A Local’s Guide to What’s On in Rome in January
January is traditionally a quieter time to visit Rome; however, this time around it promises to be much busier than usual as the Vatican’s Jubilee Year gets underway.
The first week of the month is bookended by two public holidays in Italy: one for New Year’s Day and the other for the religious feast of The Epiphany.
New Year celebrations will include a free concert at the Circus Maximus, starting at 21.30, with organisers expecting up to 80,000 people.
Rome will mark New Year’s Day on 1 January with Capodarte, a programme comprising dozens of cultural events, including two free concerts, taking place across the city.
One of the more unusual Roman spectacles on New Year’s Day is the ‘Tuffo nel Tevere‘ at midday when daredevil divers make the 17-metre plunge off Ponte Cavour into the icy waters of the river Tiber.
Jubilee events include the opening of holy doors at Santa Maria Maggiore (1 January) and at St Paul’s outside the Walls (5 January), for details see the Vatican’s official Jubilee website.
Italy’s state museums and archaeological sites open their doors for free on Sunday 5 January, along with Rome’s city-run museums, as part of a popular monthly initiative.
The Epiphany also heralds the arrival of La Befana, a friendly witch-like character from Italian folklore, on 6 January, the last day on Rome’s festive calendar.
In an annual spectacle, a firefighter in the guise of La Befana “flies” into Piazza Navona from the roof of the church of S. Agnese in Agone, dishing out sweets to delighted children.
Christmas trees in Piazza del Popolo and St Peter’s Square are still up at the start of the month, with the festive market and carousel in Piazza Navona, Christmas World in Villa Borghese, and the Vatican’s 100 Presepi crib exhibition all open until 6 January.
A multi-sensory event of light and sound, designed for both adults and children, takes place at Rome’s Botanic Garden every night until 6 January, as does ‘This is Wonderland’, an immersive experience based on Pinocchio, at the waterfall gardens in EUR.
The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia classical music programme includes two sets of concerts conducted by Myung-Whun Chung and a return to the podium by Sir Antonio Pappano.
Rome’s opera house stages two blockbuster productions one after the other: Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (14-19 Jan) and Carmen by Georges Bizet (26-31 Jan).
Exhibitions in Rome include a retrospective devoted to photographer Franco Fontana; a rarely-seen portrait by Caravaggio; an exhibit dedicated to the legacy of Baroque master Guercino; a celebration of radio pioneer Marconi; and an exhibition devoted to women artists active in Rome between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Teatro Sistina stages an Italian adaptation of the classic musical West Side Story until 12 January, while the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra performs film soundtracks by John Williams and Hans Zimmer, ranging from Star Wars to Gladiator, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica on 26 January.
We will update the information on this list regularly and add new events as they are announced. For more events and things to do in Rome see our What’s On guide.
