo above)
The trailer opens with — what else? — an eerie glamour of the Mayan temples at Chichén-Itzá, located about 75 miles from Merida on the Yucatán Peninsula. The 1,500-year-old temples are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and a popular tourist destination. To get there travel to Mexico’s Cancun International Airport. The site is near a main highway, but hire a guide for a full immersion into the site and its history. We recommend Chicen Services, a provider of eco-friendly cultural tours. Group rates start at $80 (for four people).

Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Brazil’s second largest city just got the news that it’ll be hosting the Olympics in 2016, but according to this trailer, its most famous landmark won’t be around that long. To visit the 130-foot-tall art deco statute, yet another of the New Seven Wonders of the World, take the Orange subway line to Largo do Machado in the Laranjeiras neighborhood, where you can connect on a bus to Corcovado. The hike up hundreds of steps is worth it — there you’ll not only find the statue, but incredible views of the city.

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Mecca, Saudi Arabia
A crumbling statue of Jesus isn’t the only religious symbol invoked in the trailer. It also features news coverage of people gathered around the Kaaba, the most sacred site in all of Islam, and the final stop on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The site is only open to Muslims, and in fact, every Muslim is required by the Koran to visit the site at least once. The most common way to reach the Sacred Mosque is through Jeddah, either fly in to the Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport, or drive in. To make sure you can get in, obtain special paperwork through the Ministry of Hajj.

St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican

St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
In the film, even the Pope isn’t safe from the end of the world. Shortly after shots of a mass at St. Peter’s, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, the basilica’s dome is seen crashing down. Along with it? The Apostolic Palace and Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam,’ the famous painting from the Sistine Chapel. Talk about symbolism… For travel tips, see our guide to Rome and the Vatican.

Washington Monument, Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C.
So if religion can’t save you, can the government? ‘2012′ answers that question with a resounding N-O. The Washington Monument looks like a toothpick as it’s broken in the chaos and a final ironic twist of fate, the White House gets toppled by a massive Navy Vessel — the USS John F. Kennedy. To see these sites head to the National Mall, home to the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and pretty much every other American symbol associated with D.C. Luckily for travelers, they’re all laid out together and easily accessible by the city’s Metro. Looking for a place to start? Try the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

10 Downing Street, London

Downing Street, London
The UK government doesn’t fare any better. The trailer’s news footage show rioting crowds at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister. If you decide to say “allo” to the PM on your next visit to London try to avoid the Bobbies.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

The Eiffel Tower, Paris
It turns out ‘Paris is Burning’ is more than just the quintessential vogueing movie–in this trailer at least. The Eiffel Tower, 19th-century ode to the Industrial Revolution, is the last thing standing in the flaming French city. Until it’s clipped by a plane, that is. See it for yourself on the Champs de Mars in the posh 7th arrondissement.

Times Square, New York City

Times Square, New York
Those who lament the fact that Times Square is all cleaned up can breathe a sigh of relief. The apocalypse is about to make it very dirty again. You’ll find the epicenter of New York’s most popular tourist trap at the intersections of 42nd Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue. That’s also where you’ll find discounted theater tickets and a brand-new pedestrian plaza. The Times Square experience can be overwhelming, even for veteran New Yorkers, but that’s the best part about it. To get there hop on just about any subway line — the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R and W lines all stop there; and the A, C, E, B, D, F and V lines are are close by.

Add in the generic shots of LA and what appears to be India and Tibet, and you’ve got a whole lotta destruction goin on. Can you see anything we missed?

images: Tarzan!!!/Flickr; Roberto/Flickr; Elias Pirasteh/Flickr; iStock; iStock; iStock, iStock, iStock

‘Angels’ in Italy

Heather C — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:12:35 +0000

Despite the success of ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ and maybe in part because of it, this summer’s smash hit ‘Angels and Demons‘ didn’t have an easy ride to the cineplex. The 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike meant on-location filming was limited to a 3-week Roman blitz. Not only that, but the Pope’s people, unhappy with ‘Da Vinci,’ put the kibosh on any plans to film scenes at the Vatican. Find out they got it done, after the jump, and how you can go on location, after the jump…

‘Angels’ is the action-packed adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel by the same name. When a terrorist plot against the Vatican is uncovered, Tom Hank’s Dr. Robert Langdon is back to uncover the secrets hidden in the symbols, and spend a lot of time running through Rome’s most popular tourist attractions.

