Estate Romana Archives - Revealed Rome

Art, Events, Museums, Rome, Tips & tricks

Rome’s Best Summer Events: Go Before They End

August 3, 2010 No Comments

August is upon us — and with it, the winding-down of some of Rome’s best summer festivals and events, or “Estate Romana”. A recap of Rome’s best summer offerings… and when they end:

Ending August 3. The saldi (summer sales). If you miss these, you’ll have to wait until January!

Ending August 8. Opera at the Baths of Caracalla (shown above). This year: Aida and Rigoletto.

Ending August 9. The “Roma Incontra Il Mondo” festival with nightly concerts at the Villa Ada, a lovely, enormous park in Rome.

Ending August 15. Rock City, a festival in the Park of the Aqueducts featuring nightly concerts and restaurant stalls. (On the smallish side, but fun).

Ending August 19. Lungo il Tevere Roma, an enormous nightly festival at the Tiber River.

Ending August 31. L’Isola del Cinema, showing films nightly at the island on the Tiber River (both foreign and Italian).

Ending September 4. Nightly jazz concerts at the Villa Celimontana.

Ending September 4. All’Ombra dell’Colosseo, a pool (with events like aperitivo and concerts) in the Colosseum’s shadow.

Ending September 5. La Forma del Rinascimento (“The Shape of the Renaissance”), with works by Donatello, Bregno, and Michelangelo, at the Palazzo Venezia.

Ending September 5. L’Età della Conquista (“The Age of Conquest”), an exhibit on the founding and Greek influences of the Roman Empire, at the Musei Capitolini.

Ending September 8. Colori dell’Ara Pacis, a light show showing the Ara Pacis as it would have been. Wednesday nights only.

Ending October 3. The Colosseum’s Gladiators exhibit.

Archaeological sites, Events, Rome

Summer Jazz Concerts at Rome’s Villa Celimontana (Updated for 2013)

July 28, 2010 No Comments

If Rome’s other summer events—including its festival on the banks of the Tiber River and its outdoor pool near the Colosseum—aren’t enough for you, make sure you check out the nightly jazz concerts at Villa Celimontana.

[Update, 2013: In a total travesty, the historic festival was canceled last year and not renewed this year. The reason: lack of funds.]

Villa Celimontana is one of Rome’s loveliest public parks. Once the 16th-century estate and villa of the Mattei family, it’s also strewn with the remnants of ancient temples and palaces, including columns, statues and a temple altar. There’s even an Egyptian obelisk inscribed to Ramses II that came from the
hill’s Temple of Isis (and, originally, from Heliopolis’ Temple to the
Sun).

Issues of archaeological sensitivity aside, there’s no better place for summer concerts. The venue is small enough to get a good glimpse of the band and has excellent sound and lighting, not to mention a handful of restaurants and bars. (They’re a little pricey, but not insane). As the sun sets over the cyprus trees, the breeze kicks up, and the music begins, there might be no better way to enjoy a Roman summer night.

Doors open for the concerts at 9 each night, and the music begins at 10:10. To get your ticket for one of the more popular concerts, or to grab a seat at the table at one of the venue’s restaurants (which lets you order snacks, drinks and even a meal), be there on the earlier side. The concerts will run every night until September 4. Tickets usually cost €9 to €12, but more popular bands can cost up to €25 — check in advance. The schedule for upcoming concerts includes the Brazilian band Toquinho (July 31), pianist Aaron Goldberg (August 3), Italian blues band Blues di un Re Minore (August 20), and American singer Diane Schuur (August 30).

For more information about the concerts, click here (official website is in Italian). For a map, click here. Entrance to the concert is on Via della Navicella, number 12.

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Events, Rome, Shopping, Tips & tricks

The Best Summer Festival in Rome (Updated for 2013)

July 26, 2010 No Comments

Summer festival along the Tiber in Rome

It might just be the best event in Rome, at least in the summer: On every night until September 1, the Tiber River’s banks come alive. More than a kilometer of stalls line the river—each one a shop or cafe, restaurant or bar.

If you’re a shopping, or strolling-and-people-watching, kind of person, the possibilities are endless. On my last walk through the festival, called Lungo il Tevere Roma, I perused jewelry, bought fistfuls of dried figs and kiwis, sipped a mojito in a swanky bar, and even watched one of the last World Cup games.

Compared to Rome’s other culinary options, I wouldn’t recommend having a full meal at the festival. But for a walk, a drink or a snack, it’s a nice, breezy change from the rest of Rome. And despite the crowds of Romans there, the prices are pretty similar to what you’d get elsewhere in the city.

For more information, check out the Lungo Il Tevere 2013 festival’s website. The fun starts every night around 8pm, and runs from Ponte Palatino north to Ponte Sisto. Click here for a map.