Rome in December, a month of unmissable events and visit opportunities. Find out what to do from 1 to 31 December 2025 and follow the suggestions thought up by our editorial staff to experience and admire the city, including along less beaten paths.
-
Roma Live events in December
-
New entries and special events in December
-
Rome free/low cost in December
-
Jubilee 2025: the events in December
-
Rome with kids in December
-
The days of Rome: key dates in the city’s history and traditions in December
-
The many facets of Rome: places of the ancient Rome, papal Rome and modern Rome to (re)discover in December
-
Itineraries and curiosities: our tips for December
Roma Live events
Roma Live is the calendar for experiencing Rome at 360°, a multimedia container dedicated to unmissable events for those living in the city and for tourists. Check here all the events for the month of December, navigating among the exhibitions, sporting events, concerts, theater shows, festivals, ballets and dance performances scheduled until 31 December. Please note: information available in this section is being updated constantly.
New entries and special events
-
Impressionism and Beyond. Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts - A journey through the wonders of art, from the great Impressionist period to the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century and Expressionism. From 4 December, the Ara Pacis Museum will illustrate the birth and evolution of modern painting through 52 masterpieces by great artists from the Detroit Institute of Arts.
-
Beyond the Pantheon - From the hitherto almost unknown spaces of the Basilica of Neptune to the Roman Pantheon and the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres: a new immersive journey that combines special effects, video mapping, architectural reconstructions, archaeological finds, reconstructions and 3D models offering a broader reading of the thousand-year history of the “most beautiful relic of ancient Rome”.
-
Special opening of the Giardino de’ Melangoli - Until 31 December, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the secret garden inside the Villa Borghese park opens its “masterpieces” to the public – fragrant bitter orange trees, lemons and citrons of various varieties placed in pots on pedestals, large rosemary bushes and other aromatic and bulbous plants among seating sculptures made of glazed and hand-painted terracotta..
Rome free/low cost
Churches, palaces and fountains, courtyards and cloisters, elegant squares and secret piazzas, marbles and stones with a history stretching back thousands of years – even if you have a limited budget, the city does not skimp on its wonders. On 7 December, as on every first Sunday of the month, both the national cultural sites and the museums run by Roma Capitale will open their doors to the public free of charge. Please note: in some cases, a reservation is required, so always check in advance the websites of the museums. On 28 December, as on every last Sunday of the month, entry will be free to the Vatican Museums (from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., last admission 12.30 p.m.). On all other days (excluding exception of Mondays), visitors can explore at no cost 8 small museums with small but valuable collections ranging from prehistory to modern and contemporary art. Palazzo Sciarra Colonna (Wednesday to Sunday) and Casa Pasolini, the new cultural space in the Rebibbia neighborhood (Thursday to Sunday), also offer free admission. On the last Friday of every month, it is possible to visit the Farnesina collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation while on Saturday 13 December, Palazzo Chigi, seat of the Italian Government since 1961, will also open its doors free of charge.
Free or low cost events and activities for the month of December include for example: the Coca-Cola Music Fest at the Stadio dei Marmi (5 December), the Roma Ukulele festival (6 December) and the series of films of Mash-up Altman at Palazzo Esposizioni (until 21 December); Maurizio Nannucci’s installation on the Gazometro, the exhibitions Volti in scena - 25 Anni di Cinema e Stile at the Casa del Cinema (5-14 December), Preghiera per andare in Paradiso con gli asinelli at the Rhinoceros Gallery, Carla Accardi. Segni dell’anima #2 at the Galleria Lombardi (from 6 December), Grandi Maestri della Fotografia - László Moholy-Nagy at the Accademia d'Ungheria, Keisuke Matsuoka and Otello Scatolini, Armonia 5.0. at the Mattatoio, Sapienti e Saperi at the Museo Laboratorio di Arte Contemporanea. Sapienza Museum Complex, Lavinia - Parte IV at the Loggia dei Vini in Villa Borghese and From Pop to Eternity at La Vaccheria; the Crypta Balbi: cantiere aperto project (every Saturday) and the immersive tour of Palazzo San Felice (on weekends), visits to the garden of the Japanese Cultural Institute (4, 5, 11 and 12 December) and to the Casa Museo Alberto Moravia (13 December), special evening openings of the Mausoleum of Saint Helena (6 December and the Archeologia in Comune 2025 walks; the performance by the Orchestra Popolare del Saltarello (7 December) and the Parade of Pipes and Bagpipes (21 December) at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, concerts in the church of Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi (6, 13 and 20 December), the Concert for Organ, Brass and Choir for the Closing of the Holy Year at the Pantheon (12 December) and the Concerto di Natale in Cattedrale in the Basilica of St. John Lateran (14 December), Le vie dei canti - Concerto di Santo Stefano in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli (26 December) and the festival Resonare cum jubilo (14 and 20 December). Find more tips on the cultureroma and informagiovani websites.
