Lake Como buzzes with Pitt-Jolie wedding rumors

By Sophie Hardach

CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) – Rumors that Hollywood
sweethearts Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt could marry on the
shores of Lake Como this weekend have transformed even quiet
Italian villagers into star-struck gossip fans.

The weeks-long speculation centers on the lakeside villa of
Pitt’s friend and fellow actor George Clooney, where the couple
are expected to arrive on Thursday or Friday, and the nearby
luxury hotel of Villa d’Este, once a romantic hideaway for
stars such as Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra.

“We don’t have any bookings under their or their agents’
names, maybe because it will be an intimate celebration,” said
Villa d’Este spokeswoman Antonella Chiesa.

“In any case we’re ready to stage a wedding ceremony,” she
said, sitting on the veranda the hotel transforms into a white
flower-and-candlelight extravaganza for celebrity weddings.

Pitt and Jolie have not announced any wedding plans.

Since his messy separation from actress Jennifer Aniston,
Pitt and Jolie have been spotted shopping in Paris and
preaching global justice at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Jolie is pregnant with Pitt’s child.

George Clooney spent last summer on Lake Como and
reportedly regularly sipped an aperitivo at Villa d’Este. He
also staged a party there when he and Pitt filmed blockbuster
Oceans Twelve.

Little action was happening on Thursday at the actor’s
cream-colored villa at Laglio, a sleepy hamlet nestled between
the lake and surrounding deep green hills.

The lights were out and some of the window shutters closed,
and only brand new metal screens protecting the adjacent park
against nosy onlookers hinted that something was in the works.

Small groups of people with notebooks and television
cameras trotted along the country lanes connecting Cernobbio
and Laglio, looking slightly lost, while some journalists
cruised the lake on motorboats to get a better view of
Clooney’s summer home.

A janitor at the villa said Clooney was not there and that
he didn’t know of any wedding.

Some speculate that local tourism operators invented the
wedding rumors to fill up hotel rooms. But three elderly men
having an early glass of wine in a bar down the road were
convinced there was more to it.

“They are cleaning the village and tidying up everything,
something is going to happen,” said Andrea, who declined to
give his surname.

“I haven’t been invited anyway. Have you?” his friend
Antonio asked him, prompting a round of laughter in the bar.