Appia Jazz Festival (Agri-Jazz Festival at the Ex Cartiera Latina)

A jazz festival in the greenery of the Appia Antica

The Appia Jazz Festival debuted in 2025 in Rome, within the Municipio VIII, at the Ex Cartiera Latina on Via Appia Antica 42. This restored industrial building now serves as the headquarters for the Appia Antica Regional Park. The organizers' vision is clear from the subtitle: it is the capital's first agri-jazz festival, an event that places improvised music on the same level as the agricultural work still practiced within the park's perimeter, just a few kilometers from the city's historic center.

Music: Italy's under-35 jazz talents

The musical program is built on a precise choice: giving space to under-35 musicians from the contemporary Italian jazz scene. The intimate formations—solo, duo, quartet—are perfectly suited for close listening within the Cartiera's spaces. Rather than big international summer-tour names, the festival features original projects, often premiered in Rome, that weave together jazz, electronics, folk traditions, and musical theater.

The inaugural edition in April 2025 brought Sardinian accordionist Pierpaolo Vacca to the Appia Antica for his solo debut, vocalist Camilla Battaglia with an experimental performance inspired by T.S. Eliot's poetry, actress and singer Ester Pantano with her musical storytelling piece Vucchi l'arma, and guitarist Christian Mascetta, performing both solo and with his quartet.

VinAppia: the park's agricultural producers

Alongside the concerts, the festival hosts VinAppia, its food and wine section. In the afternoons, stands from local farms working the lands of the Appia Antica Regional Park open to the public for casual tastings. Meanwhile, guided tastings—held in small groups by reservation—invite visitors to discover wines produced just steps away from Rome's ancient walls. The first edition also featured an Honey Bar and a guided cheese tasting.

Talks: organic and regenerative agriculture

The third pillar of the festival is a series of afternoon talks dedicated to organic farming, regenerative agriculture, and biodiversity. These open, free-to-attend discussions involve local farmers, beekeepers, and community associations. In 2025, participants included the founders of Semi di Comunità, Rome's first community-supported agriculture project. This segment truly justifies the "agri-jazz" label and distinguishes the event from other spring musical gatherings in Rome.

A location worth the journey

The setting is an integral part of the experience. The Appia Antica, the regina viarum, crosses the southeast quadrant of Rome and the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region, with its ancient paving, tombs, aqueducts, and cultivated fields: one of Italy's most recognizable cultural landscapes. Attending a sunset concert at the Cartiera Latina, with the park as a backdrop, means experiencing a part of the city that preserves a rural dimension rarely found in a European capital.

Admission and audience

The festival is designed for a broad, intergenerational audience: jazz enthusiasts, families from the Appio-Latino and Ardeatino neighborhoods, hikers and cyclists from the park, and those curious about Lazio's food and wine. Concerts are free until capacity is reached, while guided tastings require online booking. This choice is consistent with the park's public nature and the support received from the Ministry of Culture and SIAE as part of the "Per Chi Crea" program.

• Where: Ex Cartiera Latina, Via Appia Antica 42, Rome
• When: In spring, during the month of April
• Admission: Free for concerts; guided tastings by reservation
• Organized by: Eticaarte and Appia Antica Regional Park