Circe Art Festival

A stage for the emerging talent of Circeo

The Circe Art Festival is an arts and entertainment event that, in mid-July, turns Piazza IV Ottobre in Borgo Montenero—a district of the municipality of San Felice Circeo in the province of Latina—into a vast, open-air space for performance and community. The formula is simple and generous: emerging singers, dance schools, and artists from the Pontine region take turns on stage night after night before an audience of residents and vacationers, while food stalls accompany the performances with local delicacies. Admission is free, and the square becomes the village's summer living room.

Borgo Montenero, heart of the Pontine plain

Borgo Montenero is one of the planned villages created during the reclamation of the Pontine marshes. Its circular square, Piazza IV Ottobre, is among the most recognizable in southern Lazio and is naturally suited for hosting outdoor events. Just a few kilometers away rise the Circeo promontory and the beaches of the Circeo National Park: the festival thus fits into one of the most evocative settings of the Ulysses Riviera, between the sea, protected nature, and the memory of land reclaimed from the swamps.

Music, dance, and comedy: the festival's formula

The program weaves together multiple live performance styles. Singing performances by young artists alternate with choreography from local dance schools, ranging from classical and modern dance to tap; there is no shortage of comedy and cabaret, such as the one-man show that opened the 2026 edition, nor the DJ sets that close the evenings, getting the square dancing to 90s, 2000s, and contemporary hits. The announcement of the finalists also gives the event the rhythm of a true competition for emerging artists, designed to offer visibility to those taking their first steps on the scene.

A community-promoted celebration

The festival is promoted by the Amici di Borgo Montenero together with the Pro Loco Circeo, organizations that enliven the life of the village and the municipality of San Felice Circeo all year round. It is an event designed to involve all age groups: families arrive early to dine at the stalls, younger crowds stay late for the music, and the stage highlights local associations, schools, and talent. This community rooting is the event's true hallmark, closer to a large contemporary village fair than a polished, commercial festival.

Circeo in summer: sea, history, and myth

Attending the Circe Art Festival is also an opportunity to discover San Felice Circeo, the town that tradition links to the sorceress Circe from the Odyssey. The medieval historic center with the Templar Tower, the port, the Levante beaches, and the promontory caves complete the visit, while the municipality's summer calendar offers re-enactments, food festivals, and concerts throughout the season. The Borgo Montenero festival adds to this mosaic an evening of authentic popular celebration in the agricultural heart of the territory, halfway between the Circeo sea and the towns of the Pontine plain.