Fondi International Folklore Festival

An internationally recognized folklore festival

The Fondi International Folklore Festival is one of the longest-running and most iconic summer events in the town of Fondi, located in the province of Latina, in southern Lazio. Founded by the Gruppo Folk Città di Fondi Cultural Association, the festival brings traditional singing, music, and dance ensembles from various countries to the city each year, alternating between stage performances and parades through the historic center. The event is registered with the Lazio Region's folklore festival board and is recognized by CIOFF®, the international organization accredited by UNESCO that brings together traditional arts festivals worldwide—a distinction that guarantees the quality and selection of guest groups.

The Gruppo Folk Città di Fondi, the heart of the event

Behind the festival lies an association active since 1969. The Gruppo Folklorico Città di Fondi includes both youth and adult sections, dedicated to ongoing research into local Fondi traditions: costumes, instruments, work songs, courtship dances, and repertoires linked to the agricultural cycle of the Piana di Fondi. Careful succession planning has allowed the group to remain large, vibrant, and capable of representing the city abroad. The festival was born not merely as a show, but as a moment of exchange between communities that share the same dedication to preserving popular memory.

What to see at the festival

• Folklore parades through the streets of the historic center, with groups in traditional costumes reaching the stage accompanied by bands and musicians.
• Evening performances in Piazza Alcide De Gasperi, where international ensembles showcase their traditional dance and music repertoires.
• Evenings in the Giudea district, the ancient Jewish quarter of Fondi, one of the city's most evocative settings, with alleys, arches, and small squares hosting more intimate performances.
• Meetings and educational moments dedicated to ancient crafts, artisan work, and local traditions, often hosted within the spaces of the Castello Caetani.
• Tastings of typical products from the Pontine territory, from olive oil and preserves to vegetables from the Piana and traditional sweets.

Fondi, the festival's natural stage

Fondi is one of the art cities of southern Lazio: its urban layout preserves the ancient Roman grid, dominated by the Castello Caetani and the Palazzo del Principe, while the Giudea district bears witness to one of the most important Jewish communities in central-southern Italy during the Middle Ages. The festival leverages this urban scenery: squares and alleys become natural stages, and those attending the shows find themselves discovering the entire historic center almost without realizing it. The event is traditionally included in the municipal summer program, which in recent years has gathered July, August, and September events under the banners of "Fondi sotto le stelle" and "Estatissima".

Why it's worth the trip

Folklore in this festival is not a tourist postcard: it is the performance of repertoires genuinely practiced by communities that pass them down. Seeing a group from Latin America, one from Eastern Europe, and the local Fondi dancers in their 19th-century costumes in a single evening reveals how popular dance is a shared language. For families, it is an accessible and engaging evening with open-air night shows; for those visiting the Pontine coast, it is the perfect opportunity to leave the beach for a night and discover the hinterland. Fondi is located just a few kilometers from the beaches of Sperlonga, Terracina, and Sant'Anastasia, in a convenient position to combine sea and culture in the same stay.