In addition to its monuments, palaces, and churches, a city is also composed of the reflections of its stories and the vibrant life that courses through its streets. In Rome, this life has always been imbued with rituals, festivals, commemorations, anniversaries, and celebrations—a bustling calendar of fixed events that carry with them a wealth of traditions. These occasions provide opportunities for both religious and civic contemplation, fostering connections, sharing, and entertainment throughout the changing seasons.

To fully immerse yourself in the experience of Rome and forge a deep connection with its history, we invite you to explore some of the special days and moments that transpire in July. These events span from past to present, encompassing the most heartfelt and eagerly anticipated appointments, as well as those that pique curiosity. By delving into these highlights, you can truly absorb the essence of Rome, capturing the range of emotions and historical significance that make this city so captivating.

Games of Apollo, July 6-13

It seems somewhat natural that Apollo, the god who guides the solar chariot, was celebrated under the strong July sun. But it all began in 212 BC, in the midst of the Second Punic War, when the oracles advised the Romans to seek divine help to change the inertia of the war against Carthage. It took about ten more years for the remedy to prove effective: in the meantime, however, the Ludi Apollinares had been so successful with the public that they began to be celebrated every year. Starting from Augustus, who chose Apollo as his protector, they became the most important games on the Roman calendar. The celebrations lasted for eight or nine days and mostly took place at the Circus Maximus, where, as tradition dictated, sacrificial rituals were followed by theatrical performances, horse races, and hunting jokes. On the last day, the dedication of the first and ancient temple of Apollo in Rome was also celebrated. Weather permitting, today we can still admire its remains between the Theater of Marcellus and the Portico of Octavia. In the cloister of the church of Santa Maria in Campitelli, a part of the foundation, with walls 13 meters long, is still visible, while a room in the Centrale Montemartini houses the reconstruction of its wonderful pediment.

San Camillo de Lellis, July 14th

Restless, quarrelsome, with a gambling addiction and a disorderly soldier’s life, in his first 24 years of life, Camillo is not what one would call a saint. Then, in 1575, he is enlightened by the grace of God and decides to embrace religious life. But it is a chronic foot ulcer that writes his destiny: to seek treatment, he returns a second time to Rome, to the hospital of San Giacomo degli Incurabili where he had already been during his wayward years, and here he understands and definitively develops his vocation, which will lead him to be remembered as the first great reformer of nursing and healthcare organization. From that moment on, he dedicates his soul and body to the care of the most seriously ill and needy patients, and to the assistance of the dying, in the hospitals of San Giacomo and Santo Spirito in Sassia, founding in 1582 the Company of the Ministers of the Sick, later elevated to an Order a few years later. When he dies on July 14, 1614, he is buried near the high altar of the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, adjacent to the headquarters of the Order, where he still rests. And where, until the beginning of the twentieth century, the people of Rome used to go every July 14th to receive special blessed water, mixed with a small amount of powder taken from the saint’s tomb and believed to cure all kinds of ailments.

The Madonna del Carmine and the Festa de Noantri, from July 16th

History, faith, art, and a long-standing popular tradition. We are in the mid-16th century, and a large wooden statue found near the mouth of the Tiber has just arrived at the port of Ripa Grande. It depicts the Madonna, and the sailors entrust it to the care of the Carmelites of the Church of San Crisogono in Trastevere. Placed on an imposing baroque “machine” and covered with jewels and precious garments, the “Madonna Fiumarola” is then carried in procession through the streets of the district, at least since 1603, on the occasion of the liturgical feast of the Madonna del Carmelo (or del Carmine), to whom the Carmelites had been devoted since the distant 13th century. Centuries pass, and the statue is first transferred to San Giovanni dei Genovesi and then, at the beginning of the 20th century, to the Church of Sant’Agata, from where it still comes out only once a year, on the Saturday following July 16th. However, since 1927, the celebration has also taken on a more festive and secular character with the establishment of the “Festa de Noantri,” which means “ourselves” – a phrase that testifies to the sense of belonging of the residents of the district to that Rome beyond the Tiber, physically and characteristically distinct from the rest of the city. Although on a smaller scale than in the past, the streets of Trastevere still come alive with stalls, markets, open taverns for all passers-by, events, and traveling theaters. However, the heart of the festival remains religious, and every year the venerated image is carried in procession multiple times, first to San Crisogono, where it remains for eight days, then along the river from which it emerged, and finally, after a night of vigil and prayer in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, once again to Sant’Agata.

The Bombing of San Lorenzo, July 19th

In the midst of the summer of 1943, while Mussolini is in Feltre to meet Hitler, Rome abruptly awakens from the illusion of being inviolable. At 11 o’clock on July 19th, American bombers fly over the skies of the San Lorenzo district, and then the surrounding areas, dropping over 4,000 bombs in just over two hours. They hit the freight yard and railway junctions, but the ancient basilica of San Lorenzo and the tombs of the Verano cemetery also pay the toll, while buildings collapse all around and the streets are filled with craters: over 1,500 people lose their lives, and the wounded and displaced are countless. Only six days later, during the night between July 24th and 25th, the meeting of the Grand Council at Palazzo Venezia will mark the end of the fascist regime, but until the liberation of Rome on June 4th of the following year, the city will still be bombed from the sky over 50 times. However, no bombing impressed the population as much as the one on San Lorenzo, and its anniversary has been the subject of uninterrupted commemoration, with official ceremonies attended by city authorities and initiatives organized by neighborhood committees and associations. In the park on Via Tiburtina, a monument recalls the many fallen, while the bronze statue on the square in front of the basilica recalls the visit of Pius XII who, while rescue operations were still underway, arrived without an escort in the devastated neighborhood to symbolically embrace the Romans.

Sant’Anna and the Procession of Pregnant Women, July 26th

The apocryphal gospels tell us that it was an angel who announced to the future grandmother of Jesus the grace of a late pregnancy, and that is why, in addition to being the patroness of various causes, Saint Anne is still invoked as the protector of pregnant women. In the Western world, her cult gradually gained prominence, but in Rome, we already find her depicted in the 5th-century mosaics of the triumphal arch of Santa Maria Maggiore, and then, two centuries later, among the frescoes of Santa Maria Antiqua. The Papal stablemen, the ancient caretakers of the papal stables, were also devoted to Saint Anne: when they formed a confraternity in 1378, they chose her as their patron and later dedicated their new church, built for them by Vignola in the 16th century, to her. Under the auspices of the stablemen, on July 26th, on the occasion of the liturgical feast of the saint, one of the most curious processions of Papal Rome took place: the procession of pregnant women. Accompanied by the beat of drums, the procession solemnly moved from the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli, led by the confraternity members on horseback with their banners. The women followed on foot along with the “laternoni,” the carriers of the processional lanterns. Carried on their shoulders, the heavy statues of the Virgin and Saint Anne, now located in the Church of Santa Caterina della Rota, brought up the rear. Just before reaching the destination at the church of the stablemen, when the long procession reached Ponte Sant’Angelo, the cannon of Castel Sant’Angelo saluted the procession with a volley. Covered in mantles that veiled their faces (hence the name “ammantate”), the participants also received a special gift: a blessed candle. When lit at the onset of labor, it was believed to facilitate and expedite childbirth, ideally “within the duration of the candle.”

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