Discover the program for the summer of 2026 at Villa Medici in Rome!
The Villa Medici – The French Academy in Rome is a prestigious museum and cultural institution located near Villa Borghese. Like every summer, this year it is ready to host numerous events, with a rich program that includes art exhibitions, landscape architecture interventions, and film festivals. With its 18 hectares of gardens, fountains, and sculptures, Villa Medici remains an oasis of artistic expression that evokes the French countryside, despite being situated in one of the most central areas of Rome.
Let’s take a look at the artistic programming of Villa Medici from May to September 2026
The Festival des Cabanes at Villa Medici was created to offer architects, artists, and researchers the opportunity to “take over” the site’s historic gardens, designed by Ferdinando de’ Medici at the end of the 16th century. For the fifth consecutive year, six original “cabin” creations will be showcased throughout the summer in the heart of the Villa Medici gardens. These cabins are specially designed for the festival by international groups of architects, builders, and students: Bento Architecture, ECAL, the University of Art and Design Lausanne, Foundation Huttopia, NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, PRÌA and VELIA, and Salazarsequeromedina. All summer long, the cabins will host various educational workshops, readings, and yoga classes.
Opening times: Monday to Sunday (closed on Tuesday) from 10:00am to 7:00pm (last entry at 6:30pm)
Oracle beyond the sea | 19 June – 7 September 2026
From June 19 to September 7, 2026, Villa Medici presents Oracles Beyond the Sea, the collective exhibition marking the end of the sixteen fellows’ year-long residency at the French Academy in Rome. Curated by Roberto Pontecorvo and Imma Tralli of Marea Art Project, with Camille Coschieri as associate curator, the show takes its title from Oracles from the Sea (1998) by Palestinian artist Vera Tamari.
The exhibition brings together works spanning visual and performing arts, music, literature, architecture, curating, and art theory. Created in the privacy of the studios, the projects now move into the historic spaces of Villa Medici to meet the public. Some appear as finished pieces, others as ongoing processes, held in a constant tension between the poetic and the political.
Opening times: Monday to Sunday (closed on Tuesday) from 10:00am to 7:00pm (last entry at 6:30pm)
Created in 2021, the Villa Medici Film Festival offers an international selection of films that explore the connections between cinema and contemporary art. For the sixth consecutive year, the festival aims to present pioneering works with diverse profiles that challenge, disrupt, transform, or re-enchant our relationship with images.
The Villa Medici Film Festival is divided into three sections: the International Competition, consisting of fourteen recent films of various genres and formats, the parallel program Focus, featuring non-competitive films by artists, masterclasses, and exceptional encounters, and the Piazzale screenings, which gather the audience for outdoor screenings of new films, including premieres and restored classics.
This year’s festival is dedicated to the memory of Lili Hinstin (1977–2026), a woman of the cinema, festival programmer and artistic director, who began her career at Villa Medici as a film programmer from 2005 to 2010, before helping to create the Film Festival, serving as a member of its Selection and Organizing Committee until her passing.
Nothing says summer in the Eternal City like a movie under the stars (preferably with a gelato in hand). This month, piazzas, and lush villas transform into open-air cinemas, showing everything from classic flicks, to kid-friendly favorites.
Read on for our top picks of outdoor flicks in the city.
Cinema in Piazza 2026
From May 28th to July 12th, Rome’s piazzas are once again being transformed into a movie theater, as the free outside movie festival, “Il Cinema in Piazza,” has returned to Rome for its 11th year. Just like last year, it will be hosted in four locations: Piazza San Cosimato (May 28 – July 12), Monte Ciocci (June 6 – July 12), Casale della Cervelletta (June 4 – July 12) and Cinema Troisi. The eleventh edition of the festival offers a very rich program; special attention devoted to screenings in the original language (with Italian subtitles) honors the culture of the films by maintaining their authenticity, while simultaneously catering to the diverse tourists and residents living in Rome.
Till July 12, 2026
Piazza San Cosimato; Monte Ciocci; Casale della Cervelletta in Tor Sapienza; Cinema Troisi
Summer programming returns to the Casa del Cinema, curated by the Fondazione Cinema per Roma. The Ettore Scola Theatre, the large open-air arena immersed in the Villa Borghese Park, will host numerous free screenings.
Four film series are scheduled for June. Alongside the tribute to Ettore Scola, “Marilyn 100”, marking the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, returns, together with a selection of films celebrating Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday.
Starting on June 14, “Via Terra” will also begin: a cinematic journey featuring directors such as Gianni Amelio, Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, Dino Risi and Ridley Scott.
