landmark · Rome, Italy
St Peter's Square
Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The scene
Exterior shots of the real St Peter's Square and Basilica ground the film's invented conclave in the true heart of the Vatican.
How to visit
Bernini's colonnaded square is open at all hours and free; the Basilica has free entry with airport-style security and long midday queues, so arrive early. Modest dress covering shoulders and knees is required inside.
Address: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Citta del Vaticano · Open in Google Maps
- Book the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel ahead to skip the worst of the lines.
- Climb the Basilica dome for the classic view straight down the square.
Where to stay
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Good to know
- What was filmed at St Peter's Square?
- Exterior shots of the real St Peter's Square and Basilica ground the film's invented conclave in the true heart of the Vatican.
- Can you visit St Peter's Square?
- Bernini's colonnaded square is open at all hours and free; the Basilica has free entry with airport-style security and long midday queues, so arrive early. Modest dress covering shoulders and knees is required inside.
- Where is St Peter's Square?
- St Peter's Square is a real filming location in Rome. Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Citta del Vaticano
More to film-spot in Rome
Spanish Steps
The grand stairway is where the runaway princess eats her gelato, in one of the film's most copied scenes.
Mouth of Truth
The ancient marble face in the church portico is where the couple dare each other to test the legend that it bites the hands of liars.
Trevi Fountain
Anita Ekberg wades into the great baroque fountain at night in cinema's most famous midnight bathe.
Via Veneto
The sweeping, café-lined boulevard was the heart of the film's nightlife and gave rise to the word paparazzi.
Santa Maria in Campitelli
The Baroque church of Santa Maria in Campitelli, near Rome's old Jewish quarter, provides the grand setting for the film's wedding scene.
Cinecitta Studios
The Sistine Chapel and the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse were rebuilt from scratch on Cinecitta's soundstages, some by the same artisans who had worked on earlier versions of the set.
Museo della Civilta Romana
The severe rationalist colonnades of this museum in the EUR district, built under Mussolini, stand in for austere Vatican corridors and thresholds.
Santo Spirito in Sassia
The cloister of this Renaissance church a few steps from the Vatican doubles for the courtyard where the cardinals arrive and gather before the conclave.