“Roman Holiday” is a film of 1953 directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn and filmed entirely in Rome.
The beautiful Princess Ann, heir to the throne of a mysterious and influential kingdom, sets off on a diplomatic trip to the main European capitals: London, Amsterdam, Paris and eventually Rome, the Eternal City. On the evening of her arrival in Rome, tired of royal commitments, formalities and cliches, she decides to escape the embassy where she is staying.
Hidden in the van that had transported refreshments, she begins her adventure through the streets of Rome. The adventure lasts one day, but it ends up being an unforgettable day. The princess falls asleep on a street near the Imperial Forums. An American journalist, Joe Bradley, who works for a press agency, finds her there a bit dazed.
Joe, thinking he can get a scoop, takes her to his apartment in Via Margutta, where they spend the night. The next day the princess begins to wander around the city with Joe on her heels.
So a tour begins of the most fascinating places in the capital, which include:
• Via Margutta (house of the journalist and local market);
• Trevi Fountain (where she gets her hair cut);
• Spanish Steps (she meets Joe while eating an ice cream);
• Pantheon (at a cafe with Joe’s photographer friend);
• Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the Colosseum, Piazza Venezia (riding on the back of Joe’s Vespa scooter);
• the Mouth of Truth (scene of the unspeakable truth);
• Castel Sant’Angelo (party on the Tiber and brawl with the plain-clothes officers searching for the princess).
A journey through the Rome of every day, where the princess can feel free to “have a coffee at a cafe, go window shopping and mingle with the locals, like everyone else…”
Magical places, timeless monuments, colours, traffic, laughter and fortuitous encounters. In the romantic atmosphere of the river front promenade the princess and the journalist kiss passionately: Love has blossomed.
The princess goes back to the embassy. The fairy tale is over but the memory of that special day will remain, like the eternity that continues to live in the ancient marbles of Rome.