Living the Sweet Life: La Dolce Vita and the Eternal City

Rome is one of the world's true great cities. From the coliseum and the Roman Forum, to the Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel, anyone who visits the 'Eternal City' will be blown away by the magnificence and splendour of the Italian capital.

Indeed, little introduction should be needed as to Rome's position in history and its far-reaching influence from the north of England to the Middle East and beyond. The Roman Empire spread far and wide and a visit to the very heart of the empire is like a journey back in time.

Movie lovers too will know all about Rome. The Talented Mr Ripley, My Own Private Idaho and The Godfather Part III all had key scenes filmed in this splendid city. Furthermore, it may surprise many to learn that Martin Scorsese's classic 'Gangs of New York' was also largely filmed in Rome, in the Cinecitta Studios.

However, the classic and romantic side of Rome is perhaps best depicted in Federico Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita', which is Italian for 'The Sweet Life'.

The 1960 satire was set in the Italian capital and put the country's cinema firmly on the world movie map. The film's underlying theme centred on hedonistic excess and whilst it was critically acclaimed at the time, it was denounced by the Vatican for many of its graphic scenes and was subjected to widespread censorship ' it was completed banned in Spain until after Franco's death in 1975.

The supposed graphic scenes are perhaps tame by today's standards, but the film is widely considered as one of the great achievements in world cinema.

Fellini directed and co-scripted the movie and it was set against the backdrop of a country that had only recently emerged from fascism, the Second World War and the poverty that it had created. The catholic morality of the time was starting to be challenged by a glitzy affluence and this really comes to the fore in La Dolce Vita.

Many of the scenes were shot in the same studio that Gangs of New York was later filmed in, but perhaps one of the most famous scenes in history was set at one of the city's most beautiful landmarks.

The Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque era fountain in Rome, and is a true work of art. Even those not normally drawn to architecture or sculptures will be lost for words upon seeing the Trevi Fountain for the first time.

La Dolce Vita brought the fountain to international acclaim, with a scene featuring Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni wading in the water of the fountain. It is a scene that etched the fountain in movie lovers' minds the world over.

It also helped to romanticise the Italian capital and ensure that