Cinecittà World · park main street · 2014

Cinecittà Street

The 1920s Manhattan Scorsese had built at Cinecittà, turned into a park boulevard.

Act one

Scorsese builds
New York in Rome.

December 2000. Martin Scorsese arrives at Cinecittà to shoot Gangs of New York. The film is set in mid-19th-century Manhattan — the Five Points neighbourhood, the East River port — but Scorsese decides not to shoot in New York: he rebuilds everything in Rome. Heading the production design is Dante Ferretti, alongside Francesca Lo Schiavo.

The set is huge. Over a mile of the old city — about 1,600 metres — is rebuilt at Cinecittà between Stage 5 and a great fillable water tank for the harbour bridges. Thirty buildings of lower Broadway, a church, a saloon, a theatre, a casino, the Fifth Avenue mansion. Principal photography lasts until 30 March 2001. When Scorsese strikes the crew, the set stays standing. For twelve years it will remain visitable inside Cinecittà.

In 2014, when Cinecittà World opens, that set is repurposed as the park's main street. The street by Ferretti — having outlived Scorsese, now walked by visitors — becomes Cinecittà Street. Architectural era shifted: from the 1860s Manhattan of the Sixties to 1920s New York, that of Prohibition, of swing, of film-noir gangsters. Same buildings, different era.

Cinecittà Street at the park: 1920s Manhattan façades, black Ford T cars parked along the street, actors in gangster and lady costume, Cabiria gate in the distance — The street today: period cars and actors in costume

Daytime aerial view of Cinecittà World: the park's main street visible from drone, Cabiria gate at the centre, red coaster on the left, soundstages and parking — The street seen from above: the park's spine

Cinecittà Street at night with coloured laser shows crossing the avenue, crowd of visitors, illuminated arches hanging above the street — At night, under the park's laser shows

Act two

The same set,
twenty years and two crews.

On the Gangs of New York set, in 2000-2001, the team that would shortly sign as Creation Art was already at work: Ivano Ferrario had been at Cinecittà since 1981 and in January 2000 had founded his own company. The crew contributed to the decorative apparatus of Ferretti's set — finishes, details, materials. Our dedicated page on Gangs of New York tells that passage.

Thirteen years later, in 2014, when the park opens, the Five Points set has to be repurposed into a theme-park street. Signs are added — the photo barber (where visitors get photographed as period-film extras), the American Bar, the Charleston pizza-restaurant, the pharmacy, the Five Points Shop — and the street changes function. From a set shot twice by Scorsese to a boulevard walked by visitors every day.

The photos from our archive of 26 July 2014 — two days after the opening — are the testimony of that transition: the same Victorian façades from Scorsese, still clean of the film's aging, already ready for the front row of park visitors.

Cinecittà Street, 26 July 2014: white and red-brick Victorian façades, building with iron fire escape, red decorative dragon on the roof, blue sky — The façades, 26 July 2014

Cinecittà Street: sequence of 19th-century façades with signs 'Stanleys / Flowers' and 'Bluford / fine food / Drugstore / tobacco', iron fire escape, deserted street in early morning hours — Stanleys, Flowers, Drugstore

Fifth Avenue Railroad-style gate at Cinecittà Street: two golden elephants on the sides, winged red dragons, large central round arch, 'NEW YORK CENTRAL' inscription above — The gate with the golden elephants

Behind the scenes

What stays standing
after the camera shuts off.

A film set is usually struck at the end of shooting. But Cinecittà preserves some of its historic sets as permanent sets: the "Ancient Rome Set" by Scorsese-Fellini, the "Renaissance Florence" of Casanova, and — precisely — Scorsese's Five Points. Cinecittà Street is the first time one of these sets is opened to the public every day, as a walkable space. It is an experiment in living cinematic archaeology: scenography no longer behind a glass case, but under the visitor's feet.

Cinecittà Street at night with laser show: illuminated arches hanging above the avenue, crowd of visitors, Christmas tree at the centre, lit-up façades — Cinecittà Street, New Year and Halloween events "The Nights of the Witches".

~1.6 km of Five Points rebuilt by Ferretti for Scorsese · over a mile

30 buildings of lower Broadway · church, saloon, theatre, casino

6 attractions in the area: CineTour · I-Fly · The War of the Worlds · Oscar Pieces · Dancing Fountains · Clownstrofobia

The main street brings back to life
the majestic set of Gangs of New York,
strongly desired at Cinecittà
by director Martin Scorsese.

Artribune, Cinecittà World inauguration 11 July 2014

Tech sheet

All production data

Type: Theme-park themed area · main street inspired by 1920s New York
Location: Cinecittà World · Castel Romano, Rome
Public opening: 24 July 2014 · with the park's opening
Original set: Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese (2002) · shot at Cinecittà December 2000 — March 2001
Original production design: Dante Ferretti + Francesca Lo Schiavo
Five Points set size: Over 1 mile (~1.6 km) of the old city rebuilt · 30 buildings of lower Broadway · church, saloon, theatre, casino, Fifth Avenue mansion · East River section with dock and period ships
Location within Cinecittà: Interiors Stage 5 · exteriors built inside a great fillable/drainable water tank
Park-area shops and activities: Photo barber ("turn into real period film extras") · American Bar · Charleston (pizza restaurant) · Pharmacy · Five Points Shop · Cinecittà World Shop
Area attractions: CineTour · I-Fly · The War of the Worlds · Oscar Pieces · Dancing Fountains · Clownstrofobia (6 total)
Seasonal events: New Year · Halloween "The Nights of the Witches"
Internal cross-link: The Gangs of New York page tells the original 2000-2001 set
Cluster: Part of the Cinecittà World cluster
Our role: Decorative work on the street: finishes, architectural details, repurposing of the original façades from the Gangs of New York set (2001) for the park's opening. The photos from our archive of 26 July 2014 document the street two days after the opening — Victorian façades, iron fire escapes, signs "Stanleys / Flowers" and "Bluford / Drugstore / Tobacco", "New York Central" gate with golden elephants.
Second life: Original set shot at Cinecittà in 2000-2001 · repurposed as the park's main street from July 2014 · still on stage every park open day

Second life

From the Scorsese set
to the park's main street.

The Gangs of New York set is born at Cinecittà in December 2000 under the direction of Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for Scorsese's film. Almost two kilometres of old New York rebuilt — lower Broadway, Five Points, the East River section. That set, after the 2001 shoot, remains at Cinecittà as an archive of Victorian façades.

In 2014 comes the big opportunity: the inauguration of Cinecittà World at Castel Romano, and Ferretti brings the set back on stage as the park's main street. The façades are moved, repurposed, dressed with new signs — Stanleys, Flowers, Bluford, Drugstore, Tobacco — the "New York Central" gate with golden elephants opens the way. Our work of 26 July 2014 is two days after the park's public opening: finishes, details, the final patina.

Cinecittà Street

What stays standingafter the camera shuts off.

From the Scorsese setto the park's main street.

What stays standing
after the camera shuts off.

From the Scorsese set
to the park's main street.