Clooney's Lake Como villa being readied for Pitt-Jolie wedding?

CERNOBBIO, Italy - Rumors are abuzz in this sleepy Italian village that Hollywood heartthrobs Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will tie the knot this weekend on the shores of Lake Como. George Clooney, who is known to be quite close to Pitt, has a villa here and it is expected that the actors will arrive here on Friday.

But a spokeswoman at the nearby luxury hotel of Villa d'Este said that no bookings had been made. "We don't have any bookings under their or their agents' names, maybe because it will be an intimate celebration," said Antonella Chiesa. "In any case we're ready to stage a wedding ceremony."

As of Thursday no activity was detected at Clooney's villa, but new metal screens installed near the park seemed to point towards something big in the works. The janitor at the villa also said that Clooney was not in residence and he was not aware of any wedding. However Mayor Simona Saladini intimated that she was on standby for official duty on Saturday evening.

"I have been mayor since 2003, and they would be the most famous couple to be married here," she said. Meanwhile, mayor of nearby town Giuseppe Mantero said Clooney's villa was full of construction workers and would make a possible wedding difficult.

"We're talking about long-term works, and they surely will not end this weekend," he said. Pitt divorced Friends' star Jennifer Aniston last year and has since been constantly by the side of Jolie, who is pregnant with the couple's first child. The romance between them reportedly sparked off during the shooting of Mr and Mrs Smith.