Best events and things to do in Rome this summer.
Rome gets ready to host a multitude of summer festivals and open-air cultural events, including film screenings, live music and opera under the stars.
Here’s a quick guide to the best events happening in the Eternal City over summer 2025.
Opera
Rome’s summer opera festival returns to the majestic ruins at the Baths of Caracalla, with opera classics as well as dance performances and concerts by rock and pop singers. Highlights include Verdi’s La Traviata and Bernstein’s West Side Story, while a novelty this year will be performances of Handel’s Resurrection and Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the Basilica of Maxentius.
Cinema
Open-air film festivals include the hugely popular Cinema in Piazza, held in Trastevere’s Piazza San Cosimato and two other locations in the suburbs, showing films in their original language versions and hosting special guests from the world of cinema.
Il Cinema in Piazza
A number of smaller open-air film festivals are held in neighbourhoods around the city every summer, with outdoor screenings taking place at Casa del Cinema in Villa Borghese from 9 June until September.
Also making a return is Roma Cinema Arena, the large 1,000-seat open-air theatre at the Parco degli Acquedotti, from 26 June-24 July.
Literature
An international literature festival takes place over six evenings from 8-16 July in the beautiful setting of the Palatine Hill with award-winning writers reading from texts written specially for the occasion. Full details to be announced nearer the time.
Rock and pop
Rome serves up an eclectic mix of rock and pop concerts in June, July and August thanks to the city’s two main live music festivals, Roma Summer Fest at the Auditorium Parco della Musica – with a diverse line-up including Ludovico Einaudi, Sting and Alanis Morissette – and Rock in Roma at the Ippodromo delle Capannelle – with acts ranging from Fontaines D.C. to The Smashing Pumpkins.
Letterature Festival on the Palatine Hill
The Circus Maximus hosts acts including Duran Duran (15-16 June) and Zucchero (23-24 June) while the Stadio Olimpico stages big names including Ed Sheeran (14 June). The Teatro Romano in Ostia Antica will present a series of summer concerts, dance performances and stand-up comedy.
Free concerts
The city hosts TIM Summer Hits, a series of free concerts for young people, taking place in Piazza del Popolo over four nights from 7-10 June, with a line-up including Achille Lauro, Fedez, Rose Villain and The Kolors.
Jazz
Jazz fans can enjoy outdoor performances by Italian and international jazz musicians at the Casa del Jazz, as well as nightly jazz and swing concerts in the park at Villa Celimontana (details yet to be announced).
Classical
The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia presents a series of classical concerts in early June while the Rome Chamber Music Festival with Robert McDuffie returns to the Auditorium Conciliazione from 16-19 June. Classical music concerts also take place against the magnificent backdrop of the Theatre of Marcellus as part of the Concerti del Tempietto programme.
The Accademia Filarmonica Romana hosts a summer music festival in its gardens from 19 June until 10 July. The concerts will feature classical music from various eras, from the Baroque and the 20th century up to the contemporary and modern repertoire, with forays into film music, jazz, pop and the avant-garde.
Auditorium Parco della Musica hosts Summer Music Fest
Social
Lungo il Tevere is a popular event held every night along the banks of the river Tiber with pop-up restaurants, bars, markets, live music and cultural events, from 6 June until 24 August.
Rose petals and fireworks
The spectacular tradition of red rose petals fluttering down through the oculus of the Pantheon is held on the feast of Pentecost, 8 June, while another eye-catching spectacle takes place on 29 June when the city lights up the sky over Castel Sant’Angelo with fireworks to celebrate Rome’s patron saints.
Museums
Rome’s national and city-run museums open their doors free of charge on the first Sunday of each month, with the next two appointments falling on 6 July and 3 August.
Some of the big summer exhibitions include Caravaggio at Palazzo Barberini (until 6 July), Dolce&Gabbana at Pala Expo (until 8 Aug) and Flowers at the Chiostro del Bramante.
Audiovisual
Videocittà, the festival exploring the most advanced forms of audiovisual and digital art, will be held at the Gazometro in Ostiense from 3-6 July. The festival comprises three days of video art, talks, live music, dj sets, videomapping and performances by leading audiovisual artists.
Religion
Last but not least, the city lays on some impressive religious pageantry over the summer. The Festa de’ Noantri procession sees a bejewelled statue of the Madonna paraded through Trastevere on 20 July, returning by boat along the river Tiber nine days later.
Festa de’ Noantri
However the most unusual religious event involves a snowfall during the height of summer outside the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis is buried. On the night of 5 August the city relives a fourth-century miracle with the surreal spectacle of snow-like foam falling from the sky, accompanied with live music by the Carabinieri band.
We will update this guide regularly over the summer as more events are announced. For more details of events see the What’s On in Rome section of our website.
