International glamor is the theme for this 1961 Ford Galaxie spot filmed at the Villa d’Este on the outskirts of Rome. 

Ford’s ad people pulled out the stops for this two-minute spot, fair to say. The setting is the posh Villa d’Este outside Rome, a historic 16th century estate famed for its 51 water fountains. Of course, international style was a recurring theme in Ford’s messaging in those days. But to be perfectly honest, we think the ’61 Galaxie would look good most anywhere. It’s always been one of our favorite full-sized Fords of the ’60s, even though we’re not totally crazy about the roofline on the Club Victoria hardtop featured here. Fortunately, the smooth Starliner was still in the lineup for ’61, its final year. (In ’62 came Ford’s notorious NASCAR Starlift scam we featured here.)

When the full-sized Fords were redesigned for ’61, the 119-inch wheelbase remained. but the overall length was reduced from 213.6 to to 209 inches, mainly in the rear overhang. The new look was more squared-off and formal, with a simulated rear grille of embossed metal like its Lincoln and Mercury corporate siblings.

Up front, the big news was a larger 390 cubic-inch version of the FE-series big-block V8, rated at up to 401 hp. And near the end of the model year, Ford announced that the Borg-Warner T10 was now available as a dealer-installed option. Ford was not quite in the Total Performance game yet—that would come the following year, when the carmaker jumped in with both feet .Meanwhile, check out the classy lines of the ’61s. Video below.