Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ignited a media frenzy in Italy over the weekend when rumours spread that they would wed at Lake Como reports MTV news UK.

Italian newspapers had been speculating in recent days that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, expecting a child in the summer, would finally tie the knot at pal George Clooney¡¯s lake-side pad, although Clooney has repeatedly denied this.

The rumour mill was given a further spin yesterday morning after Simona Saladini, the mayor of nearby Cernobbio, resplendent in a bright pink suit, was spotted having her hair done at a local salon.

Sarah Malastina, her hairdresser, could not contain her excitement. ¡°She comes here often, but not dressed like that,¡± she said later. ¡°She said she had been told to be ready all day and I, too, was told to be prepared for a call to go and do somebody¡¯s hair.¡±

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were no-shows, but the small town cashed in, hotel prices sky-rocketing, restaurants packed and fishermen renting their boats out to photographers for large amounts at a time that is usually low-season in the region.

Giuseppe Mantero, the mayor of Laglio, played down suggestions of a ceremony at Clooney¡¯s Villa Oleandra because of long-planned building works there.

Swiss television, meanwhile, reported that the couple had been seen in Paris. The pair met when filming Mr & Mrs Smith, released last year.