Premio Roma International Rose Competition

A global competition on the Aventine Hill

The Premio Roma International Rose Competition is one of the most prestigious events on the global floricultural calendar. It takes place annually, traditionally on the third Saturday of May, at the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome, located in the city's first district on Via di Valle Murcia on the Aventine Hill. The garden overlooks the Circus Maximus and the Palatine Hill, offering one of the city's most iconic panoramas: the May bloom, featuring over a thousand varieties of antique and modern roses, transforms the slope into an amphitheater of color and scent.

A history spanning nearly a century

The first edition of the Premio Roma dates back to 1933, when it was held on the Oppian Hill; it remained there until 1940, before being suspended due to the war. In 1951, the event resumed at its current location on the Aventine, where the Rose Garden had been reconstructed. Since then, the Premio Roma has continued uninterrupted, predating other major European rose competitions in Madrid, Paris, Vienna, London, and Dublin. This legacy has established Rome as a global reference point in floricultural research.

How the competition works

The roses entered do not arrive at the last minute: they are sent to Rome approximately twenty months before the competition and planted in the lower section of the Rose Garden to acclimatize to the soil and climate of the capital. During this long period, a permanent jury observes them and assigns technical scores, evaluating plant vigor, disease resistance, and repeat-flowering capacity. On the weekend of the competition, the international jury—composed of botanical garden directors, experts, and cultural figures—adds aesthetic scores for form, color, and fragrance.

Competition categories

• Floribunda
• Groundcover and miniature
• Hybrid tea
• Shrub roses
• Climbing and rambling roses

Alongside category awards, several special recognitions are presented, which in recent years have given the competition a civic and participatory character: the fragrance award, the children's rose voted on by students from Roman schools, the gardeners' rose chosen by the Rose Garden staff, and the peace rose.

The Municipal Rose Garden, a garden with a unique history

The Rose Garden occupies an area that housed the city's Jewish cemetery until the Second World War: in memory of this, the paths in the upper section are laid out in the shape of a menorah, and a stele at the entrance commemorates the site's history. The garden preserves a botanical collection of great value, with roses from the Far East, South Africa, and the Americas, and is open to the public only during two seasonal windows, in spring and autumn. Admission is free.

Why it is worth visiting

The Premio Roma is not a commercial fair but a technical event that has opened up to the general public over the years. Visitors arriving during the competition days will find the lower section of the Rose Garden occupied by the varieties in competition, still without commercial names and identified only by a number: these are roses no one has ever seen before that, if awarded, will reach the market in the following years. The awards ceremony on Sunday evening, with free entry, is the most popular moment, featuring the announcement of the winners against the backdrop of the Circus Maximus. For those visiting Rome in May, it is one of the most pleasant and least touristy experiences in the city, just a short walk from the Orange Garden and the Circus Maximus.