The 2024 edition of Rome’s open-air literature festival will be held at Stadio Palatino. Rome’s free international literature festival returns to the open-air setting of the Palatine Hill. It runs over five evenings from 7th-16th July.
This prestigious event will feature a lineup of award-winning Italian and international authors who will read from their works. The readings are complemented by actors, acrobats, live music, and light effects.
In its 23rd edition, the festival will showcase authors presenting new texts specifically written for the event, inspired by the 2024 theme, “Questa è la Storia.” This theme pays tribute to the renowned Italian writer Elsa Morante, who passed away in 1985.
This year’s festival marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Morante’s acclaimed novel “La Storia.” The novel tells of a half-Jewish widow and her sons struggling in Rome during and after World War II.
Featured guests include Alicia Giménez Bartlett, the Spanish author known for her detective novels featuring Petra Delicado; Paul Lynch, the Irish novelist whose recent work “Prophet Song” won the 2023 Booker Prize; and Peter Cameron, the American writer best known for his novel “Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You.”
The sunken Palatine Stadium, located on the eastern side of the Domus Flavia-Augustana, was built by Emperor Domitian in the late first century AD.
Simona Cives, head of Rome’s Casa delle Letterature, curates the festival once again. Events are scheduled for July 7, 9, 11, 13, and 16.
The festival is organised by the Istituzione Biblioteche di Roma in collaboration with the city and the Parco archeologico del Colosseo. All Letterature events are free but require advance booking, subject to availability.
Events begin at 21:00, with access to the Palatine Stadium from 20:30. The full programme is not yet available online.
