RomaMCMLXVia Veneto, after midnight
In the basin: Ekberg and Mastroianni, 1960.
Fellini’s film gave the world the word paparazzo. Shoot back, then go and stand where they stood.
Paparazzo’s contact sheet · 13 frames
The word paparazzo comes from the film: it was the surname of one of its photographers, and became the word for any photographer who catches the famous off guard. Tazio Secchiaroli, the first real paparazzo, was Fellini’s friend and inspired some of the scenes. Fire the flash to expose the next frame, in film order, then circle the one you want.
Frame 1 of 13 circled: The Claudian Aqueduct. 1 exposed.
019.3 km from Via Veneto.
Parco degli Acquedotti, Via Lemonia 256
A helicopter carries a statue of Christ over the Claudian Aqueduct.
The film opens with a helicopter flying over the Claudian Aqueduct, a statue of Christ hanging beneath it.
The park covers about 240 hectares between Via Appia and Via Tuscolana. Seven aqueducts cross it, and one, the Acquedotto Felice, still carries water.
A public park, open from dawn to dusk. Enter from Via Lemonia or Viale Appio Claudio.
Via Vittorio Veneto 125
A five-star hotel on Via Veneto with 281 rooms and 35 suites. The largest, Villa La Cupola, is on two floors with a view over the city. Not a filming location.
Check roomsRome
Live marketplace results for Dolce Vita walks and drives in Rome. Check each itinerary; none is run by the film’s makers.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursThe first shot · rotor blades over the arches
The film opens with a helicopter flying over the Claudian Aqueduct, a statue of Christ hanging beneath it. Take it on from the arches to the dome Sylvia climbs: 11 km as the crow flies, over the places of the film.
Over The Claudian Aqueduct · 11 km to the dome.
Parco degli Acquedotti, Via Lemonia 256
The park covers about 240 hectares between Via Appia and Via Tuscolana. Seven aqueducts cross it, and one, the Acquedotto Felice, still carries water.
A public park, open from dawn to dusk. Enter from Via Lemonia or Viale Appio Claudio.
Via Lemonia 256 · Open dawn to dusk
The arches the helicopter crosses in the opening shot, in 240 hectares of open park.
Plan a walk
Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City
Marcello climbs the narrow staircase of the dome with Sylvia and a pack of reporters. That staircase was rebuilt at Cinecittà: the scene was not shot in the real dome.
Book a dome slot on the basilica’s website, by lift or on foot to the terrace level. Basilica entry is within an hour either side of your slot.
Vatican City · Timed slots · lift or stairs
The film’s climb was shot on a Cinecittà copy; this is the real dome. Book a timed slot, by lift or on foot to the terrace level, then walk the inner and outer rings.
Book a slot
Piazza di Trevi · night
Sylvia walks into the fountain at night and calls Marcello in after her, and they kiss. Mastroianni is said to have worn a wetsuit under his suit for the scene and kept warm with vodka.
Two ways to the water. Choose one.
Via Tuscolana 1055 · the midpoint
Tap each scene to guess where it was shot, then reveal the answers.
0 of 6 guessed.
Fellini counted Cinecittà among his favourite places in Rome; the St Peter’s and Via Veneto scenes with Ekberg and Mastroianni were shot there.
The MIAC, the museum on the lot, shows original sculptures from La dolce vita. Inside the park stands the giant head of Venusia, made for Fellini’s Casanova (1976).
Cinecittà si Mostra and the MIAC open every day except Tuesday, 10am–6pm; the ticket office shuts at 4.30pm. €10 each, €8 reduced.
Fellini with Anita Ekberg and his co-writer Ennio Flaiano, 1960.
Via Tuscolana 1055 · Daily except Tuesday, 10am–6pm · €10 each (reduced €8) · both €15 at the box office
The studios where Via Veneto and the dome stairs were rebuilt. The museum shows original sculptures from La dolce vita; the head of Venusia from Casanova stands in the park.
Book ticketsTuscolano · Nomentano · EUR
Marcello’s calm friend lives in the new city, far from Via Veneto. Turn the card to read the back.
