Festa Laurentina

A neighborhood festival in the heart of Laurentino

Some festivals are born not in a theater or a monumental square, but in the most everyday space a neighborhood possesses: its local market square. This is the case for the Festa Laurentina, which every year in early June takes over the square of the Mercato Laurentino on Via Francesco Sapori, in Rome's Municipio IX. For three days, the parking lot where crates of fruit and vegetables are unloaded in the morning becomes an open-air stage, complete with stalls, food trucks, a live music stage, and rides for the little ones.

The event is organized in collaboration with the Società Cooperativa del Mercato Laurentino, which brings together the market operators, and is held under the patronage of Municipio IX. Admission is free and open to all: it is a festival designed for the neighborhood and its residents, but perfectly accessible to those coming from other parts of the city.

Laurentino, a piece of contemporary Rome

Laurentino is one of the youngest and most debated districts in Rome's southern suburbs, established in the 1970s along the Via Laurentina, a short distance from the EUR district and the Grande Raccordo Anulare. It is a part of the city that has worked hard on its identity in recent years: associations, committees, schools, cultural centers, and businesses have built a network of initiatives that give the neighborhood a true public life. The Festa Laurentina is one of the most visible appointments in this journey, as it puts the local market at the center, which has always been the primary meeting place of a Roman neighborhood.

What you will find at the festival

• Street food and food trucks with Roman specialties, gourmet sandwiches, fried snacks, and desserts
• Beer garden with craft beers and draft selections
• Markets featuring crafts, creative works, and hobbyists, alongside the market operators' stalls
• Car Boot Sale, a private second-hand market with books, small furnishings, curiosities, and more
• Rides, inflatables, and face painting for families
• Live music: contests for emerging musicians, bands, cover shows, and DJ sets
• Parades of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and vintage cars
• Cooking workshops: pizza, bread, and handmade Apulian orecchiette

Music and the stage

The stage of the Festa Laurentina does not focus on big names, but on a formula that has always worked in popular Roman festivals: it starts with collective karaoke to break the ice, continues with a contest dedicated to emerging musicians from the southern quadrant of the city, and closes with bands and cover shows that bring the repertoire of Roman songs and Italian pop to the square. There is no shortage of DJ sets dedicated to the eighties and nineties, keeping the square dancing until late at night, nor the space reserved for local dance schools, where children and teenagers perform in front of their families.

A model of urban festival

What makes the Festa Laurentina interesting in the landscape of the many local festivals in Lazio is the fact that it is an urban festival rather than a village one: it does not celebrate a patron saint or a typical product, but a place of work and exchange. The market operators—greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers, cheesemakers, and street vendors—step out of their stalls and present themselves to the neighborhood in a different light, through tastings, workshops, and culinary experiences. It is a concrete way to defend Roman local markets, currently under pressure from large-scale retail competition, while offering residents three evenings of free entertainment.

Who it is for

The Festa Laurentina is an event especially suitable for families with children, who will find rides, face painting, and activities throughout the day, and for those who love the authentic atmosphere of neighborhood festivals. It is also a good opportunity for visitors who only know the historic center to see another side of Rome: the one that lives in the neighborhoods, meets at the market, and goes out to dance under the market lights in the evening.