My husband and I are spending 6 days in Rome in October; one of our "tours" is to see the sights from the Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck movie: "Roman Holiday".
In a wonderful travel report from Valerie Schneider in June 2004, we found an excellent walking tour guide, complete with places to eat and rest along the way. The one sight which Valerie could not find at that time is the Wall of Wishes. I've also checked with local experts in Rome and have not found anyone that knows where it is or if it was a real place or not.
Valerie: did you ever find out anymore about that sight? Also, have you posted the pictures? The link on the webpage did not find the pictures. Thank you for your excellent comments and guide for our trip.
If anyone else knows anything about the Wall of Wishes, which in the story was started during WW-II, please let us know.
Hi Maxine, I'm so glad you enjoyed the article! I hope you'll have as much fun tracing the movie scenes as we did!
Unfortunately, I never did find any more information on the Wall of Wishes I've not completely given up hope of finding it, and next time we're in Rome we'll ask everyone from the desk clerk to the barista to try to get to the bottom of the mystery
Thanks for your kind comments, Maxine. I'm sure you'll have a great trip.
According to Grinisa on Fodor (I wonder if that is our own Grinisa), in this thread, the Wall of Wishes was torn down years ago, although she gives no specifics.
Sometime between 1997 and 2000 I remember seeing a spot on the northern stretches of the Aurelian Wall with a large collection of ex‑votos; and may have a photo of it somewhere. I think it was between the Porta Tiburtina and the Porta Pinciana, but again, I'm uncertain.
Yes, that's me and I am trying to find the source that led me to believe it was torn down. I thought maybe someone who lives in Rome and posts on the AOL board (to bring another board into this question!) said it was torn down because I can't find any info in my usual sources. I've asked again on that board, so maybe the original poster will respond. I've seen the spot in the Aurelian Wall that Bill mentions and it doesn't look exactly like the scene in the movie. I think the ex votos on the Aurelian Wall by the Porta Pinciana were placed there by auto accident victims/families but I'm not certain about that.
Posts: 427 | Location: Somers, WI | Registered: 24 June 2002
Pauline: Thank you so much for the link to the pictures; I can hardly wait for October!
Valerie: We'll be using your guide and trip report for our "Roman Holiday" when we arrive in Rome. The pictures really bring it to life. I appreciate that you'll keep researching the Wall of Wishes; I will as well.
Grinisa and Bill: thanks, too for your help in our search. I was glad to hear that the wall did exist at one time and wasn't just made up for the movie.
Should anyone find anything, please be sure to post; I'll do the same.
Ciao! Maxine
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Wow Pauline, thanks for getting those posted, and when you're sick, too!
Bill, you have an amazing memory to recall a thread from a couple years ago on another board. I'm always saying, "I read something about it somewhere, but I don't remember where...
Any clues to solve this mystery would be great! Thanks to Bill and Grinisa for checking into it more deeply.
Umm, I do have a good memory for certain things (like how to navigate a mountain village I've been in once, ten years ago) if not for others (calling the roofers, that you asked me to do twice this week) — but this was pure Google.
One problem with our Wall is that I think "Wall of Wishes" is a name made up in the movie, and the concept was pushed there, too. There are plenty of places where, even now after Pope Paul VI recommended that ex‑votos "of no artistic or historical value" be melted down and the proceeds given to charity, we can see walls full of them that then attract the devotion of the hopeless. The most beautiful one I know of is the Madonna dei Bagni
for which the best site, not so curiously, is on SlowTrav: combo of thread and photos. More typical the church of S. Maria delle Grazie in Giano dell' Umbria:
A regular on AOL answered my post yesterday and responded with this, although he also doesn't have the name of the original source:
"i asked about it a few years ago someone wrote that it was torn down to make way for a vatican building.
hmm, i looked into my italian document, i have a note that i wrote about that post in response to my inquiry. i must have copied the post and put it in the document. i wish i had the attribution so i could give credit where it is due, perhaps the author will recognize his/her work and speak up, i hope he/she will not mind that i quote him/her while we are waiting:
'My best source tells me the scene in the film was at a portion of the Vatican wall around the left side of Vatican City in the area of the present audience hall. It was a reminder of WWII, and is no longer there.' "
Posts: 427 | Location: Somers, WI | Registered: 24 June 2002
Silly snippet (although I can't remember how I heard this):
At the Mouth of Truth scene, the bit about the missing hand was not scripted. Wilder told Peck to slide his hand up his sleeve, but no one told Hepburn. They got her genuine reaction of surprise on the first and only take.
The final scene, where the reporters ask questions of the princess, was filmed in Palazzo Colonna. I believe it is open only on Saturdays.
Posts: 665 | Location: Southern California | Registered: 30 July 2004
This photo of Palazzo Colonna should be connected with a recent quiz on Christine's expat site to which I responded, but then the thread disappeared. For those interested in Roman Holiday movie setting on Via Margutta where G. Peck's apt was, a couple of expat cook/writers now hold private cooking & shopping tours there. I'll try to find a link.
There is a web page here of someone named Justin Locke who was on the same Roman Holiday quest.
He says: "I tried to find the "wall where wishes come true" but could not, HOWEVER, a wonderful fellow in rome (check out his website: http://www.conciergeinrome.com) found the wall and sent me a pic of it . . . It was part of the Aurelian Walls, and is on "Viale del policlinico," southwest of the Villa Borghese. The votive plaques are no longer there, but i hear you see the holes left in the walls. This is not the exact location but it's very close."
If you follow the link to Justin's web page, you will see the picture.
I'm not sure the mystery is resolved without the benefit of a definitive source. Neither am I convinced that the photo supplied to Justin Locke shows what used to be the Wall of Wishes. Most of the walls surrounding Rome look a lot like that and have even more "holes" in them. But I think it is safe to say that the plaques or ex votos that were on a wall in 1953 and known as the Wall of Wishes, have been taken down, if not the entire wall.
Posts: 427 | Location: Somers, WI | Registered: 24 June 2002
A Paramount picture of the Wall of Wishes, in case it might help further identify the location. Compare this image with the one from Justin Locke's site (below), especially the wall behind Gregory Peck. I think we have a match.
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Posts: 665 | Location: Southern California | Registered: 30 July 2004
Topic Closed
I've not completely given up hope of finding it, and next time we're in Rome we'll ask everyone from the desk clerk to the barista to try to get to the bottom of the mystery 
