In Rome, Using ‘Roman Holiday’ as a Guide

Been to Rome many times and never had my pocket picked. BUT, I also never carry my passport or much money or even many credit cards, just to be on the safe side.

AND we just got back from Rome a month and a half ago and they're working on the Spanish Steps, so they were a no go.

can’t believe she didn’t go to and feature the 'The Bocca de la Verita" (The Mouth of Truth) one of the best scenes in the movie !!! V

The Italians say. "One life is not enough to see Rome."Three days is for the tourist who runs into the Louvre and says,"Where's the Mona Lisa? I'm double-parked."
Rome is so densely packed with marvels that sometimes after you've seen them once, you can't find them again. There are interiors behind façades, then down the stairs to the crypt, and under that another church and below that, baths for a cult and then an underground river. And that's just one church. Then like the Palazzo Colonna, there are the elaborate schedules for rare viewing hours. Better to spend a month, or a year.

Ah, Roma. While full of art and cultural treasures, it was shocking as to how much graffiti there was (six years ago). Is it still as bad? I mean it looked to rival NYC in the 70s! And what was up with numerous Carabineiri with Uzis guarding one particular street the tour bus took us past?

There's so much more to Rome than what's in the film. One cannot leave Rome without seeing Piazza Navona, or the Trevi fountain just to name a few. A city as ancient as Rome should be experienced, not just seen. It's an amazing city. If you are fortunate enough to travel there, please savor every minute.

My friend and I, sometime in the late 1980's, were in Rome staying at a ten dollar a night nunnery set up for pilgrims. Most of our fellow travelers were Italians. One night on an Italian TV station, this film was shown, dubbed in Italian. Everyone gathered to watch the film together, and the Italians were just as mesmerized and delighted by the film as we were, and I still am.

And the Via Margutta--the lovely street on which Peck's apartment is located.

On my first visit to Rome in 1982, the one site I really wanted to find from this film was 'The Bocca de la Verita', (The Mouth of Truth). Arguably the most famous scene in the film, well, at least for me. I found it and was lucky enough to be the ONLY person around the site or in that quiet little space. Traveling by myself, I set up a tripod with my Video Recorder on it and filmed myself inserting my hand into the hole in the face on the wall. VCR's were very new then and I was unsure how it would turn out. Now all these years later I see a very young man, (myself), awkwardly speaking to the camera but reliving a scene from a favorite film. In the film it's extremely quiet (was the set reconstructed elsewhere?) because just outside the door is the extremely loud and busy Roman traffic. Anyway, I loved recreating the scene!

Did this onn a trip to Rome many years ago. Don't forget Via Marguto.

One of the best movies I've seen in my life... Who could top Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck?

The Rome of Roman Holiday is delightful. A couple of years ago, I took my sweetheart there, to fulfill her lifelong fantasy to relive the movie in her own shoes. Five minutes into the tour, she was robbed at the Spanish Steps, by a pickpocket who made off with her wallet, cash, passport and credit cards. The local police knew exactly who the culprit was, but were incompetent to help. We spent the next three days at U.S.Embassy, trying get her duplicate documents and enough cash to fly home. We were seated at the Embassy's waiting room next to an American professor who had been robbed at the Colosseum, and another couple who had been robbed at the Trevi fountain. They in turn told us stories about others that they had encountered, who been cleaned out at other tourist sites around town. Rome is a lovely but treacherous place - called "unlivable" by its current mayor - and caution is strongly advised, especially for the starry-eyed.

Oh, Audrey Hepburn! She was the most beautiful woman ever born.

For those visiting the San Francisco area, Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' is another great film to use as a travel guide.

The film is a delight, even today. It has aged well. However, this was not Miss Hepburn's first film role. She had a small part as a demimonde at the beginning of Lavender Hill Mob with Alec Guinness. She was, of course, magnificent. She never seemed to age and looked about the same in her last films as in this one.

Just got back from our second visit to Rome. Walked 11 miles in one day from sight to sight just to take selfies. Next visit will be for a month.

Thank you for the article.

When my wife and I visited Rome, we also went to the Mouh of Truth, where Gregory Peck mimed having his hand bitten off in one comedy scene.

