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The best things to do in Rome in May 2024

Whether you're a Rome resident or just passing through, the Eternal City has plenty to offer throughout the month of May.

Published: 30 April 2024 15:45 CEST
The best things to do in Rome in May 2024
There are plenty of activities on offer in Rome this May. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.

Circo Massimo Concertone – May 1st

Rome’s traditional Labour Day Concertone (‘big concert’) this year moves from its usual location in San Giovanni to Circo Massimo. Noemi and Ermal Meta are hosting the 2024 edition; entry is free.

Conca d’Oro street food festival – May 1st-5th

Ushering in the start of May, the Conca d’Oro neighbourhood is playing host to a five-day-long street food fair. 25 chefs will be present in the parking lot where this year’s festival is taking place.

Charity Cafe Jazz and Blues concerts – May 1st-4th

This intimate jazz cafe in the Monti district is hosting nightly Jazz and Blues concerts from 10pm from May 1st-4th. As of April 30th, the venue’s events calendar hasn’t been updated for May, but there’s typically something every Tuesday-Saturday.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Italy in May 2024

Photography exhibits – Various dates

At the Museum of Rome in Trastevere you can catch a series of photography exhibitions in May. A retrospective of the works of German street photographer Hilde Lotz-Bauer closes on May 5th; 100 works by the Spanish artist and photographer Ouka Leele will remain on display throughout the month; and a retrospective of Cameroonian photographer Angèle Etoundi Essamba will open on May 17th.

Free museum Sundays – May 5th

As usual, Rome will be opens most of its museums and cultural sites to the public for free on the first Sunday of the month. That includes the Colosseum and Palatine Hill, Galleria Borghese, Castel Sant’Angelo, and many more (full list here).

Rome’s Borghese Gallery is one of the sites open for free on the first Sunday of the month. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP.

Incanti illusionist show – May 2nd-5th

Following a stop in Grosseto, the Incanti (‘enchantments’) show of illusions comes to Rome’s Teatro Olimpico for four days before moving on to Florence.

Swan Lake orchestral concert – May 2nd-4th

The Santa Cecilia National Academy orchestra is putting on a performance of Prokofiev’s second piano concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake suite at Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica from May 2nd-4th.

READ ALSO: Nine of the best events to attend in Italy in spring 2024

Baby Sound – May 4th-5th

Also in conjunction with performers from the Santa Cecilia National Academy, Baby Sound, a musical workshop for young children aged 0-2, will take place at Auditorium Parco della Musica from May 4th-5th.

Internazionali d’Italia tournament – May 6th-19th

The 2024 edition of the Internazionali d’Italia – Italy’s most prestigious tennis tournament – will unfold at Rome’s Foro Italico sports venue from Monday, May 6th to Sunday, May 19th, with Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner set to take part in the contest.

World Press Photo Exhibition – May 9th onwards

The 2024 World Press Photo Exhibition opens at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni on May 9th and is set to run for one month until June 9th.

Arrosticini festival – May 9th-12th

The ex-Mattatoio events and exhibition space in Testaccio is preparing to serve up lamb/mutton arrosticini skewers and other traditional Abruzzese fare over the course of four days from May 9th-12th.

READ ALSO: Eight unmistakable signs that spring has arrived in Italy

Fava bean and pecorino fair – May 12th

Fava beans and pecorino cheese, a traditional Roman combo, are on the menu in the town of Filacciano, an hour’s journey outside the city, on this May 12th food festival.

Joel Nafuma Refugee Centre fundraising dinner – May 24th

After a long hiatus, Rome’s Joel Nafuma Refugee Centre is starting up its fundraising dinners again on May 24th. This one features Syrian and Palestinian food supplied by Hummustown, and costs €30 (discounted rate €20).

ARF! comics fair – May 24th-26th

Another event taking place at the ex-Mattatoio in Testaccio in May is the ARF! comics festival, three days of exhibitions, talks, and workshops, including a kids’ corner.

It’s set to coincide with the Street Sud Festival featuring southern Italian street food, which is also scheduled to take place at the Mattatioio from May 23rd-26th.

Japan Days – May 25th-26th

Prati’s bus depot plays host to this Japanese market, where you can expect to find 100 exhibitors selling items from kimonos to kokeshi dolls, along with talks and presentations bonsai workshops and an abundance of Japanese food.

Recurring events

Campagna Amica sells locally grown fresh produce every Saturday and Sunday on Via di San Teodoro 74.

The Porta Portese flea market, which takes place every Sunday, is one of the largest (and busiest) the city has to offer.

Performances Verdi’s La Traviata, The Three Tenors, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Bach’s masterpieces continue to be held on various dates at St Pauls Within the Walls throughout the month of May.

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ROME

Vatican updates guidelines on miracles to avoid ‘confusion among the faithful’

The Vatican updated its rules for supernatural events on Friday, such as visions of Christ or the Virgin Mary, including the acknowledgement that overactive imaginations and outright "lying" risked harming the faithful.

Published: 17 May 2024 16:59 CEST
Vatican updates guidelines on miracles to avoid 'confusion among the faithful'

The new norms, published by the Holy See’s powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope Francis, allow for a more “prudent” interpretation of events that generally avoids declaring them outright a supernatural event.

“In certain circumstances not everything is black or white,” Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, who leads the dicastery, said at a press conference.

“Sometimes a possible divine reaction mixes with… human thoughts and fantasies,” Fernandez added.

The history of the Catholic Church is filled with episodes of strange or unexplained phenomena involving religious statues or other objects, whether in Italy or beyond.

The new guidelines come two months after the Church said that a series of widely reported miracles attributed to a statuette of the Virgin Mary – including making a pizza grow in size – were false.

The rules, which represent the first update since 1978, provide more guidance to bishops who until now have been left relatively free to determine the authenticity of such visions on a case-by-case basis.

Underscoring the complexity of the issue, only six cases of such alleged supernatural events have been “officially resolved” by the Vatican since 1950, with one taking “seventy excruciating years”, the document said.

“Today, we have come to the conviction that such complicated situations, which create confusion among the faithful, should always be avoided,” wrote Fernandez in the document.

Argentinian cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez speaks to the press on February 12, 2024. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

The new rules call for more collaboration between the individual dioceses and the Vatican regarding such events. Bishops’ final decisions will be submitted to the dicastery for approval.

That is crucial because “sometimes the discernment may also deal with problems, such as delicts (civil offences), manipulation, damage to the unity of the Church, undue financial gain, and serious doctrinal errors that could cause scandals and undermine the credibility of the Church,” said the document.

They include believers “misled by an event attributed to a divine initiative but is merely the product of someone’s imagination” or those who have an “inclination toward lying”.

In the absence of problems, dioceses will be able to declare a “Nihil Obstat”, indicating there is nothing in the phenomenon contrary to faith and morals.

That falls short of an official declaration of its supernatural authenticity, which is generally to be avoided under the new rules unless the pope authorises it.

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