August 2025 in Rome: discover and experience Rome from 1 to 31 August 2025

Rome in August, a month of unmissable events and visit opportunities. Find out what to do from 1 to 31 August 2025 and follow the suggestions thought up by our editorial staff to experience and admire the city, including along less beaten paths that conceal surprising corners of beauty.

• Roma Live events in August

• New entries and special events in August

• Rome free/low cost in August

• Jubilee 2025: the events in August

• Rome with kids in August

• The days of Rome: key dates in the city’s history and traditions in August

• The many facets of Rome: places of the ancient Rome, papal Rome and modern Rome to (re)discover in August

• Itineraries and curiosities: our tips for August 

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 August, and choose from the exhibitions, sporting events, concerts, theater shows, festivals, ballets and dance performances scheduled until 31 August. Please note: information available in this section is being updated constantly.

New entries and special events

• Caravaggio. Conversion of Saul - Caravaggio’s stylistic evolution and transformations in his pictorial conception read through two versions of the same theme, the Conversion of St. Paul. On the heels of the success of the exhibition dedicated to the painter, until 30 September Palazzo Barberini is hosting the so-called Odescalchi Altarpiece. The precious oil on panel, which entered the collection of Nicoletta Odescalchi, is placed in dialogue with a very high-definition reproduction of the painting in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.

• Crypta Balbi: cantiere aperto - Two thousand years of history in one block, from the small and refined theater of the early imperial age to the early medieval lime kiln, from the “botteghe oscure” (dark workshops) of the merchants to the monastery that housed the young daughters of the Roman courtesans, up to the urban transformations after the unification of Italy. Closed to the public to allow excavations and restoration work, the Crypta Balbi tells its story every Saturday (at 10.30 am and 12 noon) with free guided tours by the staff of the National Roman Museum.

• VILLÆstate 2025 - Meetings, concerts and multimedia shows under the stars, among the magnificent ruins of Hadrian’s Villa and the fountains, nymphaeums, grottoes and water features of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este’s villa. Until 30 August, the summer festival promoted by the Istituto autonomo Villa Adriana e Villa d’Este - VILLÆ interweaves history and contemporaneity in a rich calendar of events designed to excite and involve, to experience the marvels of the two monumental sites at the gates of Rome in the magic of the evening hours.

Rome free/low cost

Churches and palaces, courtyards and cloisters, elegant squares and secret piazzas, monumental or tiny fountains, 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. As for the sites and monuments that charge a fee, on 3 August, like every first Sunday of the month, both the national cultural sites and the museums run by Roma Capitale 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 31 August, as on every last Sunday of the month, you can visit the Vatican Museums at no cost from 9 am to 2 pm (last admission 12.30 pm). On all other days, with the exception of Mondays, you can explore at no cost 8 small museums with small but valuable collections ranging from prehistory to modern and contemporary art. Until 31 August, it is possible to visit the Museo dell’Arte Salvata at no cost, while on Saturdays and Sundays a free immersive tour tells the story of Palazzo San Felice, the future home of the Library of Archaeology and Art History which is currently undergoing restoration (with a special installation dedicated to the Sepulchre of the Sempronii).

Free or low cost events and activities for the month of August include: the events of Testaccio estate, Lungo il Tevere... Roma 2025, AREA* Roma Pride at the Caracalla Bath and Ostia. Un Mare di Cultura; the exhibitions Lavinia - Part III at the Loggia dei Vini of Villa Borghese, Sergio Strizzi: looking beyond the set at Palazzo Esposizioni (untill 10 August), Is it Sundown? and Profili e Gesti at the Rhinoceros Gallery, Hanji - Sperimentazioni 2025 at the Korean Cultural Institute in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and MemoRio - Photographic Memories of Rio at Palazzo Pamphilj (until 14 August); the extraordinary evening openings at the Villa di Massenzio, the visits and workshops of the Speciale Giubileo 2025 series organized by the Capitoline Superintendency and the free guided tours of the ancient Palazzo Sciarra Colonna in Via del Corso and its collection (bookings on the website https://museodelcorso.com/en/). Find more tips on the cultureroma and informagiovani websites.

