Santa Marinella Jazz & Blues Festival

Jazz by the sea on the Lazio coast

Every summer, during the first weekend of August, the Santa Marinella Jazz & Blues Festival lights up the Porticciolo of Santa Marinella, on the coast north of Rome. For three consecutive nights, starting at 9:00 PM, the quay of the small tourist harbor turns into an open-air stage where swing, jazz improvisation, and great Italian singer-songwriter music mingle with the sound of the waves. It is one of the most evocative spots on the Lazio coast, and the festival has made it its home.

The Alexanderplatz Jazz Club signature

The event is curated by the Alexanderplatz Jazz Club, a historic Roman jazz temple that has been promoting this genre for over forty years and is considered one of the most important jazz clubs in the world. The artistic direction is led by Eugenio Rubei, heir to the tradition founded by Giampiero Rubei. Launched in 2024 as the Santa Marinella Jazz & Soul Festival, the summer event has grown rapidly to become a staple of the city's calendar, supported by the Municipality of Santa Marinella, the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, and the Lazio Region.

The 2026 edition: three ways of being Roman

The third edition, from August 7 to 9, 2026, offers a musical journey that the artistic director described as «three different ways of being Roman». Opening the festival is Doctor 3, the celebrated trio formed in 1997 by Danilo Rea on piano, Enzo Pietropaoli on double bass, and Fabrizio Sferra on drums: an ensemble that has made Italian jazz history, capable of turning any melody, from pop to opera, into improvisation. The second night is entrusted to the Red Cats Big Band, directed by Red Pellini and Giorgio Cùscito, with a special guest appearance by Max Paiella: a journey through the swing of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s that turns the harbor into an open-air ballroom. The grand finale features Califano Latino: the eleven-piece orchestra led by Valter Paiola reinterprets the most beloved hits of Franco Califano with a Latin and South American twist.

The Porticciolo, a natural stage

The charm of the festival also lies in its setting: the Porticciolo of Santa Marinella, with its moored boats and evening sea breeze, offers acoustics and an atmosphere that few stages can boast. The town, a historic holiday destination known as the «Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea», experiences one of the most vibrant moments of its summer during these days, with strolls along the promenade, restaurants overlooking the water, and an audience that mixes residents, Roman vacationers, and jazz enthusiasts.

A free festival for everyone

Admission to the performances is free: a choice that reflects the desire of the Municipality and the organizers to make music a cultural and tourist engine for the entire territory. The project does not stop at summer: the partnership with Alexanderplatz has also given birth to a winter edition of the festival, between December and January, a sign of an increasingly stable bond between Santa Marinella and great jazz. For those who love live music by the sea, this is one of the must-see events of the summer in Lazio.