Subiaco Carnival

A popular carnival in the Aniene Valley

The Subiaco Carnival is the winter festival of the village that gave birth to Benedictine monasticism, nestled in the mountains of the Monti Simbruini Regional Natural Park, in the province of Rome. For a few weekends between February and Shrove Tuesday, the historic center fills with floats, masks, confetti, and music: a genuinely popular celebration, designed for families and child-friendly, involving the entire community and the neighboring towns of the Aniene Valley.

A tradition revived since 2010

The Subiaco carnival in its current form was born around 2010 on the initiative of the Subiaco in Maschera association, led by president Emanuele Lustrissimi, with the support of the Municipality of Subiaco: the fifth edition took place in 2014 and the eighth in 2017, a sign of an event that has grown year after year. The association has been able to make carnival folklore increasingly engaging, with flash mobs, themed parties, and the work of volunteers who build the floats for months.

The float parade

The most anticipated moment is the parade of floats, true works of festive craftsmanship that cross the streets of the town on Carnival Sundays and Shrove Tuesday. Masked groups arriving from neighboring villages—such as Affile, Arcinazzo Romano, and Rocca Santo Stefano—participate in the procession, along with flag-wavers, jugglers, and group dances that draw the public along the entire route, amidst confetti throwing and loud music.

Dances and parties at the old paper mill

Alongside the parades, the program of the documented editions has always reserved ample space for dance evenings in the spaces of the former paper mill of Subiaco, a symbolic place of the city's productive history: performances by local dance schools, food stands with the flavors of the valley, themed evenings, and DJ sets with DJs from the Aniene Valley. There is also the children's carnival, with entertainment and games dedicated to the little ones.

The Summer Carnival

From the success of the winter festival, the Subiaco Summer Carnival was also born, reaching its third edition in August 2024: floats and masks return to the street at Ferragosto, with the parade from Piazza della Resistenza to Piazza Ulderico Pelliccia, the "Gavettone day" at Largo San Benedetto, food stands, concerts, and DJ sets under the stars.

Subiaco, the village of Saint Benedict

Participating in the carnival is also an opportunity to discover Subiaco, one of the most evocative villages in Lazio: here Saint Benedict lived as a hermit in the Sacro Speco, today a breathtaking monastery clinging to the rock, and here, in the monastery of Santa Scolastica, the first book in Italy was printed in 1465. Between the Abbey Fortress, the medieval bridge of San Francesco, and the waters of the Aniene, the masquerade party intertwines with a thousand years of history.