RomeThe late editionOctober 2026
Marcello writes gossip for a magazine and waits outside the Via Veneto nightclubs every night. The street’s famous nightlife is gone.
The street curves uphill from Piazza Barberini to Porta Pinciana. Prince Boncompagni built the quarter in 1886–90. A plaque put up in 1995 at Largo Federico Fellini thanks him for making Via Veneto the stage of La dolce vita.
A public street. The Fellini plaque is at Largo Federico Fellini, at the Porta Pinciana end.
Fellini was a regular at Harry’s Bar and put it in La dolce vita. Frank Sinatra used to play its piano; there is still live piano music every evening.
Open Monday to Saturday 10am–1.30am (kitchen until 1am), Sundays 10am–5.30pm. Piano every evening.
Marcello meets Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) here, and they give a lift to a prostitute. In those years the piazza was a favourite meeting place for intellectuals.
The nightclub where Sylvia dances was filmed at the Baths of Caracalla. Caracalla opened the baths in AD 216. They were finished under Elagabalus and Severus Alexander and stopped working in 537, when Vitiges cut the aqueducts during the Gothic War. About two kilometres of their underground levels survive.
Closed Mondays. 9am–6.30pm until 24 October (last entry 5.30pm), then 9am–4.30pm. Named tickets online from Musei Italiani or on site, cards only.
Bassano Romano · the party ends
The high-society party was filmed in this palace. Its rooms have 16th- and 17th-century frescoes by Antonio Tempesta and Domenichino, commissioned by the collector Vincenzo Giustiniani.
The state owns it, with about 20 hectares of park; in January 2025 its walls and frescoes were reported to need urgent work.
State-owned and mostly shut while it waits for repairs; openings are occasional. See the front from Piazza Umberto I, and check before travelling.
Passo Scuro · the last scene
The famous last scene was shot on the beach at Passo Scuro, near Fregene. Passo Scuro also has the trattoria where Marcello meets Paola.
A public beach on the coast west of Rome.
13 places you can visit, the same frames as the contact sheet. The palace at Bassano Romano is mostly shut: see it from the square.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Book a dome slot on the basilica’s website, by lift or on foot to the terrace level. Basilica entry is within an hour either side of your slot.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public street. The Fellini plaque is at Largo Federico Fellini, at the Porta Pinciana end.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open Monday to Saturday 10am–1.30am (kitchen until 1am), Sundays 10am–5.30pm. Piano every evening.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Closed Mondays. 9am–6.30pm until 24 October (last entry 5.30pm), then 9am–4.30pm. Named tickets online from Musei Italiani or on site, cards only.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A €2 ticket for the basin area, every day 9am–10pm; cards only at the entrance. Free for Rome residents, children under 5 and disabled visitors with a carer.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public square at the northern gate, open at all hours; the Pincio terrace is above it.
Frame 2 · Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City
Marcello climbs the narrow staircase of the dome with Sylvia and a pack of reporters.
Book a dome slot on the basilica’s website, by lift or on foot to the terrace level. Basilica entry is within an hour either side of your slot.
Frame 3 · Via Vittorio Veneto, from Piazza Barberini to Porta Pinciana
Marcello writes gossip for a magazine and waits outside the Via Veneto nightclubs every night.
A public street. The Fellini plaque is at Largo Federico Fellini, at the Porta Pinciana end.
Frame 4 · Via Vittorio Veneto 150
Fellini was a regular at Harry’s Bar and put it in La dolce vita.
Open Monday to Saturday 10am–1.30am (kitchen until 1am), Sundays 10am–5.30pm. Piano every evening.
Frame 5 · Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52
The nightclub where Sylvia dances was filmed at the Baths of Caracalla.
Closed Mondays. 9am–6.30pm until 24 October (last entry 5.30pm), then 9am–4.30pm. Named tickets online from Musei Italiani or on site, cards only.
Frame 6 · Piazza di Trevi
Sylvia walks into the fountain at night and calls Marcello in after her, and they kiss.
