Argentine Festival at Mercato Centrale Rome

A slice of Argentina inside Termini Station

The Argentine Festival at Mercato Centrale Rome is a one-day event dedicated to Argentine culture, hosted in the spaces of the Mercato Centrale, in the Mazzoniana wing of Termini Station, at Via Giovanni Giolitti 36. We are in the Esquilino district, one of the most cosmopolitan neighborhoods in the Municipality of Rome, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in Lazio: a setting that naturally lends itself to an event built around the encounter between two gastronomic cultures, the Italian and the Argentine, which have been in dialogue for over a century due to migration.

The format is neither that of a fair nor a concert: it is a day of participatory experiences, where you learn by doing. You enter the market in the morning and can stay until the evening, moving from a cooking workshop to a tasting, from a dance lesson to dinner.

The workshops: empanadas, alfajores, mate

The heart of the program is Argentine home cooking. The Empanada Experts workshop is a hands-on course where you prepare the dough, discover traditional fillings, and—a detail not secondary for Argentines—learn the repulgue, the cord-like sealing technique that distinguishes one filling from another. Each session concludes with a tasting of what has been prepared.

Alongside this is an activity designed for families: Look Mom, I can make Alfajores!, dedicated to children accompanied by a parent, centered on the dulce de leche-filled cookie that is perhaps the most famous Argentine sweet in the world. Those who prefer a daily ritual will find All About Mate Tea: a meeting that traces the history of the yerba mate infusion, its preparation with the bombilla, and above all the social code that governs it, because in Argentina mate is shared, and passing it in the wrong order is already a minor discourtesy.

Fernet-Branca, an Italo-Argentine bond

The masterclass on Fernet-Branca tells a curious and very Italian story: an amaro born in Milan in 1845 that became the unofficial national drink in Argentina, especially in its version mixed with cola. The session traces the history of the Fratelli Branca Distilleries and concludes with the preparation and tasting of Fernet con coca.

Tango, open to all

In the evening comes the most anticipated moment: Tango Lesson, an introduction to Argentine tango designed for absolute beginners. You don't need experience or to show up as a couple: you learn the basic step, the embrace, and the walk, and listen to the history of a dance born at the end of the 19th century in the port districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2009.

Street food and Argentine dinner

Throughout the day, the street food area offers specialties that are eaten on the go in Argentina: empanadas, choripán, the milanesa sandwich, mate, and Argentine beers. From the late afternoon, the Fernet-Branca area opens, and an aperitif with Argentine music begins. The day closes with Dinner in Argentina, a set menu that explores the most representative dishes of the tradition.

Why it's worth it

• It is one of the few Roman events that brings together, in a single day, cuisine, spirits, dance, and children's activities from the same culture.
• Activities have limited capacity and require booking: you work in small groups with real artisans.
• The collaboration with Ceibo, an Argentine empanada shop at the Mercato Centrale run by artisans with Italian and Argentine roots, guarantees the authenticity of the recipes.
• Its location inside Termini Station makes it accessible to everyone, even for a stopover of a few hours.