That Rome is a pretty cinematic city is hardly news. With its cobbled streets and grandiose piazzas, charming neighbourhoods and historical landmarks everywhere you turn – but also its local trattorie, the many cafes seemingly frozen in time, the countless churches – the Italian capital lends itself well to the silver screen, both for comedies and dramas.

So it comes with little surprise that, through the decades, the Eternal City has served as backdrop – and sometimes side character – for a slew of brilliant movies. Here are five that should be on any cinephile list. All-Italian masterpieces, they are classics you’ll want to watch over and over again.

A semi-autobiographical masterpiece by the legendary director Nanni Moretti, Roma offers a nostalgic and surreal journey through Rome, seen through the eyes of the filmmaker. The film weaves together a series of vignettes that capture the essence of the city and its inhabitants – though it’s essentially plotless – creating what’s a compulsively watchable work that is a visual and auditory feast, combining the director’s trademark dreamlike sequences with a deep affection for Rome.

Think of it as a love letter to Rome that’s both visually stunning and emotionally evocative.

Vittorio de Sica’s Ladri di Biciclette, “The Bicycle Thieves” is a classic of Italian neorealism.

It tells the story of Antonio Ricci, an impoverished man in post-World War II Rome, who desperately searches for his stolen bicycle, which he needs for work.

Following the principles of neo-realism, De Sica exclusively filmed on real-life settings and cast non-professional actors, taking the audience on a journey from the bleak peripheries of the city to the still-existing bicycle market at Porta Portese. It’s at this location that the gravely determined Bruno stumbles and falls during a torrential downpour, all the while ignored by his father, who remains consumed by his relentless pursuit of his prized – yet ultimately elusive – bicycle.

The overall work is a poignant and unflinching portrayal of post-war Italy’s struggles, and a powerful commentary on the human condition.

A poetic and satirical reflection on contemporary Italian society and culture, Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grande Bellezza” (The Great Beauty) follows Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a disillusioned writer, as he navigates the high-society circles of Rome and reflects on life, art, and decadence. It’s a visually stunning exploration of Rome’s beauty and excess, and one of Italy’s contemporary masterpieces.

When you watch it, take note of the film’s cinematography, which, coupled with a mesmerising soundtrack, creates an immersive experience that earned it the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Italian actor and singer Paola Cortellesi has been breaking hearts and box office records on her home turf with this directing debut. It’s a richly and even outrageously sentimental working-class drama of postwar Rome, a story of domestic abuse whose heroine finally escapes from misogyny and cruelty through a piece of narrative sleight-of-hand that borders on magic-neorealism, performed with shameless theatrical flair and marvellously composed in luminous monochrome. The film pays homage to early pictures by De Sica and Fellini, and Cortellesi’s own performance is consciously in the spirit of movie divas such as Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren and Giulietta Masina.

Five Rome-Based Films We Love

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