Lorenzo Borghese, a 33-year-old native of Rome who's spent the past several years living in New York City, agreed to play out his quest for the perfect woman on national television. He's also descended from Italian royalty (the monarchy in Italy fell apart hundreds of years ago, but the title stuck).

Borghese's pedigree inspired ABC to film this season of "The Bachelor" in Rome, and between the show's romantic setting and its star's royal blood, plenty of women were eager to audition.

Noelle, a 22-year-old Brigham Young University student who happens to be three-quarters Italian and a New York native, read about Borghese and said, "It doesn't get any better than that."

Noelle grew up immersed in Italian culture. She's even acquiring an ancestral home in Italy later this summer. All her life, she's dreamed of marrying an Italian man.

"As a little girl," she said, "I used to calculate how many Italians me and my kids would have to marry to get the bloodline back to 100 percent. I've since realized the irrational little-girl behavior of that."

Still, Noelle pointed out that she's not in it for the royal title, the attention or even the trip to Rome. She said she's never actually seen a full season of "The Bachelor," and the idea of reality television is less than appealing. But she really wants to get to know Borghese. (If she makes it on the show, of course.)

Dozens of women waited outside to audition, despite an occasional downpour that day, and the casting director couldn't help but admire their dedication. But there was one potential problem with casting women from Salt Lake City, Kass said: religion.

Many of the women at the casting call belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Borghese is Catholic. She said she won't cast a woman who isn't open to dating outside her religion.

But some women at the casting call didn't worry about Borghese's religious affiliation. Karissa, a Salt Lake City native going to law school in Denver, is one member of the LDS Church who said she's open to dating men who aren't.

"I've dated non-Mormon guys before, and as long as the values are close to the same, it's all right," Karissa said.

Kass said she thinks having a "Mormon girl" on the show could make things more interesting — a definite benefit.

"I think it would add a great twist, not only for the dating but also for the women in the house," she said. "Having someone who is very religious and has the highest morals living with girls who aren't so much? That could stir things up a bit."

She was quick to add, however, "But the show is about finding the right person and falling in love, not drama between the women."

After the open casting call, a handful of women were called back for a second interview. From there, ABC will fly the selected women to Los Angeles, where they will spend a weekend getting to know Kass and the rest of the show's producers, as well as taking medical and psychological tests.

"By the time we get them to L.A., we know these women really well," Kass said. "We know what they're there for, and if they're not there for love, they're not going on the show."

In August, the 25 selected bachelorettes will be flown to Rome for six weeks of filming.

As Kass put it, six weeks in Rome with an Italian prince is every woman's version of a fairy tale come true.

---

E-mail: jcloward@desnews.com