landmark · Rome, Italy
Santo Spirito in Sassia
Riccardov · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The scene
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.
How to visit
The church is on Via dei Penitenzieri, minutes from St Peter's Square, and is generally open and free outside services. It makes an easy add-on before or after visiting the Vatican.
Address: Via dei Penitenzieri 12, 00193 Roma RM · Open in Google Maps
- Castel Sant'Angelo and its bridge of angels are a short walk along the river.
- The lanes of the Borgo district are quieter than the Vatican crowds.
Where to stay
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Good to know
- What was filmed at 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.
- Can you visit Santo Spirito in Sassia?
- The church is on Via dei Penitenzieri, minutes from St Peter's Square, and is generally open and free outside services. It makes an easy add-on before or after visiting the Vatican.
- Where is Santo Spirito in Sassia?
- Santo Spirito in Sassia is a real filming location in Rome. Via dei Penitenzieri 12, 00193 Roma RM
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.
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.