A large fire broke out late on Thursday at the legendary Cinecitta film studios in Rome, with firefighters scrambling to prevent the flames spreading to the nearby historic centre of the city.

The fire started around 10:00pm (local time) and destroyed a 2,000 square-metre hangar where sets for films were stored, before spreading to several other buildings.

"There are flames up to 30 to 40 metres high, because it is wood and synthetic materials that are burning," Guido Parisi, the commander of the Rome region firefighters, was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

"We're going to use aircraft because the flames must be fought from all sides in order to prevent them from spreading further," he said, adding he feared his firefighters would need all night to bring the fire under control.

He says there have been no injuries from the flames or smoke.

Eleven fire engines had been dispatched to the film studios.

No flames or smoke were visible from the studio's entrance, according to an AFP photographer.

The operational centre for the Rome fire service could not provide any details about the scale of the fire when contacted by AFP.

The studios, situated in a vast complex a few kilometres from the historic centre of Rome, celebrated their 70th anniversary last April.

Several Italian media outlets reported the fire started where the Anglo-American television production Rome - about the birth of the Roman empire - had been filmed and had destroyed its sets.