DevFest Rome

A community-driven conference in the heart of Rome

DevFest Rome is the annual event that Google Developer Groups Rome City dedicates to the capital's tech community. This is a community-led event: not a trade fair, but a day built by developers for developers, featuring talks selected through an open call for speakers and free admission upon registration. DevFest is part of the international DevFest circuit, which every autumn brings hundreds of similar conferences to cities around the world under the Google Developer Groups umbrella.

The venue and location

The venue chosen for the debut is the Best Western Plus Hotel Universo, at Via Principe Amedeo 5/B, in the Esquilino district, just a few minutes' walk from Termini Station. It is a strategic location for an event that draws participants from across the Lazio region and beyond: those arriving by train can reach the conference hall without needing additional transport. The Municipality of Rome, capital of the Province of Rome and the Lazio Region, has long hosted a vibrant tech scene comprised of startups, research centers, and major universities, and DevFest fits into this fabric as a cross-disciplinary meeting point.

The topics

The program covers the entire spectrum of contemporary software development. The recurring themes announced by the organizers include:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning, with a focus on generative models and agents
• Cloud and DevOps, from serverless architectures to pipeline automation
• Frontend, modern frameworks and user experience
• Backend, APIs, languages, and performance
• Mobile, IoT, and cybersecurity

The format features multiple parallel tracks, allowing each participant to build a custom schedule between in-depth technical sessions and more general interest talks.

The first edition

On October 25, 2025, DevFest Rome debuted with a full day from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM, featuring three parallel rooms named Maria, Anna, and Ludovica, over twenty speakers, and more than three hundred registered attendees. The event was supported by Google as the main sponsor, alongside local entities such as Immobiliare Labs and Ready2Use. The organizing group consists of professionals who keep the Roman community active throughout the year with free meetups dedicated to AI agents, emerging languages, and development practices.

Who should attend

The ideal audience includes developers of all levels, computer science and engineering students, designers, product managers, and enthusiasts who want to understand where technology is headed. No specialized expertise is required to follow most sessions, while the more technical talks offer substantial content for those working daily with the technologies discussed. The added value, as in all DevFests, lies primarily in the breaks: the informal networking between sessions is often what participants remember most.

How to follow updates

Official communications are shared through GDG Rome City channels: the community page on the Google Developer Groups platform, the Instagram profile, the Telegram channel, and LinkedIn. The call for speakers is opened on Sessionize a few weeks before the event, as is ticket registration, which sells out quickly due to limited seating.