Well, if you want a beautiful travelogue of Rome which was also a major motion picture, look no further than "Rome Adventure" with Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette. Yes, "Holiday" was the better story, but "Adventure" had road-trip scenery in Lombardy, was shot in color, and had Angie Dickinson playing the anti-Audrey. No contesto!

Roman Holiday is fantastic but my favorite movie that was set in Rome is The Belly of an Architect. This odd Peter Greenaway film is not everyone's taste but the dramatic music paired with the city is stunning. The film also offers an explanation as to why so many statues are missing noses. You're given a lesson on how fleeting life is when you learn how many Roman Emperors "died screaming."

Roman Holiday is one of my favorite movie of all time. Before I took my family to Italy this summer, we all watched it again, taking note of all the sights in Rome that we wanted to see. The kids had a blast sticking their hands into the Mouth of Truth (Audry Hepburn's reaction in that scene was absolutely priceless), but we were disappointed that the Spanish Step was under repair. Rome has changed quite a bit since Peck and Hepburn's magnificent romp and we couldn't find the wall where wishes come true. But the old staples-the forum, the Colosseum, remain eternal.

We were in Venice for 10 days in 2012 when my daughter confessed she craved a visit to Rome to recreate Roman Holiday. She planned a perfect day (the weather and transit options cooperated) and we visited Santa Maria in Cosmedin with 3 dozen Japanese tourists, the Colosseum, where we snapped photos of a radiant bride and groom, the Arch of Septimus Severus and much more in the Roman Forum, ending with my husband and I relaxing at the foot of the Spanish Steps, while our energetic daughter raced up for a quick photo. Such a fun day. I love the movie as well, and every time I watch, hope she turns at the end and runs into Joe's arms!

My husband and I have watched this movie together many times over our 25 years together.....wonderful, every time! We will have to go to Rome, undoubtedly. Thanks for this wonderful article. Amazing how many people have not seen this film.

Rome....what a delightful and magical place. My favorite city in the world. Can anyplace top it? I don't think so.

Two weeks too long, two years too short.

Via Margutta! There isn't a #51, but the street is just about as lovely as they come.

Peck, who could seem so wooden at times, is perfect for this film. She is so bubbly and lovely, and his stolidity melts away in her brightness. Love this movie.

"The largest amphitheater in the world "

The Colosseum was in fact the largest amphitheater in the world, in Roman times, but it wasn't the largest stadium in Rome. That was the Hippodrome which seated about 4 times as many people as the Colosseum.

The gladiatorial games which took place in the Colosseum were always a niche sport, just as blood sports are today. The real crowd was at the horse races. The Colosseum was called that because of the colossal statue of Nero that stood in the plaza, not because of the size of the stadium.

If you want to see the Hippodrome today, it is the Piazza Navona.

This rings very loud bells. I always loved this movie and am a sap for idealism and romance. So just before my first trip to Rome a couple of years ago I too had to watch it once more. We lived it then also, including lots and lots if walking, all those remarkable places and, wow tge wonderful people, too much great food and cappucino....and...the vespa on our last day! I don't think it could have been better with Peck and Hepburn along with us. We...maybe Hepburn.

So disappointing. All this running around and no mention of Santa Maria in Cosmedin? The entry porch to this lovely church contains a relief sculpture, called, by the Romans, the "Bocca della Verità". Bus loads of people pull up during the summer, so that tourists can pose for a photo with their hand in the mouth of the "Mouth of Truth", just as Gregory Peck did in front of a horrified Audrey Hepburn.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocca_della_Verità

I also took a cue when visiting Rome: I rented a scooter for five days. Hands down the best way to see the city up close and there was scooter parking everywhere.

This is fantastic! Just recently my husband and I returned from a trip to Turin (Torino), Italy. We were inspired to go after seeing the original Italian Job with Michael Caine.

I love to see films shot in Los Angeles, especially when the story is set in LA, but I don't visit the sites. My latest interest is Blaxploitation films shot in LA in the 70s. Fascinating.

Nice piece. I am a big fan of movie Roman Holiday, and I allowed it to influence the places we visited when we were in Rome. You covered most of the places shown in Roman Holiday except for one very important site --- Bocca Della Verita --- the cave of truth where Gregory Peck's character almost fooled Audrey Hepburn's character into thinking that his hand was bitten off in the mouth of the cave.