Travel Literature Festival
Travel stories through books, reportage, and photography at Villa Celimontana
About Travel Literature
A festival born within the Italian Geographical Society
The Travel Literature Festival takes place in Rome, in the heart of the Lazio region. Its home is the Palazzetto Mattei, the historic seat of the Italian Geographical Society, nestled in the greenery of Villa Celimontana on the Caelian Hill, just a stone's throw from the Colosseum and the Baths of Caracalla. The Geographical Society has promoted the event since 2008, currently entrusting its artistic direction to Antonio Politano and its organization to the Cultura del Viaggio association, with the support of Roma Capitale and the collaboration of Zètema Progetto Cultura.
What travel literature means to the festival
The premise is both simple and ambitious: travel is not merely movement, but a way of knowing. For this reason, the program is not limited to books. Alongside novels and travel diaries, there is space for journalistic reportage, documentary photography, documentaries, auteur graphic novels, narrative theater, and music. Each edition revolves around a theme that acts as a compass: in 2025, it was islands, the sea, and oceans; in 2026, the guiding theme was South!, understood as the Global South, the Italian South, a decolonial gaze, and a focus on indigenous peoples and environmental issues.
The two awards that define the program
- Navicella d'Oro Award by the Italian Geographical Society: a recognition awarded to figures in literature, music, poetry, and culture who have successfully chronicled the world and its changes.
- Kapuściński Award, dedicated to reportage and named after the great Polish chronicler Ryszard Kapuściński, a master of 20th-century journalistic and literary storytelling. It is awarded to correspondents, podcasters, photojournalists, and publications practicing field journalism.
The award ceremonies are not formal affairs: they become public encounters where winners engage with the audience, read, project images, and perform music.
Experiencing the festival
The Palazzetto Mattei hosts collective exhibitions and main meetings, while the garden of Villa Celimontana welcomes open-air evenings among maritime pines and archaeological ruins. However, the program often extends beyond the villa's perimeter: over the years, urban walks have been organized along the Tiber and on Tiber Island, with previews in unusual locations such as Villa Mellini on Monte Mario—home to the Astronomical Observatory—and events spread across other cultural spaces in the city.
Workshops, children, and accessibility
A significant portion of the lineup is dedicated to free workshops: travel writing, humanitarian photography, and contemporary narrative practices. There is no shortage of activities for children, often created with associations like UNICEF, nor of events designed to be truly accessible to people with disabilities—a commitment the festival claims as part of its identity.
Why it's worth a visit
In a city that offers cultural events in every season, this festival has a recognizable character: it is free, hosted in a setting that is worth the walk alone, and features top names in Italian and international fiction, journalism, and photography without the tone of a massive commercial fair. For those who love travel books, reportage, and stories from afar, it is their natural home in the Lazio region for one week a year.
Travel Literature — edition 2026
South!, the theme of the 17th edition
From June 7 to 14, 2026, the Travel Literature Festival returned to Villa Celimontana with a watchword: South!. A theme explored in multiple directions—the Global South, the Italian South, the decolonial perspective, the focus on indigenous peoples, and environmental emergencies—to which a collective exhibition at the Palazzetto Mattei was dedicated.
Forty free events
The program combined literature, journalism, photography, television, theater, and music, with meetings, award ceremonies, readings, performances, screenings, workshops, urban walks, and activities dedicated to children and people with disabilities. Among the authors and artists present: Igiaba Scego, Nicola Lagioia, Telmo Pievani, Monica Maggioni, Cecilia Sala, Lorenzo Tondo, Alberto Negri, Carmine Abate, Antonella Anedda, and Brunori Sas. The literary references explored by the program ranged from Conrad to Galeano, Leopardi to Calvino, Piovene to Hugo Pratt, and Camilleri to Pennacchi.
The 2026 Awards
The Navicella d'Oro of the Italian Geographical Society, in its 17th edition, was awarded to Brunori Sas for music, Carmine Abate for literature, Antonella Anedda for poetry, the multimedia cultural platform Lucy, and the magazine Gente di Fotografia. The Kapuściński Award for reportage, in its 12th edition, honored Monica Maggioni with the editorial team of In mezz'ora, Cecilia Sala for the podcast Stories, Lorenzo Tondo (Guardian correspondent), photojournalist Alessio Mamo, and the Fada collective for investigative journalism.
Programme Travel Literature 2026
Sunday, June 7 — Previews
- Astronomical preview at Villa Mellini, Monte Mario, with the National Institute for Astrophysics.
- 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM — Into the Heart of Darkness: itinerant theatrical walk on Tiber Island, freely inspired by Joseph Conrad, by Teatro Mobile.
Tuesday, June 9
- Official inauguration of the festival at Villa Celimontana and opening of the collective exhibition dedicated to the theme South! at Palazzetto Mattei.
Wednesday, June 10
- Two meetings dedicated to the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine and the climate crisis, with journalists and experts.
Thursday, June 11
- 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM — Performance on Captain Ernest Shackleton's Endurance expedition.
Friday, June 12
- Kapuściński Award ceremony for reportage: awards to Cecilia Sala for the podcast, Lorenzo Tondo for journalism, Monica Maggioni, Alessio Mamo, and the Fada collective.
Saturday, June 13
- Meeting on Chernobyl with multimedia documentation.
- Navicella d'Oro Award ceremony for Dario Brunori (Brunori Sas).
Sunday, June 14
- Award presentation to cultural magazines.
- Closing evening dedicated to Hugo Pratt.
Free workshops
- Travel storytelling with Gioacchino De Chirico.
- Humanitarian photography with Francesco Cabras.
- Creative workshop for children by UNICEF on making 'Pigotte' dolls.
Highlights Travel Literature 2026
- Guiding theme South! and collective exhibition at Palazzetto Mattei.
- Approximately forty events, all free.
- Navicella d'Oro Award to Brunori Sas, Carmine Abate, Antonella Anedda, Lucy, and Gente di Fotografia.
- Kapuściński Award to Monica Maggioni, Cecilia Sala, Lorenzo Tondo, Alessio Mamo, and the Fada collective.
- Nighttime theatrical walk on Tiber Island inspired by Conrad.
- Final evening dedicated to Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese.
Prices Travel Literature 2026
Practical information — Travel Literature
Where it takes place
Palazzetto Mattei, seat of the Italian Geographical Society, Via della Navicella 12, 00184 Rome, inside Villa Celimontana. Some events are held in other locations across the city (Tiber Island, Monte Mario, and various cultural spaces).
How to get there
- Metro: Line B, stop Circo Massimo or Colosseo, then about a 10-15 minute walk.
- Tram: Line 3 to Villa Celimontana / Parco Celio.
- Train: Roma Termini station, then Metro Line B.
- Car: Not recommended; the area is in a ZTL (restricted traffic zone) and parking is scarce.
Admission
All events are free of charge until capacity is reached. Booking is recommended via the calendar on the official website festivaletteraturadiviaggio.org.
Tips
Evening meetings are held outdoors in the garden: bring an extra layer. Villa Celimontana is a public park, perfect for arriving early and taking a stroll before the events begin.
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Where does it take place — Travel Literature
Palazzetto Mattei, Villa Celimontana
Via della Navicella 12, 00184 Roma