Then, from July 2 to 6, the fifth edition of “Nouvelle Vague sul Tevere” will take place, with French films and special events celebrating the partnership between Rome and Paris.
The 14th edition of “Under the Stars of Austria,” a festival dedicated to the best of contemporary Austrian cinema, awaits you in the beautiful garden of the Austrian Cultural Forum. Four screenings over two weeks to present you with the latest in Austrian cinema, along with talks with directors. Reservations mandatory via email.
The Program:
June 16: Mother’s baby
June 18: The loneliest man in town
June 23: Veni, vidi, vici
June 24: Ingeborg Bachmann– Journey into the desert
From June 18 to September 20, the 26th edition of Notti di Cinema a Piazza Vittorio returns to Piazza Vittorio, in the Esquilino district.
Every evening at 9:30pm, the season’s major films will be screened on the historic outdoor screen, offering a carefully curated selection of cinematic works. This year’s programme will once again be enriched by numerous meetings with leading figures from contemporary Italian cinema, guiding audiences through the films presented.
From July 2 to 6, Casa del Cinema will host the fifth edition of Nouvelle Vague sul Tevere, a festival dedicated to French cinema and the cultural dialogue between Rome and Paris. The event is twinned with the Parisian festival Dolcevita-sur-Seine, strengthening the cultural exchange between the two capitals. The programme features screenings, special guests and encounters in the open-air setting of the Ettore Scola Theatre. The festival opens on Thursday, July 2 with Jacques Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, in the presence of French singer Clara Luciani.
The program:
July 2: The Young Girls of Rochefort, by Jacques Demy, with a special appearance by Clara Luciani.
July 3: The Red Balloon, by Albert Lamorisse, presented to the public by director Valentine Cadic
July 4: Vénus Beauté (Institut), by Tonie Marshall
July 5:Les Immortelles, by Caroline Deruas
July 6:Les Quatre Cents Coups, François Truffau’s first feature film
All screenings of “Nouvelle Vague sul Tevere” will be introduced by Aureliano Tonet, culture and entertainment correspondent for the newspaper Le Monde.
From July 1 to 22, the fifth edition of Roma Cinema Arena awaits you at Parco degli Acquedotti. Every evening, 22 free-entry screenings will take place. Guests at this year’s edition include Andrea and Brando De Sica, Francesca Comencini, Andrea Segre and Isabella Ferrari.
Cinema alle Mura, promoted by the Comitato Mura Latine, was born from the desire to create a moment of community sharing, using an inclusive space nestled in the unique setting of the Aurelian Walls. Bring your blankets and cushions, and enjoy the films seated or lying on the grass!
From July 7 to 16, the fifth edition of QUO VADIS? – Cinema in the Heart of Rome returns to the Temple of Venus and Roma, with entrance from Piazza del Colosseo. Promoted by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and the Colosseum Archaeological Park, this year’s edition is titled “Dying of Laughter: Horror Classics Between Fear and Parody.”
The programme features ten horror classics with grotesque twists, many of which have become true cult films over the years. The screenings will be introduced by various figures from the world of culture.
July 7: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1922, 94′)
July 8:The Fearless Vampire Killers by Roman Polanski (1966, 107′)
July 9: L’orribile segreto del dr. Hichcock by Riccardo Freda (1962, 88′)
July 10: Histoires extraordinaires by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, Federico Fellini (1968, 121′)
July 11: Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht by Werner Herzog (1979, 107′)
July 12:Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks (Frankenstein Junior, 1974, 105′)
July 13: Frankenstein di James Whale (1931, 71′)
July 14: Opera by Dario Argento (1987,107′, presented by the director)
July 15: Freaks by Tod Browning (1932, 64′)
July 16: La caduta di Troia by Giovanni Pastrone and Luigi Romano Borgnetto (1911, 33′)
From July 17 to 26, the Arena Archeologica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme will once again host Effetto Notte, the free initiative by the CSC – Cineteca Nazionale.
The ten-night programme is summed up by this year’s title: “The Future is Woman: Female Perspectives in Cinema Between Freedom and Innovation.” The edition will feature films and short films directed by women, including several former students of the CSC – National Film School.
July 17-26
Area Archeologica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Piazza di S. Croce in Gerusalemme
The sixth edition of the Villa Medici Film Festival returns from September 16 to 20, 2026, with almost 40 screenings taking place both indoors and outdoors at Villa Medici.
On May 31, the final stage of the famous cycling race will finish in Rome
In 2026, for the eighth time in the event’s history, and the fourth consecutive year, Rome will once again host the final stage of the Giro d’Italia.
