Marino Village

A festival village at the gates of Rome

Marino Village is the grand popular festival that, every year around the last week of May, brings the Parco della Pace to life in the hamlet of Cava dei Selci, in the municipality of Marino (Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio). Just a stone's throw from the Via Appia Nuova and about twenty minutes from the Grande Raccordo Anulare, the municipal green space fills up for nine consecutive evenings with stages, lights, stalls, and attractions, becoming the evening meeting point for the entire region.

The formula is simple and successful: completely free admission, stalls opening in the late afternoon, and a program that kicks off after dinner with a different concert or show every night. It is neither a festival dedicated to a specific local product nor a patron saint feast, but a true entertainment village designed for all ages, where the convivial atmosphere of the neighborhood blends with the quality of a professional production.

Live music, revivals, and tribute bands

The heart of Marino Village is the main stage. The musical programming plays heavily on the nostalgia of the 90s and 2000s, with now-iconic formats like 90 Mania, A Tutta Mania, and Ti Sblocco un Ricordo, capable of filling the park's lawn until late at night. Alongside these events, there are tribute bands dedicated to the pillars of Italian music—from Pooh to Vasco Rossi, and the Roman repertoire of Franco Califano—as well as dance orchestras, with evenings of ballroom, Latin American, and salsa music that bring the atmosphere of traditional village festivals back to the park.

• Revival nights from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s with DJ sets and entertainment
• Tribute bands of the greatest Italian music
• Ballroom, salsa, and Latin American dancing with live orchestras
• Cabaret and comedy between sets

Street food, crafts, and attractions

From the afternoon, the central avenue fills with food stalls and food trucks: fried foods, sandwiches, porchetta, sweets, and Italian and international street food specialties coexist with stalls selling crafts and typical products from the Castelli Romani. For the little ones, the village offers rides, inflatables, and entertainment areas, while the Ferris wheel—which has become the visual symbol of the event over the years—offers an unusual view from above of the Roman countryside and the profile of the Colli Albani.

A festival with a social heart

Marino Village is not just entertainment. Every year, the event hosts solidarity and awareness-raising initiatives: from the Red Race, the run against gender-based violence promoted by the Associazione Genitori in Ruolo, to days dedicated to the Marino Civil Protection, featuring displays of rescue vehicles and educational moments for families. There is also no shortage of beauty pageant selections and fashion shows involving local youths.

Organizers

The event is conceived and organized by AP Eventi di Andrea Paciotti, in collaboration with Spettacolissimo di Donato Lauri, with the support of the Municipality of Marino and the Lazio Regional Council, and the participation of local associations. The result is a solid organizational machine capable of managing very large crowds—the 2025 edition exceeded 50,000 total visitors—while maintaining free access and a deeply popular spirit.

Why it's worth spending an evening here

For those visiting the Castelli Romani in late spring, Marino Village is an opportunity to experience the area from the inside, far from the classic tourist circuits of Castel Gandolfo or Lake Albano. Here, you meet neighborhood families, groups of friends, flag-wavers, and associations: this is the everyday Marino, the one that celebrates the much more famous Grape Festival between October and November, and which in May chooses the lightness of a village of lights, music, and street food.