The Garden of Fairy Tales - Between Tradition and Innovation
Italian folk tales come to life in Rome through theater, music, dance, and new technologies
About The Garden of Fairy Tales
A festival where Italian fairy tales come to life
The Garden of Fairy Tales is a multidisciplinary festival that brings the Aurelio-Montespaccato area of Rome's Municipio XIII to life every summer. Conceived and directed by Annabella Calabrese and Daniele Esposito, and organized by the Le Chat Noir APS association, the project reinterprets the heritage of Italian folk tales—from Giambattista Basile to Italo Calvino—by weaving together theater, music, dance, cinema, literature, education, and new technologies.
Here, the fairy tale is seen as a tool for cultural transmission, emotional education, critical imagination, and intergenerational connection: an ancient language that the festival translates into contemporary forms for today's audiences, from children to adults.
Itinerant performances and distributed venues
The program unfolds across several locations in the Capital, each with its own unique atmosphere:
- Villa Carpegna, the heart of the main event, featuring itinerant performances that guide the audience through the park's trees;
- Parco Commendone, dedicated to workshops for children and families and participatory comedy shows;
- Polo Culturale Ex Campari in Montespaccato, hosting concerts, talks, and dance events.
Alongside the performances, the festival offers an artistic residency for performers under 35, the The Garden Tells a Story project featuring audio-video installations, QR codes, and digital animations, and Fairy Tales on the Move, with theatrical interventions in the municipality's senior centers, demonstrating a vocation deeply rooted in the neighborhood's social fabric.
An inclusive and free festival
One of the hallmarks of The Garden of Fairy Tales is its focus on accessibility: many events are designed to be accessible to spectators with motor, visual, and hearing impairments, with free audio description, LIS (Italian Sign Language), and English interpretation services available upon reservation. Admission to events is free, with mandatory booking where indicated.
Rome, local culture, and the Lazio region
Held in the Municipality of Rome, in the Lazio region, the festival is a winning project of the Roma Creativa 365. Culture all year round public notice, supported by Roma Capitale - Department of Culture and in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura. It is a prime example of local culture, bringing quality theater and storytelling into parks and neighborhood spaces, enhancing areas of the city often far from the main tourist circuits and restoring the role of Italian fairy tales as a bridge between folk memory and contemporary creativity.
The Garden of Fairy Tales — edition 2026
The Garden of Fairy Tales 2026
The seventh edition of the festival, titled between tradition and innovation, takes place in Rome from July 9 to 26, 2026, in Municipio XIII, with a program spread across parks and cultural spaces in the Aurelio-Montespaccato area. The heart of this edition is the three-day finale at Villa Carpegna, from July 24 to 26, featuring itinerant performances that guide the audience through the park's trees.
Alongside the shows, the program includes an artistic residency for performers under 35 (July 9-23), audio-video installations with QR codes and digital animations from the The Garden Tells a Story project, and the theatrical interventions of Fairy Tales on the Move in the municipality's senior centers.
Programme The Garden of Fairy Tales 2026
Parco Commendone
- July 11 - Acting workshop for children and parents with Annabella Calabrese and Daniele Esposito; 6:30 PM Fairy Tales on Demand! - The Return of the Sugary Witch, participatory comedy show.
- July 12 - Recycled musical instrument workshop with Ivana Labellarte; 6:30 PM Abracadabra… Speak English! - Fairy Tales from the Woods, bilingual show.
Polo Culturale Ex Campari (Montespaccato)
- July 18 - Concert On the Notes of Fantasy with Eleonora Segaluscio and the Sharareh Quartet; 12:00 PM talk The Enchantment of Cinema: Inside Disney Fairy Tales.
- July 19 - Dance workshop with Ilaria Fioravanti; talk Writing for Children; 6:30 PM The Magic of Reading and Dancing Fairy Tales, with choreography by Marco Vesica.
Villa Carpegna (main event)
- July 24 - 6:00 PM Fairy Tales of Magic, Enchantments, and Transformations (itinerant).
- July 25 - 10:00 AM Fairy Tales for the Little Ones: The Boy in the Sack (storytelling and puppets); 6:00 PM Funny and Surprising Fairy Tales (itinerant).
- July 26 - 10:00 AM Giovannuzza the Fox (storytelling and puppets); 6:00 PM Fairy Tales of Brave Princesses (itinerant).
The program is subject to change: it is recommended to check times and reservations on the official website.
Highlights The Garden of Fairy Tales 2026
- Seventh edition dedicated to Italian folk tales, from Basile to Calvino.
- Three-day finale at Villa Carpegna (July 24-26) with itinerant shows.
- Shows accessible to people with motor, visual, and hearing impairments (audio description, LIS, English interpretation upon reservation).
- Workshops for children and families, concerts, dance, talks, and digital storytelling.
- Artistic residency for performers under 35 and projects within the social fabric of Municipio XIII.
Prices The Garden of Fairy Tales 2026
Practical information — The Garden of Fairy Tales
Where
Events take place in various venues within Rome's Municipio XIII: Villa Carpegna (Aurelio district), Parco Commendone, and the Polo Culturale Ex Campari in Montespaccato.
How to get there
The venues are accessible by car and public transport (ATAC) from Rome's city center; Villa Carpegna is located in the Aurelio area, well-connected by city buses. It is advisable to check the route for each specific venue before attending.
Admission and reservations
Admission is free. For some performances and accessibility services (audio description, LIS, English interpretation), mandatory booking is required at least one week in advance. Information and contacts are available on the official website www.ilgiardinodellefiabe.info.
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Where does it take place — The Garden of Fairy Tales
Villa Carpegna, Parco Commendone, Polo Culturale Ex Campari