24-06-2025
What's on in Italy: 10 of the best events to look forward to this July
Palio di Siena, Siena - July 2nd
The Palio di Siena is one of the most popular horse races in the world, with Siena's 17 contrade districts competing against each other in an intense contest held in the city's oval-shaped Piazza del Campo.
First held in 1633, the Palio takes place twice a year: on July 2nd and August 16th. The July Palio is called Palio di Provenzano, while the August one is known as Palio dell'Assunta as an homage to the Assumption of Mary.
A number of events are held in the three days preceding the race, including several trial runs and the momentous tratta (draw), where each competing contrada is randomly assigned a horse.
On the day of the Palio, a parade made up of nearly 700 participants dressed in historical costumes enchants the public just before the start of the race.
Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia - July 11th-20th
One of Europe's leading jazz festivals, Umbria Jazz has both a summer and a winter edition, with this year's summer festival set to run from July 11th to July 20th.
Herbie Hancock, Mitch Woods, Mark Turner and Isaiah Collier are some of the international acts set to make an appearance in 2025.
You can find this year's full programme here.
Giostra della Quintana, Ascoli Piceno - July 12th
If attending a medieval jousting tournament is on your bucket list, the city of Ascoli Piceno in the central Marche region is the place to be in July.
The event takes place twice a year, with the first Giostra held on the second Saturday in July (falling on July 12th this year) and the second one unfolding on the first Sunday in August.
Quintana Ascoli Piceno, Porta Tufilla aprirà gli assalti nella Giostra della Tradizione: la sfida entra nel vivo
— Picenotime (@PicenoTime) August 5, 2023
The Quintana joust sees six 'knights', one from each of the city's sestieri (districts), ride their horse around a treacherous racetrack and insert their lance through a ring held by a statue of a Saracen warrior. The knight who hits the target with the greatest accuracy in the shortest time is declared the winner.
The city of Ascoli goes all out to celebrate the Giostra, with a flag-throwing contest and a historical reenactment preceding the tournament.
Festino di Santa Rosalia, Palermo - July 14th
On July 15th, Sicily's capital celebrates its patron saint's day with the Festino di Santa Rosalia (in dialect, u fistinu).
Rosalia Sinibaldi was a young 12th-century Norman noblewoman who ran away shortly before her wedding to live as a religious mystic and hermit on Monte Pellegrino.
According to legend, when a deadly plague hit Palermo in 1624, Rosalia appeared on two separate occasions instructing people to find her bones and parade them around the city; they did so, and the plague abated.
Every year on July 14th, a statue of La Santuzza is paraded down the city's main thoroughfares to music and singing, ending with a fireworks display at sea.
July 15th is a more solemn affair, with a silver urn containing the saint's relics carried down Corso Vittorio Emanuele in a sombre procession.
Located right between the Tyrrhenian coastline and Lake Massaciuccoli, the small town of Torre del Lago, hosts a prestigious open-air opera festival entirely dedicated to Italian maestro Giacomo Puccini every summer.
This year's edition, which runs on various dates from July 18th to September 6th, features performances of La Boheme, Tosca, Turandot and Madama Butterfly, among other classics.
All shows will be held in a lakeside arena offering spectators unique views of Lake Massaciuccoli and the surrounding hills.
Festa del Redentore, Venice - July 19th-20th
Held every year on the third Sunday of July, Venice's Festa del Redentore (Feast of the Redeemer) commemorates the end of a plague that decimated Venice's population, killing as many as 46,000 residents between 1575 and 1576.
A number of events take place on the weekdays preceding the feast itself, including the construction of a floating walkway connecting Venice to the nearby Giudecca island.
Celebrations traditionally kick off on Saturday afternoon, punctuated by a 40-minute fireworks display over the lagoon's waters at around 11.30pm.
Caracalla Festival, Rome - June 29th-August 7th
For those who like opera with a touch of ancient charm, Rome's open-air Caracalla Festival is a stunning event to attend in July.
The festival is held at the famed Baths of Caracalla – one of Ancient Rome's largest public bath complexes.
The yearly event attracts top-tier performers and directors from around the world, offering spectators a chance to witness the magic of opera in the warm summer air.
This year's programme, which focuses on the complex interplay 'between the sacred and the human', features performances of Handel's Resurrection, Verdi's La Traviata, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Bernstein's West Side Story.
The 2025 Caracalla Festival will run throughout July, ending on August 7th.
Arena Opera Festival, Verona - June 13th-September 6th
Every year the Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheatre built in 30 AD, hosts one of Italy's most prestigious opera festivals.
The festival celebrated its centenary in 2023 – 100 years after the first performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida was staged within its walls – and shows no signs of slowing down.
A view of the famous Verona Arena during a concert in July 2020. Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP
This season opera buffs will have the opportunity to see performances of Nabucco, Carmen, Rigoletto and Carmina Burana, among other classics.
You can find the full 2025 calendar here.
Giostra dell'Orso, Pistoia - July 25th
If you miss out on Ascoli Piceno's Quintana, don't despair - you'll have the opportunity to attend another medieval jousting tournament towards the end of the month in the Tuscan town of Pistoia.
The Giostra dell'Orso, or Bear Joust, involves costumed rivals from the city's four districts (Porta al Borgo, Porta Carratica, Porta San Marco and Porta Lucchese) competing to strike a target in the shape of a wooden bear with their lance.
The event is held on Pistoia's patron saint's day, the Festa di San Jacopo, and is preceded by a historical procession featuring flag throwers and buglers.
Youth Jubilee, Rome - July 28th-August 3rd
The Catholic Church's Youth Jubilee – a major festival inviting young people from around the globe to celebrate faith, unity, and hope through prayer – will take place in Rome between July 28th and August 3rd.
The event, which is part of celebrations for the Church's Jubilee Year, includes a mix of masses, talks and workshops, including a mass with Pope Leo in the capital's Tor Vergata park.
Around one million pilgrims are expected to travel to Rome to attend the event, according to estimates from research centre Certa.
By Elaine Allaby and Giampietro Vianello.