A €2 ticket for the basin area, every day 9am–10pm; cards only at the entrance. Free for Rome residents, children under 5 and disabled visitors with a carer.
Frame 11 · Piazza del Popolo
Marcello meets Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) here, and they give a lift to a prostitute.
A public square at the northern gate, open at all hours; the Pincio terrace is above it.
Stay
The Excelsior, near the top of the street.
Via Vittorio Veneto 125
A five-star hotel on Via Veneto with 281 rooms and 35 suites. The largest, Villa La Cupola, is on two floors with a view over the city. Not a filming location.
Check roomsGo there
The lot where Via Veneto was rebuilt, the real dome, the €2 basin ticket, the baths and the aqueduct park.
Via Tuscolana 1055 · Daily except Tuesday, 10am–6pm · €10 each (reduced €8) · both €15 at the box office
The studios where Via Veneto and the dome stairs were rebuilt. The museum shows original sculptures from La dolce vita; the head of Venusia from Casanova stands in the park.
Book ticketsVatican City · Timed slots · lift or stairs
The film’s climb was shot on a Cinecittà copy; this is the real dome. Book a timed slot, by lift or on foot to the terrace level, then walk the inner and outer rings.
Book a slotPiazza di Trevi · €2 · every day 9am–10pm · cards only at the entrance
Since 2 February 2026 the area by the water needs a ticket. Free for Rome residents and children under 5.
Buy a ticketViale delle Terme di Caracalla 52 · Closed Mondays · 9am–6.30pm to 24 Oct, then 9am–4.30pm
The ruins where Sylvia dances. Named tickets online or at the gate; no guided tours are sold.
Plan a visitVia Lemonia 256 · Open dawn to dusk
The arches the helicopter crosses in the opening shot, in 240 hectares of open park.
Plan a walkRome
Live marketplace results for Dolce Vita walks and drives in Rome. Check each itinerary; none is run by the film’s makers.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Rome’s film festival, and a photographer’s show among the ruins where Sylvia danced.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
Original 1960 posters from our store, two books with Fellini in his own words, and Nino Rota’s score.
An original 1960 French grande, 47 × 63 in. Rolled, previously folded; very good condition.
In stock
View posterAn original 1960 poster with art by René Gruau, 15 × 20.9 in. Rolled; mint condition.
In stock
View posterAn original 1960 UK quad, 40 × 30 in. Rolled, previously folded; near mint.
In stock
View posterFederico Fellini
Fellini on his own life and films.
Find the bookCharlotte Chandler
Fellini’s recollections, gathered by Charlotte Chandler.
Find the bookNino Rota · CD, CAM, 1991
Nino Rota’s score, reissued on CD by CAM.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyNino Rota · CD, Quartet Records, 2017
The score expanded on CD.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
13 of 13 places · 13 of 13 Moments
Parco degli Acquedotti, Via Lemonia 256
A helicopter carries a statue of Christ over the Claudian Aqueduct.
Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City
Marcello climbs the dome staircase with Sylvia and the reporters; the staircase was a Cinecittà set.
Via Vittorio Veneto, from Piazza Barberini to Porta Pinciana
Marcello waits outside the nightclubs for the next story.
Via Vittorio Veneto 150
Fellini, a regular, puts Harry’s Bar in the film.
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52
A nightclub in the ruins, where Sylvia dances.
Piazza di Trevi
Sylvia wades into the Trevi Fountain at night and Marcello follows.
Via Tuscolana 1055
About 80 sets are built at Cinecittà, Via Veneto among them.
Via Pietro Bonfante, Tuscolano
Marcello visits his friend Steiner at a church.
Via Giovanni Battista de Rossi, Nomentano
Steiner plays Bach on the church organ.
Piazza Pakistan, EUR
From Steiner’s flat in EUR, the Mushroom water tower is on the skyline.
Piazza del Popolo
Marcello and Maddalena pick up a prostitute in the piazza.
Piazza Umberto I, Bassano Romano (Viterbo)
The aristocrats’ party, in a palace north of Rome.
Passoscuro, Fiumicino, near Fregene
The last scene, on the beach.
.jpg){kind=link}
