Visiting the magic land called Cinecitta

On Wednesday, hours before Pete Porter hosted a screening of “The Big Lebowski” at the Magic Lantern, I was in Rome, pursuing another kind of cinematic experience. Mary Pat and I took the city’s subway to the next-to-last stop, which is called Cinecitta.

Now, not everyone knows what that is. But anyone who has a passing knowledge of Italian cinema should. Cinecitta, or literally Cinema City, is the Roman movie studio that has been used by some of the greatest names in Italian movie history. Directors such as Federico Fellini, Franco Zefferelli and Sergio Leone worked there, and U.S. films such as “Ben-Hur” and “Gangs of New York” were made on the suburban lots.

We weren’t sure what the reception would be. Information from the Internet was conflicting. But it turns out that, for just a 10 euro admission fee (about $13.70), we not only got access to the lot itself (where New York-themed sets from “Gangs of New York” still stand), but we were able to walk through museum-like exhibits that outlined examples of set design and other moviemaking techniques. We even got to see documentary shorts that included interviews with the likes of Fellini and Leone.

Finally, we took a guided tour. It was all in Italian. But the guide spoke so clearly, and slowly, that we understood maybe 60 percent of what she said. And we could guess at maybe 20 percent more. All in all, the experience was more than I’d hoped for.

If only we could have taken the “La Dolce Vita” ride. You know, the one where you get to romp in a replica of the Trevi Fountain with a voluptuous replica of Anita Ekberg. But it was being “rinnovato.” Too bad. I had my camera ready and everything.

Just kidding. That last paragraph is, of course, one of my personal fantasies. Especially since if I never see the Trevi again, what with the crush of people trying to throw coins in it as family and friends take their picture, it will be too soon.

Below : A look at the HBO “Rome” set at CineCitta, much of which has since burned.