The 15th-century Odescalchi Castle near Lake Bracciano — the likely venue for the weekend wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes — has attracted other celebrities, including CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour and Italian pop star Eros Ramazzotti.
Speculation for the Cruise-Holmes event, to be held Saturday, narrowed on the romantic medieval structure, with its library with frescoed ceiling and a loggia looking out on the lake 25 miles north of Rome, as international media began gathering in the quiet town of Bracciano this week.
Cruise, 44, star of the “Mission: Impossible” movies, landed in Rome Monday on a private jet from Los Angeles with some 10 people, including his mother and his three children. He is said to be staying at the Hassler, the luxury hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps.
Airport officials said Tuesday that Holmes was also in Rome, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the 27-year-old actress was staying at the same hotel as Cruise, and she wasn’t seen.
Local officials and residents in Bracciano have remained tight-lipped about speculation for the Cruise-Holmes wedding, and Mayor Patrizia Riccioni would only say she received a request to clear the square in front of the castle.
When Amanpour married then-U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin in August 1998, about 180 guests, including John F. Kennedy Jr., attended the reception at the Odescalchi Castle.
Earlier that year, Ramazzotti married TV hostess Michelle Hunzicker in Bracciano, gathering a crowd of pop and TV stars, including Tina Turner and motorcycle racer Max Biaggi. The reception was held in the castle.
Having once hosted princes and popes, the imposing residence is now used for conventions, gala dinners and receptions. With its six towers, halls, gardens, and a chapel nearby, the castle can host up to 1,400 guests. Its museum, featuring frescos and ancient furnishings, is open to the public.
Cruise and Holmes became engaged in June 2005. They have a daughter, Suri, who was born April 18.
Holmes, who starred in TV’s “Dawson’s Creek,” was previously engaged to actor Chris Klein. Cruise, an Oscar nominee for his roles in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia,” was also previously married to Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman. He has two children, 13-year-old Isabella and 11-year-old Connor, from his marriage to Kidman.