Santa Maria Regina Mundi Patronal Feast (Torre Spaccata)

A neighborhood festival in the heart of the 6th Municipality

The Santa Maria Regina Mundi Patronal Feast is the most anticipated event of the year for Torre Spaccata, a district in the eastern suburbs of Rome, located in the Municipality of Rome and the Metropolitan City of Rome (Lazio region). Every year, around the last Sunday of May, the parish entrusted to the Carmelite Fathers on Via Alessandro Barbosi transforms the church square, the courtyard, and the local streets into a single, large festive space.

This is not a tourist attraction; it is a community festival built by volunteers, youth groups, and local families. Visitors will find one of the most authentic ways to experience Roman popular religiosity in post-war neighborhoods, far from the basilicas of the historic center.

The Triduum and the Procession

The liturgical heart of the feast is the triduum preceding the solemnity of Mary Queen of the World: three days of evening celebrations, including Mass and moments of communal prayer. On Saturday evening, the community sets out for the procession along Via Sommariva and the surrounding streets, with the statue of the Madonna carried on shoulders, streetlights glowing, and balconies decorated by residents. It is the most moving moment: the neighborhood pauses and comes together.

On the final Sunday, Masses are held throughout the day, while on the square, madonnari (chalk artists) create their large, intricate drawings dedicated to the Virgin—an ephemeral art form that children watch with curiosity for hours.

The Torre Spaccata Fun Run

For over forty years, the religious feast has been accompanied by a sporting event that has become a neighborhood institution: the Torre Spaccata Fun Run, established in 1980 as the "Rose March." It is a non-competitive race open to everyone, with short routes winding through the district's streets; you can walk, run, or accompany the little ones. The start is preceded by a Mass dedicated to the participants, and the small registration fee is collected at the parish office.

Evenings in the Courtyard

The main events are surrounded by a calendar of initiatives that changes from year to year, organized by parish groups:

• Pilgrim Madonna in the courtyards — in the weeks leading up to the feast, the image of the Virgin is hosted in the courtyards of local apartment buildings, with rosaries and outdoor Masses.
• Recitals and theatrical performances organized by youth groups and the parish choir association.
• Animated evenings in the courtyard with music, games, and food stalls managed by volunteers.
• Pilgrimages to Roman sanctuaries, from Divino Amore to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
• Food drive for the parish Caritas, a fixed tradition on the first night of the triduum.

Why it is worth visiting

Torre Spaccata does not appear in Rome's guidebooks, and that is precisely its appeal. The patronal feast offers the chance to see a real Rome—the one of working-class neighborhoods built in the 1960s, where religious traditions still mark the collective calendar. All initiatives are free, with the exception of the symbolic fee for the fun run, and the hospitality is spontaneous.

The timing, the last week of May, coincides with the best weather of the year in Lazio: mild evenings and long daylight hours, ideal conditions for an outdoor procession and evenings in the courtyard.