ITALY: A medieval lakeside town outside Rome and its residents are bracing themselves for an onslaught of fans, celebrities and paparazzi on the eve of the expected wedding of movie stars Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Streets have been cleaned, the grass cut and weeds pulled out. Road signs outside Bracciano warn drivers that the centre of town will be closed to traffic today to free the area around the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle - the likely venue for the celebrity wedding.
The historic town's narrow streets teemed with journalists and camera crews yesterday.
"This is good for the town," said Iolanda Barbarani, who owns a hardware shop. "It's a beautiful thing that will make Bracciano known to the whole world."
Lidia Sabbatini, who owns a flower shop, said residents were very excited. "Everybody is so enthusiastic . . . it's not an everyday thing to have a Hollywood star as a guest. That's all anyone is talking about. Wherever you go, they're talking about it."
Bracciano mayor Patrizia Riccioni said this week the celebrity couple would probably marry today in a Scientology ceremony at the castle, 27 miles from Rome.
While she stopped short of confirming the actual date, the town's website had a picture of Cruise and Holmes under the headline "The wedding of the year in Bracciano, Saturday, 18th November 2006".
A spokesman for the Church of Scientology in Rome said it had not been contacted about the wedding. Spokesman Fabrizio D'Agostino said an exchange of vows with a Scientology rite was not legally recognised in Italy and would have to be preceded or followed by a civil union.
Cruise and Holmes have been staying this week at a luxury hotel near the Spanish Steps in Rome. They dined out last night with about 50 guests at a small, nearby restaurant. Those spotted coming and going into the restaurant included Mission Impossible III director JJ Abrams, Brooke Shields, and Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony.
More VIP guests were expected to fly into Rome today, including Will Smith and David and Victoria Beckham. - (AP)