Jubilee 2025: the events
With December, the Jubilee is drawing to a close. The last thematic event is the Jubilee of Prisoners (14 December), while on 6 and 20 December, at the end of the Holy Father’s Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square, it will be possible to enter the Basilica through the Holy Door, even without registering on the registration portal (free audience tickets at the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household). In addition to the veneration of the statue of the Virgin in Piazza Mignanelli on 8 December (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception), the celebrations presided over by the pontiff in December include the events for the holiday season: the evening Mass on 24 December (at 10 p.m.) and Mass on 25 December in St. Peter’s (at 10 a.m.), followed by the Urbi et Orbi papal blessing from the central loggia of the basilica (at 12 noon); the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the past year on 31 December (at 5 p.m.) and Mass for the 59th World Day of Peace on 1 January (at 10 a.m.). The Holy Door of the basilica of St. Mary Major will close on 25 December, at 6 p.m., while the last date for passing through the Holy Doors of St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls is 28 December. The Jubilee will officially end on 6 January 2026, the solemnity of the Epiphany, with the closing ceremony of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s. Cultural events in December sponsored by the Jubilee include the exhibitions The Borso d’Este Bible in Rome. A Jubilee Masterpiece in the Library of the Senate of the Republic and Bethlehem Reborn: The Wonders of the Nativity in the Museum of San Salvatore in Lauro. The Jubilee is at the center of a number of exhibitions currently taking place in the city’s cultural spaces: Roma 1975 - Città, volti e storie nell’anno giubilare (Rome 1975 - Cities, faces and stories in the Jubilee Year) at the Drugstore Museum, 1350. Il Giubileo senza papa - The Jubilee without a Pope at Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali and Caring for the Spirit. Health and hospitality in papal Rome through the eyes of Massimo Listri in the complex of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza. For more information on events and pilgrimages to the Holy Doors, please contact the Info Point for the Jubilee 2025 in Via della Conciliazione 7. For tourist reception (information and sales), two new temporary Tourist Infopoints are active until 31 December 2025: the Tourist Infopoint Auditorium Conciliazione and the Tourist Infopoint San Paolo.
Rome with kids
Museums to explore, educational workshops and readings, theme parks, theatrical performances and much more... Discover all the events dedicated to children scheduled for the month of December and unleash your imagination among surprising adventures, journeys through history, interactive itineraries and guided tours. Our Kids page is updated weekly: visit us again for new ideas!
The days of Rome: key dates in the city’s history and traditions
Rites, festivals, anniversaries and celebrations have always marked the life of the city, its inhabitants and its visitors: a dense calendar of fixed happenings dating back to past eras, but also to the present day, that define Rome’s identity. Discover with us some of the city’s old and new special dates and moments, with the most heartfelt or awaited occasions – or even simply the most curious ones for the month of December.
The many facets of Rome: places of the ancient Rome, papal Rome and modern Rome to (re)discover
The pagan Rome that was the center of one of the largest empires that ever existed; the symbol city of the Catholic religion shaped by the successors on the throne of Peter; the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy and then of the Republic. The history of an eternal city is inevitably made up of multiple narratives that intertwine with one another. Each month, we will introduce you to three places that show the different imagines of Rome through the centuries.
-
The Syrian Sanctuary on the Janiculum - A reverse image of the triumph of the Christian religion. In February 380, with the Edict of Thessalonica, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire: this was the first step towards the closure of temples and the persecution (up to and including the death penalty) of those who remained faithful to pagan rites and liturgies. Which, however, probably continued to be practiced with great discretion within the family walls, at least for a while. Proof of this can be found in the late antique domus on the slopes of the Janiculum Hill, with its private “temple” dedicated to foreign deities, still very fashionable in a multi-ethnic and multicultural society. Currently undergoing restoration, the Syriac Sanctuary will open to the public on 7 December with free visits organized by the Special Superintendency of Rome.
-
Porta del Popolo - “They begin to be weary at Rome of their new guest”, an English diplomat reported to Oliver Cromwell. The above-mentioned guest was the former Queen Christina of Sweden: her free spirit and strong personality, with unpredictable outbursts and breaches of convention, did not take long to distress the pontiff, who had welcomed her with great pomp and ceremony only a few months earlier. Not yet thirty years old, Christina had arrived in Rome after her sensational conversion to Catholicism: on 23 December 1655, at the expense of Pope Alexander VII Chigi, she made her triumphal entry into the city through the Porta del Popolo. On the ancient Porta Flaminia, already modernised during the Renaissance and restored for the occasion by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a plaque under the Chigi coat of arms still commemorates the event: “Felici fastoque ingressui”, “For a Happy and Propitious Entrance”.
-
The gardens of Piazza Mazzini - An “artistic consultant” for Rome, with a well-defined style capable of combining aesthetics and functionality. An architect and landscape designer born at the end of the 19th century, Raffaele de Vico designed over thirty projects for the city’s green spaces, a long list ranging from the Giardino degli Aranci to the gardens of Villa Caffarelli and the Parco degli Scipioni. He also designed the refined “garden fountain” in Piazza Mazzini, completed in 1930 with the collaboration of sculptor Ermenegildo Luppi: a large, scenic pool in the center of an octagonal space adorned with box hedges, cypresses and holm oaks. Restored to their former glory following recent monumental and environmental redevelopment, between 1 December and 6 January the gardens are hosting a Christmas village open every day, with stalls selling local and handmade products.
Itineraries and curiosities: our tips
-
The age of (prehistoric) elephants: the Casal de’ Pazzi Museum - Over 13 feet tall and with very long straight tusks: several fossil finds, not least in Casal Lumbroso, testify to the fact that ancient elephants lived in Pleistocene Rome. It was the discovery of a tusk of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, now on display alongside the bones of other large mammals and a fragment of a human skull, that led to the creation of the museum in the Rebibbia district. Find out more in the dedicated page.
-
High water in Rome: flood plaques - A deity who guaranteed prosperity but was also prone to anger, ready to unleash memorable floods, such as the catastrophic one of 24 December 1598. Memorials and marble plaques around the city recount the terror and wonder of the Romans faced with the flooding of their river and the level reached by the waters. Of course, this was before the construction of the embankments cut the Tiber off from the urban dynamics. Find out more in the dedicated page.
