George Clooney and wife Amal celebrate Fourth of July in Italy

George Clooney and his wife Amal spent their first Independence Day holiday as husband and wife in Italy, soaking up the sun at the movie star's Lake Como retreat.

The Clooneys opted not to celebrate the annual holiday in the U.S. and instead jetted off to the actor's private Italian villa, where they joined a handful of invited guests including Robert De Niro and his wife, Grace.

Lake Como has become a very special place for the newlyweds - they spent much of last summer (14) in Italy before exchanging vows in Venice on 27 September (15).