Once Upon a Time... in Vigna Murata

A free cinema arena in the heart of Fonte Meravigliosa

Once Upon a Time... in Vigna Murata is the summer film festival that lights up the square in front of the Vigna Murata Local Market on Via Andrea Meldola, in the Fonte Meravigliosa neighborhood of Rome's Municipio IX, every year. Established in 2021 by the Lanterne Magiche Cultural Association, the event features a unique trait that sets it apart from other Roman arenas: admission is always completely free, with no reservations or memberships required.

The core idea is both simple and ambitious: to transform an ordinary urban space—a neighborhood market square, usually a place for shopping and passing through by day—into a true cultural hub. The large screen, the rows of outdoor chairs, and the audience arriving on foot from nearby streets recreate the atmosphere of the popular cinema of yesteryear, which inspired the festival's name.

Fourteen evenings of classics, auteur cinema, and animation

The program spans fourteen consecutive evenings between late June and mid-July. The selection is intentionally diverse, mixing different genres: masterpieces of cinema history, contemporary Italian films, animated features for families with children, and an evening entirely dedicated to short films in competition.

• International classics restored and screened on the big screen outdoors
• Italian auteur cinema, often presented by the directors or actors themselves
• Family animation, with screenings tailored for younger audiences
• Fantasmagorìe, the Lanterne Magiche short film competition, featuring the Audience Award and the Golden Lantern (Lanterna d'Oro) presented on the final night

More than just screenings

What makes the Vigna Murata experience special is what happens before the film. Each evening is introduced by entertainment or insightful discussions related to the featured title: themed karaoke for animated films, stand-up comedy shows, book presentations, comic book talks, and meetings on environmental and sustainability issues. The audience arrives early, sits down, and chats: the cinema becomes a pretext to bring the square to life.

Guests and international collaborations

Over the years, the arena has hosted prominent figures from Italian cinema who personally accompanied their film screenings, meeting the local neighborhood audience. This vocation is complemented by a network of collaborations with foreign cultural institutes in Rome—including the Institut Français, the Polish Institute, and the Instituto Cervantes—which support evenings dedicated to great European cinema, as well as with local universities for in-depth looks at Asian cinema.

A city-supported project

The festival is promoted by Roma Capitale — Department of Culture, as part of the public calls for widespread culture, in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura, and takes place in spaces granted by Municipio IX. It is a model of local culture that, in the Lazio region and particularly in the southern suburbs of Rome, has proven capable of building a loyal, intergenerational audience.

For those visiting Rome in summer

Fonte Meravigliosa is not a tourist district: those who visit discover a residential, green, and quiet side of Rome, just minutes from the EUR district and Via Cristoforo Colombo. For this very reason, the arena represents an authentic opportunity to experience the Roman summer like a local—with an outdoor chair, a film under the stars, and no tickets to buy.