Jubilee 2025: the events

In August, the Jubilee will continue with numerous pilgrimages from all over the world. The month will begin with the Jubilee of Youth (until 3 August), a central event of the jubilee year, with at least half a million young pilgrims expected to arrive in Rome. After the penitential day at the Circus Maximus on 1 August, activities will move to Tor Vergata, with a large prayer vigil (Saturday 2) and Mass (Sunday 3) presided over by Pope Leo XVI. On 15 August, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the pontiff will return to celebrate at Castel Gandolfo, with Mass in the pontifical parish of San Tommaso da Villanova (by invitation only), followed at 12 noon by the Angelus in Piazza della Libertà. The Octagonal Halls of St. Peter’s Basilica, located in one of the pillars supporting Michelangelo’s dome and open to the public for the first time, are hosting the permanent exhibition Pétros ení: Saint Peter’s Digital Experience, an immersive journey with 3D reconstructions and innovative projections that tell the story of St. Peter and the history of the basilica. The Jubilee is at the center of a number of exhibitions taking place in the city’s museums and cultural spaces: Opere del Giubileo e Architettura sacra - Works carried out for the Jubilee and sacred architecture at the Acquario Romano - Casa dell’Architettura (until 10 September), Open City 2025. Rome in the Jubilee Year at the Vittoriano (until 28 September) and Sulle vie del Giubileo. Pellegrini, treni, papi - Along Jubilee Routes. Pilgrims, Trains, Popes at Villa Farnesina. For more information and assistance in registering for the pilgrimage to the Holy Doors and the major Jubilee events, 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, villas and gardens in which to run wild, educational workshops and readings to stimulate the imagination and creativity, theme parks, theatrical performances and much more... Rome is also a family-friendly city, a cheerful and colorful stage for every child. Discover all the events dedicated to children scheduled for the month of August 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 August.

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 Trophies of Marius - Two sculptures of trophies erroneously attributed to the Roman general and politician Gaius Marius (moved in 1590 by Giacomo della Porta to the new balustrade of the Campidoglio) determined the name by which the spectacular nymphaeum built by Alexander Severus became known from the Middle Ages onwards. Rich in water-filled basins, bronze decorations, statues and marble groups, the nymphaeum was in fact a “castellum aquae”, a monumental water distribution castle, which ended up serving as a model for the great fountains of Renaissance and Baroque Rome. On 24 August, as part of the Speciale Giubileo event, expert guides will accompany visitors on a tour of its magnificent remains in the garden of Piazza Vittorio..

• The Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini - On 2 August 1667, broken by moral and physical ills as he himself said, Francesco Borromini threw himself on a sword. In the hours of agony preceding his death, however, he had time to repent and obtain permission to be buried next to his beloved uncle Carlo Maderno, in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, on whose magnificent work they had both worked. Begun in 1519 by Jacopo Sansovino, the church was completed about two centuries later after requiring the intervention of various artists and architects. Maderno, for example, was responsible for the characteristic dome in the shape of a sucked candy, while Borromini designed the high altar and the Falconieri family’s burial crypt, his last creation.

• The Roman Aquarium - A place with a surprising history, a monumental complex that is spectacular both in its neoclassical architecture and in its decorations, strictly marine-themed. Opened in 1887 as an aquarium and fish farm, it changed its use after just a few years, reinventing itself as a circus arena, neighborhood gym, venue for public competitions, theatre, warehouse for the materials of the Rome Opera House and electoral office. Since 2003, after extensive restoration and redevelopment work, the Aquarium has been home to the Casa dell’Architettura (House of Architecture) and is now a landmark of Italian architectural and urban culture, a place of openness and gathering that welcomes visitors from its beautiful garden.

Itineraries and curiosities: our tips

• The mini shrine of the Madonna dell’Archetto - Nestled between two buildings at the end of a narrow alley, it almost goes unnoticed. The smallest sanctuary in the city is a jewel of Neo-Renaissance art built in the mid-19th century to house an effigy of the Virgin Mary painted at the end of the 17th century and at the center of miraculous events. Find out more in the dedicated page.

• The emperors’ paradise: the Museo Ninfeo - An underground, high-tech museum covering over 1,000 square meters, with artefacts, reconstructions and videos that transport us to the splendor of the Horti Lamiani, retracing the footsteps of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero and Alexander Severus among the fountains, statues, temples and nymphaea of its sumptuous gardens. Find out more in the dedicated page.

Copyright © All rights reserved