Quo Vadis? Cinema in the Heart of Rome

Cinema in the archaeological heart of Rome

There is only one place in the world where you can watch Nosferatu or Frankenstein with the Colosseum watching over your shoulder: the Temple of Venus and Roma, the largest temple in ancient Rome, which every July becomes the stage for Quo Vadis? Cinema in the Heart of Rome. The festival, with free admission, is promoted and organized by the CSC - National Film Archive together with the Colosseum Archaeological Park, bringing the big screen to the most famous ruins of the Capital, in the Rione Campitelli district.

A festival that grows year by year

Founded in 2022, Quo Vadis? has become one of the most anticipated events of the Roman summer. Each edition revolves around a theme that serves as a common thread for the ten evenings: after the journey through fables and dreams of Italian cinema in 2025, the 2026 edition chooses horror and its parody. The films come from the restored collections of the National Film Archive and are screened in their original version with Italian subtitles (Italian films have English subtitles), testifying to the festival's international vocation.

How the evening unfolds

Access to the area is from Piazza del Colosseo starting at 8:00 PM. At 8:45 PM, each screening is preceded by an introduction by directors, critics, scholars, and journalists, while the film begins at 9:15 PM, once the sky over the Forum has turned dark. Booking is recommended, but admission remains free until capacity is reached: watching a masterpiece while sitting in front of the columns of the temple commissioned by Emperor Hadrian is an emotion that is worth the trip.

Rome, Lazio, and its cinematic legacy

Hosting a film festival among imperial ruins is no coincidence: Rome, the capital of Lazio, has been the capital of Italian cinema for decades, from the era of Cinecittà to the great masters of the twentieth century. The CSC - National Film Archive preserves this memory and, with Quo Vadis?, returns it to the public in the most symbolic place in the city. An evening here combines archaeology, film history, and the dolce vita of Roman summer nights.