By Emma Bird
There is nothing quite like attending a well-organised party in a beautiful venue. One of my fondest memories is turning up to the housewarming of some old university friends and standing in the kitchen mixing drinks for strangers before it dawned on me that the reason I didn’t know anyone was because I should have been at the party next door. I was having so much fun, I flitted back and forth between the two houses for the rest of the evening.
This love for celebration is why I’m drawn to the extravagant party scenes in The Great Beauty, 2014 Oscar winner for best foreign language film. I regularly dream about protagonist Jep Gambardella’s rooftop terrace in Rome, overlooking the Colosseum on one side and the Parco del Celio on the other.
Whereas most tourists make a beeline for one of the world’s oldest amphitheatres when they are in the Eternal City, I’m far more interested in the unremarkable wooden doors of the 1920s apartment building across the piazza. Sometimes I stand there, hoping that if I wait long enough someone will open them. This will be my cue to slip inside, sneak upstairs to the ageing writer’s penthouse and step out into my fantasy life as a party host, with a vast outdoor space boasting what is arguably the best view of Rome.
It's not just that you can see the Colosseum from the terrace. From up high, the piazza and the roads disappear. You can almost stretch your arm out across the low walls and reach across to the ancient monument itself, bringing the hedonistic Roman empire right into contemporary life.
But take away the Colosseum and the Palazzo Venezia from the skyline and the terrace remains appealing. With warm ochre walls, hand-painted ceramic tiles and terracotta flooring, it seems bathed in glowing sunlight even at night, which is when Gambardella does most of his entertaining. What sets off the outdoor space yet further is the feathery pampas grass, potted lemon trees and huge vases of shrubs and succulents. Looking up from the road below, it makes an already private spot seem even more intimate.
In The Great Beauty, Gambardella holds court at a long rectangular table which seats 10, and also in the corner where the relaxation area is larger than most people’s living rooms. The oversized hammock swings for joy, while the daybed, rattan sofa and three armchairs piled with cushions act as a sumptuous invitation to enjoy some downtime amid the animated partying.
My own apartment in Sardinia, where I’ve lived for the past 16 years, is too small to host anything other than a small informal dinner. But Jep Gambardella’s rooftop terrace with its ample space for dinner, dancing and chilling has it all. So should he ever hand me his keys, I’d go all out by throwing the most dazzling party of my life.
Photography: Indigo Film; Indigo Film/Medusa Film/Babe Film/Canal+/Kobal/Shutterstock
