Acilia Patron Saints Festival (San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio)

A neighborhood festival in Rome's Municipio X

The Acilia Patron Saints Festival is the most cherished local event in this Roman coastal district, located within Municipio X of the Municipality of Rome, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio. This is not a festival of a historic village or a medieval town; it is the celebration of a modern neighborhood that grew along the Via Ostiense and has built a collective identity around its parish and the square named after its patron saint.

The patron is San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio, an 18th-century Franciscan friar and renowned popular preacher, to whom the Acilia parish—established in 1936 by Cardinal Vicar Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani and entrusted to the Friars Minor—is dedicated. In some years, local tradition has also included Saint Anthony of Padua, hence the plural «Patron Saints Festival» used by locals to describe these festive days.

How it works

The heart of the event is Piazza San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio, which is closed to traffic and returned entirely to pedestrians for the occasion. Local bus lines 013 and 017 are diverted to alternative routes along Via di Valle Porcina, Via Zampi, Via Landi, Via Beschi, and Via Mellano. The result is a pedestrian-only square for three days, where the church courtyard and the surrounding space become one large stage.

• Live music on the square's stage, featuring local bands and artists.
• Stalls offering food, local crafts, and community association information around the perimeter.
• Entertainment for children and families, including games and activities.
• Liturgical moments organized by the parish: solemn masses, vespers, and, in more traditional editions, a procession with a marching band through the neighborhood streets.
• Fireworks display to conclude the event, when scheduled.

The schedule follows the rhythm of the Roman summer: starting in the afternoon and continuing until midnight, when the heat fades and the square truly comes alive.

June and September: two sides of the same festival

Those searching for information on this festival may encounter seemingly contradictory dates. In recent years, the civil celebrations—music, stalls, and entertainment—have taken place in June. In the past, however, the parish organized a broader patronal festival in September, spanning four days with a distinctly religious and community-focused program: a solemn mass presided over by a bishop, vespers, a solemn procession with a band, vintage car and motorcycle rallies, concerts, and fireworks. Both traditions coexist in the neighborhood's memory, so it is always wise to check the parish channels before planning your visit.

The renovated square

In recent years, Piazza San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio has undergone redevelopment and partial pedestrianization, giving Acilia its first true pedestrian square. For a festival that thrives on this space, it is a substantial change: the social area that was once reclaimed for three days a year with barriers has now become, at least in part, a permanent feature of the neighborhood.

Why it's worth visiting

This is not an international tourist festival, nor does it pretend to be. It is quite the opposite: a local celebration where neighbors meet, where local youth perform before an audience that knows them by name, and where popular devotion coexists seamlessly with a porchetta stand and a children's carousel. For those visiting Rome who want to understand how life is lived in the southern periphery of the capital—the real one, between Ostia Antica and the EUR—three days in Acilia tell a more authentic story than many postcards.