Events calendar Italy

Easter Sunday is the occasion to meet the statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in many Sardinian villages. The Meeting of Oliena is one of the most interesting because of its beautiful scenery and the traditional costumes worn by the participants. The procession takes the statue of the risen Christ from the small church of San Francesco da Paola in the east of the town to the portal of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in the heart of the old town. The statues meet in the square exactly.

A large film festival is organized every year on Tavolara Island by the Argonauti di Olbia cultural association. This festival started with a small budget, but it has managed to become an increasingly important place in the Italian film panorama. Its success is fostered by the wild beauty of the island of Tavolara, which became practically a little Woodstock where hundreds of people gather the night around the big screen.

On the occasion of the feast of Santa Francesca Romana, patron saint of motorists, in Rome, all vehicles can be blessed just outside the church of the same name, near the Colosseum. This is enough to prevent any accident! This tradition dates back to 1928 and sees every year institutional vehicles (police trucks...) and emergency vehicles (ambulances...) as well as citizens' personal cars meet. It is even said that some children go there in their small cars: it is better to be prepared!

Religious ceremonies are held throughout Holy Week in Castelsardo, but the most important one takes place on the last day, Easter Monday (Lunissanti). A long procession leaves from the fortified citadel to the nearby village of Tergu. Men dressed in white robes sing ancient hymns along the way. The pilgrimage covers 10 km to the ancient church of Nostra Signora, built around 1300. The return journey is made by the light of candles and oil lamps, in a very moving religious fervor.

All children love San Nicolò who brings them presents. Not even afraid of the ugly Krampus!

Since 1954, this major international violin competition has been contested by the world's greatest soloists and virtuosos in Genoa's Carlo Felice Theater. The winner, who makes it through the qualifying rounds, the semi-finals and wins the final, has the immense honor of being able to play on the famous violin of the master himself, Niccolò Paganini, the Cannone, kept in the Palazzo Tursi museum! All the prize-winning violinists have gone on to have exceptional careers. The ^58th edition will take place in October 2025.

The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma's summer program is now a festival! Opera, dance, theater, pop, symphonic and jazz concerts - in all, some 50 events are on offer between June and mid-August in the monumental setting of the Baths of Caracalla. The Teatro Grande and the Teatro del Portico become incredible backdrops for the shows on offer. Attending an opera at the Baths of Caracalla is a unique experience, so don't hesitate to book your ticket if you're in Rome during this period!

Roma Summer Fest is the major music festival of the Roman summer. Between June and September, the Fondazione Musica per Roma organizes a series of concerts by national and international artists in the Cavea of the Auditorium Parco della Musica, attracting large audiences. From pop and rock to jazz and electronica, the program is rich and varied, and every year big names like Bob Dylan and Sting take part in the festival in 2023. In 2024, Deep Purple, Marcus Miller and Ludovico Einaudi have also been announced.

This festival opens the carnival season and attracts many curious people. It is considered the most characteristic carnival of the island. The participants in the procession are divided into two clans. The Mamuthones wear sheepskin jackets and black wooden masks with marked features. Opposite them, the Issohadores wear a white, inexpressive mask. They are in charge of leading the dance and capturing women in the crowd with a rope. To be caught with a lasso by an Issohadore is a good omen and a sign of fertility.

Every year, in the heart of summer, the biggest jazz festival in Sardinia takes place, an event that is becoming increasingly famous. Let yourself be carried away by the harmony and syncopated rhythm on unusual stages between the old town and the most beautiful beaches of the island: great music, big names of the national and international jazz scene in breathtaking settings such as the beaches of Cala Sapone, Cala Lunga or Maladroxia. The whole island is in effervescence during the festival, an opportunity to link tourism and culture.

Few couples follow the traditional Sardinian wedding ceremony. In 1962, the village of Selargius, between Cagliari and Quartu Sant'Elena, had the idea to organize a wedding that respects the ancient customs. Since then, the Antico Sposalizio Selargino is held every year and brings together all the inhabitants of the village. The couple and the two families dress in the traditional costume and march in separate processions. Salt and grains are thrown on the couple in wish of prosperity.

This celebration, probably the oldest and most fascinating of Quartu Sant'Elena, dates back to the rituals of the Phoenicians and the cult of the god Adonis. Seven girls, richly dressed and embellished, parade on a chariot to the church of Sant'Andrea, chanting muttetus, poetic improvisations. These describe the different phases of the festivities, and ask Saint John the Baptist for protection for all the participants.

Sardinia prepares Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ with fervor. In Alghero, the Holy Week that precedes Easter is the occasion of huge night processions led by torches. The white Jermans of the Confraternita della Misericordia organize the processions, the choirs and the litanies chanted along the route. The crowd follows a seventeenth-century crucifix from a Spanish shipwreck that has been washed up by the sea. Representatives of Catalan villages are invited to participate in the procession in their traditional clothes.

There is still a hint of summer when the 3-day "Open Yards" event opens in Oliena. The municipality is opening fifteen courtyards of historic buildings in its downtown area to present the abundance of its crafts and gastronomy to visitors. Each courtyard has a particular theme or presents a craft: blacksmith, jeweler, dressmaker, wine, honey, olive oil, cheese ... The artisans-producers present share their expertise and provide good advice. Meals, concerts and dances punctuate the days happily.

This very popular festival gathers thousands of people who, dressed in their best traditional costume, gather in procession through the streets of Nuoro to Mount Ortobene, where stands the imposing bronze statue of Christ the Redeemer. At the same time, another procession starts at the church Delle Grazie to converge on the same point. The whole procession is led to the sound of launeddas and folk songs. In the evening, a ballo tondo, a traditional dance, is performed in the amphitheater of the village with the best dancers of the island.

Since 1983, the ancient theater of Nora hosts the "Night of Poets". It is one of the most important cultural events in the region of Cagliari. The festival offers a wide range of events: opera, concerts of contemporary music, theater. It takes place outdoors in the extraordinary setting of one of the most beautiful wild places of Sardinia. Prestigious guests of international renown jostle each other: Paolo Conte, Alessandro Barrico, the Sardinian singer Elena Ledda, the Cuban Jazz & Blues Quartet..

The patron saint of the island is celebrated for two days with secular and religious events. The festivities start with a fireworks display on Cala Galetta. This is followed by a festival that puts fish in the spotlight. More than 6 tons of fried fish are offered to the population. A parade of Sardinian costumes is also part of the festivities that end with a torchlight procession. The statue of the saint is carried from the streets of the center to a boat on the sea.

Marathon runners can discover Rome in an original and sporty way by running the Rome Marathon! The 42.195 km course has been designed in the heart of the Eternal City, so runners don't miss any of its gems. Running next to the Colosseum or on Via dei Fori Imperiali is an experience in itself, believe us! If you are a sportsman, it is therefore an event not to be missed. Be aware that it will be quite difficult to access the city centre during the marathon. Remember, the important thing is to participate!

A festival to which the Romans attach great importance: it is celebrated around the piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. Games, fireworks, music and various events are on the program. Born in 1891, the festa di San Giovanni Battista was celebrated during the summer solstice. During this night, many exorcisms were practiced because the popular belief was that witches fly over Rome, passing over the basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.