Fire breaks out at Italian film studio Cinecittà Studios

The legendary Italian film mecca Cinecittà Studios erupted into flames on Monday, destroying a set that resembled Florence during the Renaissance era.

The blaze — which resulted in no reported injuries and left the studio relatively unscathed — was extinguished by three teams of firefighters.

Italian authorities are still investigating the nature of the inferno, though it is believed that the blaze began due to natural causes amid Europe’s unprecedented heat wave, reports Variety.

“The fire has been extinguished. There are no injuries, no poisoning, no serious material damage,” said Cinecittà Studios spokesperson Marlon Pellegrini in a statement.

Cinecittà — which is undergoing a $321 million renovation — opened in 1937 to produce propaganda for Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, but later became the backdrop for several epic Hollywood blockbusters including 11-time Academy Award winner “Ben-Hur” and Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture-nominated “Gangs of New York.”

“Ben-Hur” extras prepare for a shoot at the studio, which was damaged in the fire.
Pierluigi Praturlon/Reporters Associati & Archivi/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
'Ben-Hur' won 11 Oscars at the 1960 Academy Awards.
“Ben-Hur” won 11 Oscars at the 1960 Academy Awards.
Courtesy Everett Collection
The set of HBO's "Rome" which was consumed in a fire in 2007.
The set of HBO’s “Rome” was consumed in a fire in 2007.
Archivio Cicconi/Getty Images

In 2007, the studio experienced a devastating fire that engulfed sets from the HBO series “Rome” and 32,000 square feet of studio space. Parts of a studio used to film Federico Fellini’s cinematic tour de force “La Dolce Vita” were consumed in a second blaze in 2012.

The most recent fire has delayed the production of Netflix’s “The Old Guard 2,” starring Charlize Theron.

Natalia Barbosa, production coordinator for the film, said that high winds helped spread the flames — and that the cast and crew had evacuated the set as a precaution.

Firefighters hose down a structure to extinguish a fire at the Cinecitta studios southeast of Rome, on August 1, 2022.
Firefighters hose down a structure to extinguish the blaze at the Cinecitta studios, southeast of Rome, on August 1, 2022.
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images
"Gangs of New York" starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed at Cinecittà Studios.
“Gangs of New York,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed at Cinecittà Studios.
Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection
The fire has also delayed the production of Netflix's "The Old Guard 2" starring Charlize Theron.
The fire has also delayed the production of Netflix’s “The Old Guard 2,” starring Charlize Theron.
Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Italian authorities are still investigating the nature of the fire -- though it is believed that it was due to natural causes.
Italian authorities are still investigating the nature of the fire, though it is believed that it was due to natural causes.
Stefano Montesi – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Barbosa lamented that the catastrophic incident hindered the movie’s production schedule.

 “We’ve lost two days of filming,” she said in a statement.

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