The Talented Mr. Ripley (film) locations included the Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna in Rome, and the Caffè Florian in the Piazza San Marco, Venice. To prepare for the role of Ripley, Damon lost 30 pounds and learned to play the piano. Jude Law gained weight and learned to play the saxophone for his character; he also broke a rib when he fell backward while filming the murder scene in the boat. Roger Ebert gave the film four-out-of-four stars, calling it "an intelligent thriller" that is "insidious in the way it leads us to identify with Tom Ripley ... He's a
Piazza Armerina (1096), founded by Count Simon of Butera, a nephew of Roger I of Sicily. It has important medieval frescoes. Piazza Armerina holds an annual "Palio dei Normanni", a re-enactment in costume of the entrance of the Norman Count Roger I to the city. It takes place on 12–14 August. Piazza Armerina is one of the so-called "Lombard" communes of Sicily, as its dialect differs notably from that of the neighbouring region. This is due to the destruction of the old Piazza by king William I of Sicily, and the subsequent repopulation by William II (according to other scholars, during the