What's on in Rome (Roma), Italy through the year

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Christmas holidays in Italy

• Nature

  Artichoke season

  1 Jan – 15 Apr · usuallyHarvest

  The romanesco comes into the markets after Christmas and stays until spring; it is the one thing every trattoria in the ghetto and Testaccio is judged on.

Still on: Befana market, Piazza Navona (8 Dec – 6 Jan), Nativity scenes and markets (8 Dec – 6 Jan)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Artichoke season (1 Jan – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Run Rome The Marathon

• Festival

  Run Rome The Marathon

  22 MarMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  The course runs through the centre past the Colosseum on a Sunday in late March, which closes the historic streets to traffic for most of the morning. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Holy Week and Easter

  29 Mar – 6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  The centre and the Vatican fill for the week, with road closures around St Peter's for the Friday procession and the Sunday blessing. Book anything central months out. Source ↗

• Nature

  Wisteria on the Aventine

  25 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  It comes over the walls of the Aventine and the orange garden for about three weeks, at the same time as the first properly warm evenings.

Still on: Artichoke season (1 Jan – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Holy Week and Easter

• Festival

  Natale di Roma

  21 AprMajor festival

  The city's own birthday, marked with costumed parades at the Circus Maximus and free entry at the civic museums. Source ↗

Still on: Artichoke season (1 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Holy Week and Easter (29 Mar – 6 Apr), Wisteria on the Aventine (25 Mar – 20 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Italy, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Opening

  Estate Romana

  1 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallySummer season opens

  The riverside bars, open-air cinemas and concert seasons set up along the Tiber and in the archaeological sites for four months, which is how Romans use the summer. Source ↗

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Summer holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Estate Romana (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Ferragosto

• Holiday

  Ferragosto

  10–20 AugSchool holidaysClosures

  On and around 15 August the family trattorias shut for two or three weeks and anyone who can leaves for the coast. The tour groups do not notice; the city does. Source ↗

Still on: Estate Romana (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Summer holidays in Italy

• Nature

  Grape harvest in the Castelli

  1 Sep – 10 Oct · usually

  The hill towns south of the city bring in the harvest through September and the frascati towns hold their wine feasts around it. Source ↗

Still on: Estate Romana (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Rome Film Fest

• Nature

  Porcini and chestnuts

  1 Oct – 20 Nov · usuallyForaging season

  Autumn puts porcini, chestnuts and puntarelle on every menu in the city for about six weeks, which is why Romans push October as the month.

• Festival

  Rome Film Fest

  13–25 OctFilm festivalCrowded

  Two weeks at the Auditorium in mid-October, with a red carpet that draws crowds north of the centre and a public ticket ballot that opens weeks ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Grape harvest in the Castelli (1 Sep – 10 Oct (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Porcini and chestnuts (1 Oct – 20 Nov (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Christmas holidays in Italy

• Festival

  Befana market, Piazza Navona

  8 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New Year

  Stalls fill Piazza Navona until Epiphany on 6 January, when the old woman brings sweets or coal and the Christmas season formally ends. Source ↗

• Festival

  Nativity scenes and markets

  8 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New Year

  From 8 December the churches put out their presepi and the squares take stalls; sites and museums close early through the holiday fortnight. Source ↗