Visiting the Cinecittà Studios in Rome - Everything you need to know

Cinecittà Studios aren't just the largest and longest-operating film studios in Italy; it's the biggest and oldest on the entire continent.

And you don't need to be a world-famous Hollywood filmmaker to visit!

Visiting the Cinecittà Studios in Rome - Everything you need to know

This iconic film studio is the beating heart of the film industry in Italy and has been for almost 100 years.

No self-respecting movie lover can visit Rome without heading to Cinecittà Studios.

Its name, Cinecittà, literally translates to 'cinema city'.

There's so much to do there!

It is the best place to see authentic set pieces and learn about Italy's film history with tons of fun exhibits.

As an avid film fan, Cinecittà is a must-see for me in Rome and I love being there.

Grab your popcorn and discover what makes Cinecittà Studios so special, along with all the details visitors should know before heading there.

On this page I'll be exploring:

• The history of the Italian film industry
• The creation of Cinecitta Studios
• Cinecittà after World War II
• Cinecittà Studios through to today
• Famous film and TV productions filmed at Cinecitta
• Cinecittà si Mostra Exhibitions
• What about Cinecittà World?
• Visiting Cinecittà Studios

The history of the Italian film industry

Italy is one of the earliest countries to make motion pictures alongside France, Germany, and the USA.

Vittorio Calcina is credited as being the first Italian filmmaker, he captured Pope Leo XIII on film in 1896.

Early films of the Italian silent era include Otello (1906) and The Last Days of Pompeii (1908), which were were often Shakespearean, religious, or historical epics.

There was some decline in the film industry during World War I.

However, in the 1920's, Italy welcomed the invention of sound in movies and people flocked to theaters.

The Venice Film Festival, inaugurated in 1932, is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the most prestigious.

Cinecittà played a huge role in Italy's film industry in the 1930's and during WWII.

Mussolini financed and produced propaganda, with any movies that weren't strictly propaganda still heavily censored.

Italian Cinema after World War II

The closure of Cinecittà post-WWII allowed for the rise of a new type of Italian cinema: Neorealism.

One of the main characteristics of Italian Neorealism is that the movies are shot on location.

Rome, Open City (1945), directed by Roberto Rossellini, is a classic example of this genre.

Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni, known for L'Avventura (1960), were filmmakers more synonymous with the lighter film movement Commedia all'italiana.

This was one of the most popular genres in Italy throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

Actors like Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni rose to fame in these comedies.

On an international scale, director Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone became known for their work on Spaghetti Westerns.

You've probably heard of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)!

The 1980's was another period of decline for film-making in Italy.

Luckily, they made a comeback in the 1990's.

Heartwarming movies like Il Postino (1994) and Life is Beautiful (1997) gained international acclaim.

More recently, Paolo Sorrentino is one of the most prominent filmmakers working in Italy's film industry today.

He directed The Great Beauty (2014) which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Currently, Italy has won 14 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film - that's more than any other country!

The creation of Cinecitta Studios

Cinecittà was founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini, the former Italian dictator.

It's original slogan was Il cinema è l'arma più forte, which translates to "cinema is the most powerful weapon."

While creating propaganda was one function of the studio, it was also built to breathe new life into Italy's dying film industry.

Some of Cinecittà's early films are Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal (1937) and The Iron Crown (1941).

Both movies had lavish sets and financial backing from Mussolini.

Cinecittà after World War II

The Western Allies bombed Cinecittà around 1943-1944 during WWII which forced it to close.

Immediately after the Second World War, it was used as a refugee camp from 1945 to 1947.

There were two camps: an Italian camp and an international camp with displaced persons from the former Yugoslavia, Poland, and further afield.

Cinecittà Studios through today

Today, some might think Cinecittà is just an amusement park or museum, however, it's still a working film studio!

Cinecittà Studios reopened in the early 1950's primarily as a post-production facility before reopening its sound stages.

Thanks to MGM's success with the Ancient Rome movie Quo Vadis (1951), American companies flocked to Rome to produce their movies.

Due to its popularity with international filmmakers, Cinecittà and Rome earned the nickname 'Hollywood on the Tiber'.

Success continued throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

Some of Fellini's best movies, like La Dolce Vita (1960) and 8½ (1963), were partly shot there, as were Franco Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968) and La Traviata (1982).

Cinecittà Studios became a privatized company in 1997 and the government in Italy sold most of its shares to avoid bankruptcy.

Only ten years later, tragedy struck the studios three more times.

In August 2007, a fire destroyed a significant piece of their permanent set of Ancient Rome.

Another fire in July 2012 damaged the Teatro Five sound stage.

A third fire partially damaged a set of Renaissance-era Florence in August 2022, which was being used as a set piece for the sequel to The Old Guard (2020).

Despite its many setbacks, Cinecittà Studios continues to thrive as a visitor center and a professional film and TV studio.

Famous film and TV productions filmed at Cinecittà

More than 3,000 films and TV shows (and counting) have been filmed at Cinecittà!