When the Holy See refused to let film crews shoot on the grounds of any Catholic church, director Ron Howard headed to Caserta Palace, just north of Naples, the same place that played the Vatican in ‘Mission Impossible III‘. The Vatican library was played by the Biblioteca Angelica, a library in the Piazza Sant’Agostino, not far from the famed Piazza Navona, which can also be seen in the film (you’ll spot it when you see Bernini’s Baroque masterpiece the Four Rivers fountain). The city’s grounds were recreated to scale in Los Angeles. Though the real deal didn’t make the film, any trip to Rome is not complete with a trip to the world’s smallest sovereign (recognized) nation. The other locations in the film are a montage of phoney baloney backlot magic, including life-sized a replica of the St. Peter’s Basilica and tons of greenscreen action. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to see the real thing.

Caserta Palace

St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square: The largest, and most spectacular church in all of Christianity, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s also a shrine to Italian artistic achievement. The current building was designed by a a who’s who of famous architects — including Michelangelo, who designed the dome — and built over the course of 100 years. The inside is a jewelbox, crusted with paintings and sculpture from master artists, including Bernini’s glittering Cathedra, or Throne of St. Peter, and Michelangelo’s touching depection of the Virgin Mary cradling her dead son, ’The Pieta‘. It’s free to visit, but be sure to cover up — there’s a strict dress code that forbids shorts and miniskirts as well as bare shoulders and knees.

Sistine Chapel: It’s one of the most famous churches in the world, and there’s no wonder why — the Sistine Chapel features Michelangelo’s famous ceiling, as well works by such masters as Bernini, Raphael and Botticelli. It’s located on St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in the Apostolic Palace; the pope’s house. You’ll be surprised to find the chapel looks even better than it does in the film. That’s because Ron Howard chose to recreate the chapel as it was before restoration, to help gloss over any factual inconsistencies.

Michelangelo's fresco "The Last Judgement" at the Sistine Chapel

Santa Maria del Popolo: Our Lady of the People (or Our Lady of the Poplars, depending on who you ask) is home to the Cerasi Chapel, one of the most lavishly decorated in Rome. There you’ll find a pair of paintings by the Baroque master Caravaggio, as well as an altarpiece by his contemporary (and rival) Annibale Carracci. Piazza del Popolo 12.

Santa Maria della Vittoria: This small church is home to one of the greatest artistic achievements of the Baroque era — Gianlorenzo Bernini’s explosive sculpture “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa”. Don’t use the movie for directions to this stop on your tour — it’s located at Via XX Settembre 17, not Piazza Barberini like the film.

The Pantheon: This ancient Roman temple gives props to all the gods, so you know there’s a lot of good stuff going on here. In fact, the second-century structure wowed even the great Michelangelo. What it’s most famous for is its massive dome — we’re talking more than 125 feet high — with its oculus, the round skylight named for the Latin word for eye, that is the temple’s only source of light. Now, the Pantheon is a Roman Catholic church, called Santa Maria ad Martyres. You’ll find it at Piazza della Rotonda 12.

To find out more about Italy, including info on ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ pick up Museyon’s guide to Film+Travel, where Liz Brown is your guide.

images: Caserta Palace, iStock; Sistine Chapel, bryangeek/Flickr

Where in the World?

Heather C — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:54:04 +0000

Bright sun, sea and the promise of general leisure draw tourists to this European isle. Film directors — including two in the 1990s — have also discovered its charms. Can you name this telegenic town and the films in which it stars? Answers after the jump…

A: Procida, star of ‘Il Postino,’ (1994) and ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ (1999).

Just off the western coast of Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the volcanic isle of Procida and its neighbor Ischia transformed into the picture-perfect — and 100% fictional — village Mongibello, where Tom Ripley first tracks down Dickie Greenleaf in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley.’ It’s also the place where exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda gets his mail in Michael Radford’s ’Il Postino.’

After mailing a postcard of your own, retire to Bar La Taverna del Postino, the place where Mario Ruoppolo romances barmaid Beatrice. You’ll find it in the town of Marina di Corricella on the island’s northern coast. Want to find the beaches from the film — just find a local and ask for “Postino beach.”

To find out more about Procida and its love affair with film visit Procida.net.

All photos © Akira Chiba

Street Walking: Italy

Heather C — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:37:26 +0000

Rome wasn’t built in a day and it’s impossible to try to see it in as much, says Museyon Guide Liz Brown. Follow her as she tours Italy—from the famous sites of Rome (including at stop at Cinecittà Studios) and Florence to the less-visited seaside towns of Ischia and Procida, and wind up in Sicily where you’ll learn why The Godfather wasn’t filmed in Corleone.

About Your Guide: Liz Brown has written about movies and movie stars for publications such as Bookforum, the London Review of Books, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Book Review.

photo: iStock