Dolce Vita Confidential

From the ashes of the Second World War, Rome was reborn as the epicentre of film, fashion, creative energy, tabloid media and bold-faced libertinism that made 'Italian' a global synonym for taste, style and flair.

A confluence of cultural contributions created a bright, burning moment in history: it was the heyday of fashion icons such as Pucci, whose use of colour, line and superb craftsmanship set the standard for women's clothing for decades, and Brioni, whose confident and classy creations for men inspired the contemporary American suit. Rome's huge movie studio, Cinecitt , also known as 'Hollywood-on-the Tiber', attracted a dizzying array of stars from Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra to that stunning and combustible couple, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who began their extramarital affair during the making of CLEOPATRA. And behind these stars trailed street photographers - Tazio Secchiaroli, Pierluigi Praturlon and Marcello Geppetti - who searched, waited and pounced on their subjects in pursuit of the most unflattering and dramatic portraits of fame.

Fashionistas, exiles, moguls and martyrs flocked to Rome hoping for a chance to indulge in the glow of old money, new stars, fast cars, wanton libidos and brazen news photographers. The scene was captured nowhere better than in Federico Fellini's masterpiece, starring Marcello Mastroianni and the Swedish bombshell Anita Ekberg. LA DOLCE VITA was condemned for its licentiousness, when in fact Fellini was satirizing the decadence of Rome's bohemian scene.

Colourful and richly informed, DOLCE VITA CONFIDENTIAL recreates Rome's stunning ascent with vivid and compelling tales of its glitterati and artists, down to every last outrageous detail of the city's magnificent transformation.