Some famous Hollywood productions include Once Upon a Time in America (1984) and Gangs of New York (2002).

Coincidentally, both movies featured New York City as the main setting, not Rome.

Sword-and-sandal epics like Ben-Hur (1959) and Spaghetti Westerns like For a Few Dollars More (1965) were filmed at Cinecittà.

More recent productions include The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), the critically acclaimed HBO series Rome (2005 - 2007), set during Ancient Rome, and the Young Pope (2016).

Many Italian TV productions, like the Italian version of Big Brother, are also filmed in the television studio at Cinecittà.

Cinecittà si Mostra Exhibitions

Cinecittà si Mostra translates to 'Cinecittà Shows Off'.

It's the main permanent exhibition space that anyone can visit at Cinecittà Studios.

The exhibition is divided into four separate buildings, allowing you to walk around at your own pace.

There are also set pieces from various Italian films decorating the gardens outside the buildings.

The most striking of these is the head of Venusia made for Fellini's Casanova (1976). 

Route 1: Shooting in Cinecittà

This exhibition, housed in the Palazzina Presidenziale building, focuses on what you can see in front of the camera.

Discover images, videos, and original costumes from international and Italian films shot at Cinecitta Studios.

Costumes worn by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Zeffirelli's The Taming of the Shrew (1967) are highlights.

One room is dedicated to Hollywood productions filmed at Cinecittà Studios and on location in Rome.

Roman Holiday (1953), Ben-Hur, and Cleopatra (1963) are just some examples.

Other rooms pay tribute to the films of famous directors from Italy like Pier Paolo Pasolini and Sergio Leone.

Route 2: Backstage in Cinecittà

This exhibition covers the reality of filming at Cinecittà Studios behind the scenes.

There are six separate rooms dedicated to the director, script, sound, costume, story, and green screen sets.

You'll also get to see more imaginative costumes from films by director Federico Fellini including many from The Clowns (1970) and Fellini's Casanova.

Route 3: Submarine S-33

This is an immersive set that replicates the interior of an American submarine control room.

It was built for the Hollywood movie U-571 (2000).

If you think this set has incredible detail and authenticity, imagine what the other sets in the film studio are like!

Route 4: Felliniana - Ferretti Dreams Fellini

Dante Ferretti, an Academy Award-winning production designer, built this installation as a celebration of one of the greatest filmmakers in Italy, Federico Fellini.

The pair worked together on six movies.

Housed in Palazzina Fellini, there is a total of three rooms which allow you to dive into the unique style and world of Fellini's movies.

One room is covered in film posters with a vintage Fiat 125 in the center.

Another is decorated like the bordello in City of Women (1980).

The final room is a replica of the Fulgor Cinema in Rimini where Fellini spent many happy hours during his childhood.

MIAC (Italian Museum of Moving Images)

Opened in 2019, this exhibition covers the history of Italian cinema as a whole, not just the movie and television productions that were filmed at Cinecittà Studios.

It is a huge museum and expanding all the time!

There are no fewer than 11 rooms housing immersive installations covering all aspects of Italian cinema.

They are dedicated to famous Italian actors, music, and the stories told over the past 100+ years of the film industry in Italy.

What about Cinecittà World?

Cinecittà World sounds like it would be part of the studios, but is in fact a theme park in another part of Rome (next to the Castel Romano designer shopping outlet).

Here you'll find rollercoasters, games, a water park and more, some of which are based on movie themes or sets.

Aimed at children primarily, it is popular with locals - don't expect Disney World however if you visit!

Visiting Cinecittà Studios

Cinecittà Studios and the MIAC (Italian Museum of Moving Images) are open every day except Tuesday from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.

Note that the ticket office closes at 4:30 PM.

There are different ticket types for Cinecittà Studios, starting with the four Cinecittà si Mostra exhibits only.

If you would also like a guided tour of the set (and you definitely do!), those tickets are a little more, and then more again to also included the MIAC.

Visitors can only walk around the famous movie sets with a tour guide (available in Italian or English) in order to prevent damages or interruptions to active filming.

Tours are ad hoc and usually only available on the weekend, but you can arrange a VIP tour in advance.

Because it's a working film and television studio, many of the sets are off-limits when film or TV productions are being filmed at Cinecittà.

Check the official website to avoid disappointment if there's something in particular you want to see, but to be honest the whole place is absolutely fascinating!

You can buy tickets online in advance, which I recommend for visits at weekends or around holidays.

However, Cinecittà Studios is (refreshingly) one of the quieter attractions in Rome so booking in advance is not always necessary.

How to get there

Cinecittà Studios is around 10 km south of Rome's city center but it's super easy to get there via public transportation.

Take the orange metro A line from Rome Termini metro station towards Anagnina.

This journey takes around 18 minutes and the trains leave approximately every nine minutes.

Hop off the train at Cinecittà station and you're right outside.

It couldn't be simpler!