The final stage of the Giro d’Italia, which will conclude on May 31, will cover a total distance of 131 kilometres. The route will pass through Ostia and some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, from the Colosseum and the Baths of Caracalla to the final finish line at the Circus Maximus.
The final stage is divided into two parts. The first section takes riders from the start in Rome-EUR towards the coast and Ostia, before the first crossing of the finish line. From there, the route returns towards the starting area before entering the final circuit inside the Capital, to be repeated 8 times.
The final circuit, 9.5 kilometres long, runs entirely along city streets, which are wide but in some sections feature traffic dividers. The route alternates short undulating stretches with long straight sections, connected by sometimes challenging bends. The road surface is mostly asphalt, with a few short cobbled sections, Rome’s traditional sanpietrini.
The final kilometres include only slight changes in direction. The finishing straight is 350 metres long and on asphalt; halfway through the final kilometre, the road reaches a gradient of 5%.
From a cycling point of view, the route does not include many technical difficulties. The sections with sanpietrini, the charming but uncomfortable traditional Roman pavement, are kept to a minimum and are in good condition.
The race will begin at 3.25pm and the arrival is expected by 6.30pm.
The event will paint the city pink, the signature colour of the race, filling Rome with bicycles and offering cycling fans a unique way to experience the city.
From 26 to 31 May in Rome, the festival dedicated to the creative reuse of images.
After the success of last year, the UnArchive Found Footage Fest returns for its fourth edition in Rome from 26 to 31 May. The festival explores the cinematic possibilities of creative reuse of archival materials aiming to forge new and diverse forms of expression, with cinema, video art, animation, and live performance meeting at a crossroads.
Cinema Intrastevere, Alcazar Live, Chiesa di Santa Dorotea, Zalib Circolo Arci, Casa Borelli, and the Botanical Garden will serve as this year’s venues.
Festival Highlights: Performances & Screenings
The festival opens on Tuesday 26 May at 8 PM in Cinema Intrastevere with the screening of In cerca del sessantotto – Tracce e indizi (1996). The film – which documents the social, cultural, and political upheaval of the year 1968 in Italy – is one of three being screened for Oggetti Smarriti: In cerca di Giuseppe Bertolucci, a retrospective on the illusive brother of Bernardo Bertolucci. The films La rabbia di Pasolini and In cerca della poesia – Tracce e indizi will be screened on 27 and 28 May, respectively.
The international competition features 20 films—nine features and eleven shorts—from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Romania, and Poland. All titles compete for the UnArchive Award, alongside prizes for Best Feature and Best Short Film. Highlights include Do You Love Me?, a portrait of Beirut assembled from decades of archival footage, and Je n’avais que le néant – Shoah par Lanzmann, which revisits the making of Claude Lanzmann’s landmark documentary through previously unseen materials.
Returning once more are the Frontiers and Italian Panorama sections. Frontiers brings together titles that explore symbolic dimensions of borders, geopolitics, and aesthetics while Italian Panoramas explores the phenomenon of found footage in Italy, with films dissecting subject matter such as propaganda images, migration, and hidden family narratives.
In addition, special screenings include Roberto Rossellini – Più di una vita, which analyzes the personal and professional crises that afflicted his illustrious career and Caja de Resistencia, a film dedicated to director Fernando Ruiz Vergara, addresses the tension between censorship and creative freedom.
Philippe-Alain Michaud returns with a carte blanche screening and masterclass, this time dedicated to Cécile Fontaine, a pioneer of reuse cinema. His techniques of deconstructing images with “wet” and “dry” techniques are a reflection of history as ruin and the image as preservation of destruction.
A major new addition is the UnArchive Forum – The Image Reuse Ecosystem, taking place from 27 to 29 May in the Botanical garden. Bringing together archives, filmmakers, and industry professionals, the Forum will host panels and pitching sessions aimed to foster collaboration and dialogue between all sectors of the image reuse community. It is a way to rethink and understand the consequences of the industry during the pervasiveness of Ai technology.
The festival will close with a performance of Postcards from Italy – a multidisciplinary project merging memory, archive, and transformation. Inspired by a train journey in 2023, the Bottasso brothers – Nicolo and Simone – have curated a performance that merges scenes of the past with sounds of the present.
UnArchive continues to stand out as a unique platform that gives artists a platform to reimagine, reexamine, and reawaken the past, and reflect on the role images and collective memory have in contemporary culture.
Everything to know about the 23rd Edition of the Asian Film Festival
Since 2003, the Asian Film Festival has brought together some of the finest talents in Far Eastern cinema. It offers a unique opportunity to explore the history and cultures of East Asian countries through an artistic lens, with personal stories of intimacy, trauma, friendship, and love. This year, the festival is expected to take place at Cinema Farnese Arthouse in Rome from April 7 to April 15, 2026.
