Cinecittà

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Entrance of the Cinecittà studios

Cinecittà (Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy.

[edit] Background

Founded in 1937 by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, the studios were bombed by the Western Allies during World War II. In the 1950s, Cinecittà was the filming location for several large American film productions like Ben-Hur, and then became the studio most closely associated with Federico Fellini.

After a period of near-bankruptcy in the 1980s, Cinecittà was privatized by the Italian government.

It hosted the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest, after the venue was changed from Sanremo due to security concerns.

Cinecittà also hosts TV productions, such as the Italian version of Big Brother (Grande Fratello), where the Big Brother house is built on Cinecittà's premises.

[edit] Notable productions

Cinecittà is the center of the Italian cinema, and many of today's biggest box office hits are filmed there. Many consider it synonymous with Italian cinema in general.

In recent years, Cinecittà was chosen by director Martin Scorsese as the filming location for his Gangs of New York. Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was also shot at Cinecittà.