Tom Cruise & Co. Arrive in Rome

11/13/2006 at 12:30 PM EST

Tom Cruise, who plans to wed Katie Holmes this weekend in Italy, has arrived with an entourage of 10 people in Rome, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The actor and company were spotted arriving in a private jet at the Ciampino Airport outside Rome at 11:30 a.m. local time. The group was then driven to their hotel under police escort, a source tells PEOPLE.

Cruise, 44, and Holmes, 27, will tie the knot in a 17th-century castle in Italy on Nov. 18, Italian designer Valentino told PEOPLE on Thursday at the Condé Nast-sponsored Black Ball in New York City.

The couple's other designer pal, Giorgio Armani, is designing the clothes for the black-tie nuptials, including Cruise's tuxedo, Holmes's dress, as well as the duds for the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

More on Their Wedding

• More on Their Wedding

Having a wedding in Italy seems the perfect fit for the couple, who made their first public appearance together in spring 2005 in Rome, where Cruise was in town for the David di Donatello Awards.

At the time, a giddy Cruise told reporters about Holmes: "She is an extraordinary woman."