Five and a half miles southwest of Rome lies Cinecittà Studios (‘Studio City’ in Italian), a vast film production which rose to international prominence when Roberto Rossellini’s gritty 1945 drama, Rome Città Aperta (Rome, Open City), won critical acclaim both at home and abroad. Cinecittà’s proximity to Rome and all of its historical architecture, plus Italy’s favourable weather conditions, meant that Hollywood soon came calling.

Indeed, Time magazine christened Rome ‘Hollywood on the Tiber’ in 1950, kickstarting what is now known as Italy’s ‘La Dolce Vita’ period (named after Fellini’s film, another noted Cinecittà production), encapsulating the heady, glamorous excesses of the day.