Directed by Antonio Termenini, the festival will feature 36 films — 18 in competition, 9 in the Newcomers section, and 9 out of competition — as well as 10 short films. More than 12 Asian countries will be represented throughout the festival.
The directorial debut of Shu Qi, Girl (2025), will open the festival. First premiered in competition at the 2025 Venice Film Festival and nominated for the Golden Lion, Girl follows the life of a young Taiwanese girl trying to escape her painful past. Loosely based on Qi’s childhood, the film is a delicate portrayal of female adolescence amid the changes of contemporary Asian society.
Other anticipated titles include Morte Cucina and Human Resource from Thailand; Siapa Dia and Whisper in the Dabbas from Indonesia; and Magellan and Moonglow from the Philippines. South Korea sets a festival record with eight films, ranging from gripping thrillers to more intimate and introspective works. Japan joins the lineup with two highly anticipated titles: Love on Trial by Fukada Koji and Sham by Miike Takashi.
The festival closes on April 15 with the awards ceremony and screenings of two major titles: She Has No Name by Hong Kong master Peter Chan and The Ugly by Yeon Sang-ho, bringing to an end an edition marked by variety, research, and quality.
International guests will include Koji Fukada, Garin Nugroho, Isabel Sandoval, and Lee Kwang-kuk, among the most interesting voices in contemporary Asian cinema.
The festival will also host the Italian premiere of Love on Trial (2025), directed by Fukada Koji, at the Japanese Institute of Culture on April 10. The screening will be followed by a special Q&A with the director.
The jury will present five awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Most Original Film. All films will be screened in their original language with Italian subtitles.
The Rome Master 1000 will take place from April 28 to May 17
The countdown begins for the 83rd BNL International Tennis Tournament, the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open.
The top names in tennis will come to duke it out on the clay courts of Foro Italico, a historical stadium built for the 1960 Olympic Games. One of the best events in Rome, this fabulous competition will combine men’s and women’s tournaments. This tournament will give us two weeks of intense tennis under the glorious sunshine of May.
The line-up for the 2026 Internazionali BNL d’Italia is, as always, stellar. Despite the absence of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz due to injury, the tournament will feature home favourite and world number one Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Musetti and many more.
The women’s draw is equally strong, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka leading the field alongside Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Italy’s own Jasmine Paolini, who returns to Rome as the defending champion after her historic title run in 2025.
The tournament is one of the leading events of the clay-court season, featuring both an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 draw at the Foro Italico.
The Campo Centrale, with about 10,500 seats, remains the tournament’s main stadium. For 2026, the former Grand Stand Arena has been completely redesigned and renamed the BNP Paribas Arena, moving into the Stadio dei Marmi with a capacity of more than 7,000 spectators. The SuperTennis Arena features a progressive polygonal design created to bring the crowd closer to the action. The complex also includes the historic Stadio Pietrangeli, one of the most iconic courts at the Foro Italico, famed for its unique setting among marble statues and its unmistakable Roman atmosphere.
In addition, a special court in Piazza del Popolo will host selected pre-qualification matches, practice sessions with some of the champions competing in the main draw at the Foro Italico, as well as the U16 and Wheelchair tournaments.
Pre-qualifying matches will begin on April 28, the qualifying rounds will start on May 5, and the main draw will get underway on May 7.
The event is more than just tennis: fashion, fine food, shopping, and celebrity musical performances have made the tournament one of the most glamorous stops on the ATP World Tour.
The Cinema Nuovo Sacher will host Rendez-Vous 2026
The 16th-edition ofRendez-vous, the festival dedicated to new French cinema, will be held in Rome and will then make stops, with special sections and guests, in Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo, and Turin. In the capital, it will run from April 7th to April 11th at the Cinema Nuovo Sacher. The program allows local audiences to explore contemporary French cinema in all its diversity, from arthouse to mainstream films.
This is the most important Italian film event dedicated to French cinema; it was born from an initiative of the French Embassy in Italy, and is co-organized by the Institut français Italia and Unifrance, the French cinema and audio-visual promotion agency in the world.
OPENING FILM: La Femme la plus riche du monde (April 7)
Opening the sixteenth edition, which will take place from April 7 to 11 at Cinema Nuovo Sacher, will be The Richest Woman in the World | La Femme la plus riche du monde by Thierry Klifa, in the presence of the director and lead actress Isabelle Huppert, an absolute icon of international cinema. The film, a powerful and contemporary portrait of power and its contradictions, will be released in Italian cinemas on April 16, distributed by Europictures.
