Il Cinema in Piazza - Arena Cervelletta

Cinema returns to the square, for free and under the stars

Il Cinema in Piazza is the major free open-air summer film festival that brings Rome to life every year, thanks to the Piccolo America Foundation. The initiative began in 2015, born from the experience of the young people who occupied the Cinema America in Trastevere, and has since become one of the most beloved and well-attended cultural events in the capital, drawing over one hundred thousand spectators each year. Screenings take place on three large city screens: Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere, the Monte Ciocci park, and, in the eastern part of the city, the Arena Cervelletta.

The Arena Cervelletta in Tor Sapienza

Located in the Tor Sapienza district of Rome, the arena is set within the Cervelletta Park, surrounding the historic farmhouse of the same name nestled in the Aniene Valley Nature Reserve. It is a unique space: a piece of the Roman countryside reclaimed from neglect and returned to the city, where cinema becomes an opportunity for cultural redemption in a peripheral neighborhood. Screenings are held from Wednesday to Sunday, every evening at 9:15 PM, with free admission and no reservation required. Films are shown in their original language with Italian subtitles or in Italian with English subtitles.

A program of auteur retrospectives

The strength of the Cervelletta lies in its monographic retrospectives, which accompany the audience throughout the weeks of the event:

• David Lynch and Twin Peaks: Fridays are dedicated to the American master, featuring the first season of the series, the prequel film, and the unreleased Missing Pieces;
• Kenneth Anger: Wednesdays explore American underground cinema with experimental visions and rare montages;
• Alice Rohrwacher: Saturdays showcase feature films, short films, and documentaries by the Italian director, blending magical realism with the rural world;
• Steven Spielberg: Family Sundays featuring great classics, from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to The BFG.

More than just films: the meetings

As every year, the festival intertwines screenings with meetings and masterclasses featuring directors, actors, and key figures of Italian and international cinema, who take the stage at the arenas to engage with the audience before the films begin. It is this mix of great cinema, free access, and popular participation that has made Il Cinema in Piazza a cultural model known far beyond the borders of the Lazio region.

A Roman summer ritual

Bringing a chair or a blanket, sitting on the farmhouse lawn, and letting yourself be enveloped by the evening darkness as the screen lights up: the Arena Cervelletta is all this—a collective ritual that brings families, young people, and enthusiasts together every summer in the eastern suburbs of Rome, in the green heart of the Aniene Valley.