The Great Beauty: Rome's Film Restaurants

Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2014, is a long declaration of love to Rome, with Toni Servillo as Jep Gambardella, a failed writer drifting through parties and disillusionment in Rome’s high society. Amid night-time terraces, palaces and decadent parties, the film also offers unforgettable scenes at the table. Here is where to find Jep’s Rome, fork in hand.

Where Jep Gambardella dines

One of the film’s most elegant dinners is set at the Veranda dell’Hotel Columbus, in Borgo Santo Spirito, a stone’s throw from St Peter’s. The restaurant is inside the Palazzo della Rovere, in a frescoed 15th-century hall: the perfect frame for the film’s melancholy elegance. This is where Jep dines with Ramona, in one of the most refined Roman sequences.

Palazzo Sacchetti, Viola’s home

Another key location in the film is Palazzo Sacchetti, on Via Giulia: this is where Viola lives, one of the characters in Jep’s circle of friends, in Renaissance halls frescoed by Francesco Salviati. The palace’s front door becomes, in the film, the entrance to the residence of the Colonna counts, while the interiors host several scenes with Viola’s son, Andrea.

The cinematic Rome to experience

Beyond the table, The Great Beauty itinerary touches some of the city’s most beautiful places: the Fontanone del Gianicolo, the Capitoline Museums, Palazzo Spada, Villa Medici and the Aventine gardens. A route that combines art, panoramas and the night-time magic of the capital.

What to taste in Rome

To complete the experience, treat yourself to authentic Roman cuisine: cacio e pepe, carbonara, Jewish-style artichokes, oxtail stew. Rome is also the city with the most food locations on our site: discover them all on the Rome page.

You will find the connected stops on the The Great Beauty page.

In short

Experiencing The Great Beauty means dining like Jep, in a frescoed hall, then losing yourself among the terraces and fountains of Rome. Start from the Veranda dell’Hotel Columbus and let the capital seduce you.