Cruise, Holmes set to tie the knot in Italy

BRACCIANO, Italy, Nov 18 (Reuters) Actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes prepared to tie the knot today with a star-studded ceremony at a medieval castle near Rome, braving hordes of paparazzi besieging the lakeside venue.

Thousands of journalists and onlookers swarmed into the normally sleepy town of Bracciano, 40 km north of the Italian capital, outnumbering by far the 150 celebrities invited to the wedding in its frescoed castle.

Cruise was due in Bracciano around lunchtime, followed by Holmes and their guests. The ceremony, whose details have been kept secret, was expected to take place in the early evening.

Fans started gathering in the main square facing the Odescalchi castle early in the day. 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 it looked nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of the couple and their guests, let alone know what was happening inside the fortress, fenced by a 10-metre high boundary wall and manned by snipers and bodyguards.

''I have been here since 6:45. This is just so cool,'' said 18-year old Carolina Tuccio, standing in the square behind barriers meant to keep away onlookers who local authorities said might reach 30,000.

''If I can't see them I'll be really disappointed. I won't go to see his films anymore,'' she said with a smile.

''When is he coming? Has he changed his mind?'' shouted a woman in the crowd.

''BEAUTIFUL TIME'' The 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 Scientologist faith, 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 on Friday 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 Scientology minister as twice-divorced Cruise, an ardent follower of the church founded by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, cannot marry with a Roman Catholic rite. 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 either, meaning the wedding could be purely ceremonial and have no legal value.

Scientology weddings are similar to other kinds, 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 trucks littered the streets underneath the castle while shops put up coloured 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 on the top.

Cruise, 44, and Holmes, 27, have a baby daughter, Suri, who was born in April. Cruise also has two older children adopted during his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

REUTERS MS KP1856