Torre d'Oro — Lanuvio Singing Competition

A singing competition in the heart of the Castelli Romani

The Torre d'Oro is the historic singing competition of the town of Lanuvio, located in the province of Rome, in the heart of the Castelli Romani and the Lazio region. Established in the late nineties and reaching its 27th edition in 2026, it has become one of the fixed events that wrap up the Estate Lanuvina (Lanuvio Summer) calendar, alongside the Music Festival, the Caroso Classical Guitar Festival, and the September Grape and Wine Festival.

How the competition works

The format is simple and well-tested: two consecutive evenings, both starting at 9:00 PM, during which selected contestants perform live before an audience and a technical jury. Anything goes—covers of Italian and international hits, pop songs, and even original tracks written by the participants themselves, a choice that has brought various budding songwriters to the Lanuvio stage over the years.

• First evening: performances by all admitted contestants, interspersed with entertainment and musical guests.
• Second evening: the final with the top-ranked performers, guests, and the announcement of the winners.
• Awards: top three finishers plus the Critics' Choice Award, assigned by the expert jury.

Young voices, regional reach

Over the years, the Torre d'Oro has carved out a specific role: a showcase for emerging talent from Central Italy. Recent editions have seen around twenty participants coming not only from Lazio but also from Campania and Abruzzo, with a very young average age—in 2025, the podium was entirely occupied by under-20s. It is not a festival of big names, and that is precisely its charm: those who take the stage do so to be heard, often for the first time in front of a real audience.

Artistic direction

Behind the event is the direction of maestro Mauro Ingafù, a musician and composer who oversees the artistic vision and the selection of contestants. He is supported by a local team of presenters, technicians, and volunteers, with the direct backing of the Municipality of Lanuvio and coverage from local radio stations, which have broadcast the evenings live in recent years.

The atmosphere

Largo Vittime di Brescia, located behind the monumental 16th-century Fontanone, is an intimate space in the historic center: the stage is set up outdoors, chairs fill the entire square, and latecomers stand along the low walls. Admission is free and no booking is required. It is a village evening in the best sense of the term—families, teenagers, and seniors sitting in the front row—that naturally spills over into the local bars and wine shops, in an area with an ancient connection to wine.

What to see in Lanuvio

Those arriving for the competition can take the opportunity to discover a center often overlooked by the Castelli Romani tourist circuits: the Sanctuary of Juno Sospita, the polygonal walls, the Medieval Tower that gives the event its name, and the aforementioned Fontanone in Piazza della Maddalena. All this is just twenty kilometers from Lake Nemi and a little over thirty from Rome.