BRACCIANO, Italy - In the end, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' "wedding of the
year" in this lakeside Italian town gave little satisfaction to fans closest to
it.
Fans and residents who assembled under the walls of the 15th-century
Odescalchi castle where the celebrities exchanged vows in a Scientology ceremony
got to see none of it.
A night view of the 15th century
Odescalchi Castle enveloped by fog, in the lakeside town of Bracciano some
43 kilometers (27 miles) from Rome, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2006. In a
fairy-tale setting fit for royalty, US actor Tom Cruise and US actress
Katie Holmes exchanged wedding vows Saturday evening in the 15th-century
castle in central Italy. [AP]
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"Tom and Katie, the invisible
newlyweds" read the headline in Sunday's Corriere della Sera daily.
"I was hoping they would decide to show themselves," said Daniela Garroni, a
60-year-old resident of Bracciano. "After all, that would have been a courtesy."
Cruise and Holmes, who arrived in separate vehicles Saturday, drove past the
hundreds of fans gathered outside the castle's gates without stopping or even
cracking open a car window. Holmes was briefly spotted standing at a castle
window, but drew back immediately as soon as people began to notice.
Still, fans including families with small children, teenagers and the elderly
persevered. Some even chose to get drenched rather than leave their spot in the
middle of an afternoon downpour.
All to no avail. Even celebrity guests, who included Brooke Shields, Richard
Gere, and Jennifer Lopez, stayed away from the public eye.
"It would have been nice for the young ones," to see them, said Mirella
Flamini, 62.
Late night green, white and red fireworks from the top of the castle offered
some entertainment to the town of 14,000 residents. The lavish display prompted
cheers among the crowd and culminated with a cascade of white lights that poured
down the castle's walls.
"I thought they would be nice for the town," said Maria Pace Odescalchi, who
owns the castle about 27 miles northwest of Rome.
By early Sunday, all was quiet again and Cruise, Holmes and their guests had
left, flying out of Rome for a honeymoon in the Maldives, Ciampino airport
spokesman Adriano Franceschetti said.
Holmes and Cruise became engaged in June 2005, about two months after they
went public with their relationship, kissing and posing for photographers in
Rome. Their daughter Suri was born April 18.
Cruise, star of "Top Gun" and more recently the "Mission: Impossible" series
and "War of the Worlds," was divorced from actress Nicole Kidman in 2001. He was
previously married to Mimi Rogers and had a high-profile romance with Penelope
Cruz. Holmes, who starred in TV's "Dawson's Creek," and last year in "Batman
Begins," had been engaged to Chris Klein.