Remains of the day
Rome's Cimitero Acattolico, as seen on mockumentary 'The Trip to Italy', is the final resting place of poets, painters and pranksters. Words and pictures by Gary Jones
Low-budget movie The Trip to Italy was an unlikely indie sleeper hit this year, thanks largely to its two stars' quick-fire impersonations of Michael Caine, Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins and other silver-screen notables. The mockumentary's central conceit sees semi-fictionalised versions of British comics Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon flaunting their mimicry skills while on a road trip of the culture-rich Mediterranean nation.
Along the way, Coogan and Brydon retrace the European "Grand Tour" steps of English Romantic poets of the early 19th century. On arrival in Rome, therefore, it's a given that the funny men will steer their Mini Cooper (a nod to Caine's 1969 cinematic caper The Italian Job) towards the Eternal City's most fascinating yet off-beat locale.
Rome's Cimitero Acattolico - its non-Catholic cemetery - dates back to the early 18th century, when Pope Clement XI allowed England's Stuart court in exile to bury its dead on a patch of wasteland. Over time it became the final resting place of Protestants, Buddhists, Confucians, Jews, Zoroastrians and non-believers from across the world. It's arguably the most beautiful boneyard on the planet.
The Trip to Italy, in its movie form, is an abridgement of a six-part, three hour BBC television series, but they still had 108 minutes to play with. Why, then, do Coogan and Brydon not visit the cimitero's most revered poet in residence? How do they also miss god-sent opportunities to impersonate hell-raising thespian Peter O'Toole, Britain's buffoon of the bawdy, Benny Hill, and the mighty Orson Welles?