Events in Rome
This September, Rome fills its churches, galleries and squares with autumn openings and live music. Romaeuropa Festival spreads dance, theatre and digital art across the city, while the Villa Medici Film Festival runs open-air screenings from 16 to 20 September. Conway The Machine plays on 18 September, Candlelight tributes to Ennio Morricone and Coldplay light two historic halls, and Opera in Roma stages Le Quattro Stagioni di Vivaldi on 21 September. At the museums, Vermeer arrives at Palazzo Barberini and Robert Mapplethorpe fills the Ara Pacis. It adds up to one of the city's fullest cultural months.
Official events calendar for Rome
The festivals and public events below are the ones on Rome's official events calendar for the month, and each card links the organiser's listing with its dates and venue. For the permanent sights, start with top things to do in Rome.
Romaeuropa Festival
When: 8 September to 15 November
Where: Venues across Rome
The forty-first edition brings dance, theatre, music and digital art to major venues, with more than a thousand artists across around a hundred shows.
Villa Medici Film Festival 2026
When: 16 to 20 September
Where: Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome
The sixth edition screens auteur cinema, with more than forty screenings indoors and open-air, plus an international competition.
Fashion & Talents 2026
When: 16 September
Where: Piazza di Spagna
Emerging designers and graduates of fashion schools present their new collections in an evening show in Piazza di Spagna.
Festivals and concerts in Rome
Conway The Machine: Live Showcase
Conway The Machine: Live Showcase plays Casilino Sky Park on 18 September at 21:30.
Candlelight: Ennio Morricone e altre colonne sonore
Candlelight: Ennio Morricone e altre colonne sonore comes to Palazzo Ripetta on 19 September at 17:30.
Opera in Roma: Le Quattro Stagioni di Vivaldi
Opera in Roma: Le Quattro Stagioni di Vivaldi comes to Chiesa di San Paolo Entro le Mura on 21 September at 20:30.
Candlelight: Tributo ai Coldplay
Candlelight: Tributo ai Coldplay comes to Boscolo Circo Massimo on 26 September at 17:30.
Current exhibitions in Rome
Vermeer, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
Until: 11 October
Where: Palazzo Barberini
Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece, on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, shows a young woman absorbed in reading a letter in a quiet interior.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Le forme della bellezza
Until: 4 October
Where: Museo dell'Ara Pacis
A retrospective of the American photographer, with more than two hundred prints setting his portraits, nudes and still lifes beside classical sculpture.
Andrea Pazienza, They Don't Always Die
Until: 18 October
Where: MAXXI
A retrospective marking seventy years since the comic artist's birth, gathering strips, drawings, archive material and a mural he painted in 1987.
Rome tickets and tours
Public holidays in Rome to plan around
Public holidays reshape a visit more than most travellers expect. Public offices and banks close, shops and museums often switch to holiday timetables and public transport can run a reduced service, so a day built around a single museum can fall apart. Italy fixes its civil holidays by national law, and the list grew for 2026: a law passed in October 2025 added 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy, with effect from 1 January 2026. The law also counts every Sunday as a public holiday, which is why Easter Sunday, on 5 April 2026, is not listed separately. Rome adds one day of its own on 29 June.
National holidays in Italy 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day (Capodanno)
- 6 January Epiphany (Epifania)
- 6 April Easter Monday (Lunedì dell'Angelo)
- 25 April Liberation Day (Festa della Liberazione)
- 1 May Labour Day (Festa del Lavoro)
- 2 June Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica)
- 15 August Assumption Day (Ferragosto)
- 4 October Saint Francis of Assisi (San Francesco d'Assisi)
- 1 November All Saints' Day (Ognissanti)
- 8 December Immaculate Conception (Immacolata Concezione)
- 25 December Christmas Day (Natale)
- 26 December Saint Stephen's Day (Santo Stefano)
Local holidays in Rome 2026
The 1985 decree that lists Italy's religious holidays names one city by itself, reserving 29 June, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, for the comune of Rome. It is the only date on this page that applies to the city alone.
- 29 June Saints Peter and Paul (Santi Pietro e Paolo), local
The official infopoints are the exception to all of this. Roma Capitale describes them as open 365 days a year, and the only closures it publishes are 25 December at the Ciampino airport point and 2 June at the Fori Imperiali point. The two municipal reception desks near Piazza Barberini and Piazza Campitelli follow office hours instead, and the Campitelli desk closes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
More about Rome
Things to do in Rome
The Rome guide on Tourist Office lays out a one day itinerary, the landmarks worth booking ahead and what the city offers for free.
Where to get help in Rome
This page maps the official tourist information points in Rome, when they open and which public holidays change their hours.
Italy highlights
Beyond the capital, the country guide gathers Venice, Florence, the Amalfi Coast and the food and festivals worth a longer trip.