Meaning

La dolce vita

What's the meaning of the phrase 'La dolce vita'?

The good life, full of pleasure and indulgence.

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What’s the origin of the phrase ‘La dolce vita’?

This phrase entered the language following the success of the 1960 film La Dolce Vita. This was written and directed by Federico Fellini and starred Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimée.

La dolce vita translates from the Italian as ‘the sweet life’ and this was used as one of the advertising taglines for the film. Of course, this phrase would have been commonplace in Italian-speaking countries prior to 1960 but only became part of English at that date.

Cited as a source

Referenced by 1 trusted source for this phrase

Backlink data verified May 2026 via Ahrefs (live index). These sources cite Phrase Finder as a reference for the meaning and origin of this expression. Also referenced by Wikipedia editions in Japanese.