Where was Conclave filmed?

Conclave feels as though it was shot deep inside the Vatican, but almost all of its sacred spaces were built at Cinecitta, the legendary Roman studio on Via Tuscolana. The Sistine Chapel and the cardinals' Casa Santa Marta guesthouse were reconstructed on the soundstages, in some cases by the heirs of the artisans who had built earlier film versions of the very same rooms.

The film then borrows the real city for its exteriors. The colonnaded sweep of St Peter's Square anchors the story in the true heart of the Vatican, the cloister of Santo Spirito in Sassia stands in for the courtyard where the cardinals gather, and the stark Fascist-era architecture of the Museo della Civilta Romana out in the EUR district lends its cold corridors to the conclave's more austere moments.

To follow it, split your time between the Vatican and Rome's edges. Book the Vatican Museums and the real Sistine Chapel ahead, stand in St Peter's Square early before the crowds, then ride the Metro out to Cinecitta si Mostra to walk among the standing sets, and on to the wide avenues of EUR for the architecture the film used. It is a Rome itinerary that trades the usual centre for the city's cinematic backstage.