Flautissimo

A festival that weaves music and words

Flautissimo is one of the most recognizable autumn events in the cultural landscape of Rome, in the Lazio Region. Originally established as a chamber music festival focused on the flute repertoire, it has progressively broadened its scope over the years to become a true city-wide festival, capable of blending music, theatre, literature, and performing arts into a single narrative that spans the city from October to December.

Artistic direction and the Accademia Italiana del Flauto

The event is conceived and directed by Stefano Cioffi and organized by the Accademia Italiana del Flauto, a Roman institution active since 1988 in the training and promotion of chamber music. The festival is promoted and supported by the Department of Culture of Rome Capital with the contribution of the Lazio Region, in collaboration with the Fondazione Roma Tre Teatro Palladium and the Teatro di Roma. This institutional network enables a programme that unites great names of the Italian stage with internationally renowned soloists.

The venues: from Garbatella to Ostiense

The heart of the festival is the Teatro Palladium, a historic rationalist building in Piazza Bartolomeo Romano, in the Garbatella district, now managed by Roma Tre University. Surrounding it are the other festival venues: the Teatro India on the Lungotevere Vittorio Gassman, the Teatro Torlonia within the villa of the same name, and several municipal libraries, such as the Biblioteca Vaccheria Nardi and the Biblioteca Europea on Via Savoia, which host free-entry readings.

What to listen to and see

• Chamber music: recitals and concerts featuring internationally acclaimed flautists and pianists, often accompanied by masterclasses open to the public.
• Theatre and spoken word: performances and readings entrusted to actors and well-known voices of the Italian scene, with texts that engage in dialogue with the musical score.
• Readings and meetings: events in libraries dedicated to great literature, designed as a free gateway to the festival.
• Special projects: original productions created specifically for the festival, where musicians and actors share the stage.

A Roman identity

What distinguishes Flautissimo from other concert series is precisely the choice not to remain confined to a concert hall. The audience is invited to travel between different districts of the Capital, discovering theatres and libraries that are not always on the classic tourist routes: Garbatella with its working-class courtyards, Ostiense with its reconverted industrial soul, and the greenery of Villa Torlonia. The festival thus becomes a way to interpret the city through its cultural spaces.

When to go

The schedule typically runs between the second half of October and mid-December, with events concentrated on weekends and evenings. It is an ideal time to visit Rome: temperatures are mild, museum queues are shorter, and the city's cultural life is in the heart of the theatre season. For those who love chamber music and spoken-word theatre, Flautissimo represents one of the most curated events of the Roman autumn.