Florence fears Hannibal factor

Sir Anthony Hopkins during filming in Florence

Politicians in Florence are calling for filming of the sequel to Silence of the Lambs to be halted amid fears Dr Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter's gruesome reputation will haunt the city.

We believe that the city would become the setting for morbid thrills and vulgar horror

Greens and Popular Party

Director Ridley Scott's film crew for Hannibal had been warmly welcomed to Florence by its mayor last week..

But controversy has hit plans to film a gory murder in the ornate Salon of the Lilies in the city's Palazzo Vecchio - a partial re-enactment of a killing which actually took place there in 1478.

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The local Greens and the Popular Party have lodged an official objection to the filming, which is due to begin on Thursday.

An open letter to the mayor says: "This will add nothing to Florence's world prestige.

"We believe that instead...the city would become the setting for morbid thrills and vulgar horror."

The letter asks the mayor, Leonardo Domenici, to cancel permission to shoot inside the 13th century palace.

But the objection is unlikely to slow things down on the $80m MGM-Universal Pictures co-production, which stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and Julianne Moore as FBI agent Clarice Starling,.

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The city has been generous with permits to shoot in a number of famous Florence sites, including the church of Santa Croce and several of the city's most important piazzas.

The movie's publicist, Rob Harris, said: "Everything's on schedule, everything's fine."

Silence of the Lambs won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

The sequel - based on Thomas Harris's novel Hannibal, but with a different ending - is due for release next year.

Jodie Foster, who played Agent Starling in the original movie, turned down the offer to play the part a second time.