Cruise and Holmes set to tie the knot in Italy

BRACCIANO, Italy, Nov 18 (Reuters) Actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes arrived separately at a medieval castle near Rome for their star-studded wedding today, braving hordes of paparazzi and rainy skies.

Celebrity guests also began trickling into the lakeside venue of Bracciano, a normally sleepy town 40 km north of the Italian capital that is now swarming with thousands of journalists and onlookers.

Cruise, wearing sunglasses, waved to the crowd as he arrived in a black Mercedes minivan. Holmes earlier arrived clutching their baby daughter Suri in her arms, local media reported.

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, expected to sing Ava Maria during the celebrations, and Roberta Armani, niece of designer Giorgio Armani were among the first of the guests to arrive, local media reported.

Several minivans with tinted windows drove up at a side entrance at the frescoed castle.

''The few cars that have arrived, we couldn't see who was inside but I'm happy anyway,'' said Paola Iela, a 34-year-old student.

''Normally, Bracciano is a dead town, but I'm enjoying the media frenzy. I've had a crush on Tom Cruise since I was a teenager. I think he's too sexy.'' Details of the ceremony have been kept mostly secret, but it is expected to be in the early evening with some 150 celebrities in attendance.

Fans started gathering in the main square facing the Odescalchi castle early in the day, though a downpour deterred some in the afternoon. Residents looked out from their balconies, some of them decorated with the American flag.

Photographers with long lenses stood perilously on window ledges at the top of a building overlooking the castle, where the mayor is charging 1,000 euros for each position. A helicopter carrying a TV crew clattered overhead.

But much of the action will be hidden from public view inside the fortress, surrounded by a 10-metre (yard) high wall and manned by snipers and bodyguards.

''BEAUTIFUL TIME'' Guests include footballer David Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria, Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Brooke Shields, and ''Mission: Impossible III'' director J J Abrams.

John Travolta, who shares Cruise's belief in Scientology, was also expected to attend.

''You know it is a beautiful time in their lives and I hope people will give them a bit of room,'' Smith told reporters late yesterday outside the luxurious hotel in central Rome where the pair and most of their guests have been staying.

The wedding will be celebrated by a Scientologist minister.

The twice-divorced Cruise is an ardent follower of the church founded by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard. Holmes was raised a Catholic.

Local authorities said this week Cruise, star of Hollywood hits like ''Top Gun'' and the ''Mission: Impossible'' trilogy, had not sought permission for a civil service, meaning the wedding could be purely ceremonial and have no legal value.

Scientologist weddings are similar to others, with rings, music and flowers. The bride wears white and the groom a dark suit.

The cost of the event is estimated at over 2 million euros. The pair's outfits were designed by Giorgio Armani, who also created the bride's bouquet.

Bracciano was closed to traffic early today.

Satellite TV trucks littered the streets underneath the castle while shops put up balloons and other decorations.

''We hope everything works well and this event brings happiness and joy here,'' said streetcleaner Mario Nardi as he finished some last-minute tidying up.

Pictures of the pair and goodwill messages in English were displayed all over town. ''Best wishes for your fairy tale,'' read one message in a bar. A cake shop had a wedding cake in its window with ''Tom and Katie'' written in icing.

Holmes, 27, gave birth to their baby daughter in April. Cruise, 44, also has two older children adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

REUTERS SY KP2236