Dossier 137 (April 9)
Among the titles in the lineup, Dossier 137 stands out, a moral thriller set at the heart of French institutions. It is the latest film by Dominik Moll, who will be at the Cinema Nuovo Sacher on April 9 to meet the audience alongside lead actress Léa Drucker, who won the César Award for Best Actress for this very role. Dossier 137 will be released in Italian cinemas on April 16, distributed by Teodora Film.
Among the new features of the 2026 edition is the introduction of a Young Jury, made up of university students from different Italian cities, who will be invited to engage with contemporary French cinema and award a prize to a first or second feature. Also returning is the traditional Prix Palatine, the prize awarded by a jury of very young high school students from 23 Italian cities to a film selected and presented in collaboration with the festival.
All films will be screened in their original language with Italian subtitles.
The 31st edition of the Rome Marathon will take place on 22 March 2026
Acea Run Rome The Marathon isn’t just a race, it’s a journey through the heart of Rome, blending sport, emotion, and breathtaking scenery. Now in its 31st edition, the Rome Marathon follows the classic 26.2-mile (42.195 km) course.
A truly one-of-a-kind route: it starts at the Imperial Forums, with the Colosseum behind you, and in just a few steps you reach Piazza Venezia, with sweeping views over the Palatine Hill and the Circus Maximus. Along the way, you’ll pass some of Rome’s most iconic landmarks: the impressive Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Pyramid of Cestius, the fresh breeze along the Tiber riverbanks with views of Tiber Island, all the way to Castel Sant’Angelo and the spectacular Via della Conciliazione leading to the majestic St. Peter’s Basilica.
The route then heads north into the Foro Italico, crosses Ponte Milvio, and runs alongside the modern Auditorium Parco della Musica. Another stretch along the Tiber takes you to Piazza del Popolo, then on to the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona.
The final 2 km bring you back in front of the Vittoriano: you pass the iconic Mouth of Truth and, with one last push, cross the finish line in triumphant style inside the Circus Maximus.
You can enjoy Rome and the Run Rome The Marathon by walking too. All Fitwalking enthusiasts are welcome to the marathon–dedicated Pacers will guide and support walkers throughout the course at suitable paces.
Runners have the option to partake in the Run4Rome, a relay race that consists of 26 miles. All you have to do is create your own team of four people and run the four stages of roughly 10 km for a total of 42.195 km. The proceeds earned will go to non-profit organizations to support social issues.
If you’re looking for a lighter workout, you can register for the non-competitive Fun Run. This year, the event will take place on Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 AM, with a 5 km route starting and finishing at the Circus Maximus. It will be a celebration of joy, well-being, friendship, and solidarity, with plenty of music along the way. In recent years, the event has reached a record of 80,000 participants, making it the most popular Stracittadina in the world.
How to register
Registration must be made on-line, following the instructions available on the website www.runromethemarathon.com. The registration fee for the Rome Marathon is €129. This edition will be limited to 30,000 participants.
Italy will host three matches at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico this 2026
If you’ve ever wanted the chance to watch a modern-day gladiator match, it’s here. The annual 6 Nations Rugby Championship will commence in February 2026. Six elite rugby nations – Italy, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and France – will go head-to-head in this hundred year old tradition, and just like the Ancient Romans, these rugby warriors will be fighting to the death, or rather to the trophy.
The Six Nations Championship, traces its roots back to 1883 when it began as the Home Nations Championship involving England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. France joined in 1910, evolving it into the Five Nations, and later Italy’s inclusion in 2000 transformed it into the current Six Nations. This prestigious competition showcases intense rivalries, passionate matchups, and skillful displays of rugby prowess. Recent winners have seen a mix of dominant performances, with teams like England, Ireland, and Wales consistently contending for the title. Each edition brings forth new narratives and unforgettable moments, contributing to the rich and dynamic history of this esteemed tournament.
Italy will host two matches at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico this 2026: Scotland on February 7th and England on March 7th. Watch the players roar, claw, and run to victory. Be prepared for fans to swarm into pubs after the games for the legendary “third half,” known to be a time of copious drinking and celebration of rugby, regardless of which team secured a victory or loss.
During the Six Nations match days, the Peroni Nastro Azzurro Terzo Tempo Village will set up in the Foro Italico area and bring color to Rome, enhancing the pre- and post-match experience with events, activities, music, and entertainment to give fans an unforgettable experience.
Six Nations Tickets
Tickets for the Six Nations are available for purchase through the Ticketone circuit, accessible via the link below. The cost varies from €16 for the “curve” to €137 for the Tribuna Montemario.
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