Rome

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Clubs & gigs

A recent increase in city council arts and culture funding has had a happy knock-on effect on Rome‘s once-comatose nightlife scene, propelling the Eternal City towards becoming a recognised European music and dance capital.

Of course it’s early days yet, and you’ll need our insider information to discover where it’s all happening. But hit the right spots and you’ll find that a small but vibrant young artistic community is taking hold. The centri sociali (mega-squats) are coming up against fewer bureaucratic obstacles in their quest to dish out cutting-edge entertainment, and dancing to the best international DJs and hearing the latest bands has become a far easier task.

 

A great night out
Romans are a relaxed lot when it comes to nightlife. The partying might start with an evening aperitivo and accompanying nibbles, but the real business of Roman nights starts late and ends late… in the morning, that is. Concerts never kick off before 10.30pm – after 11pm at weekends – and most clubs close after 4am all week. However you spend the intervening hours, end your night out in the time-honoured way: with a hot cornetto (croissant) and cappuccino at one of the many bars that open into the morning.

 

Summer splendour
Rome gives its best in the summer: you’ll be spoilt for choice between festivals, concerts, open-air cinema, theatre and discos, most of which come under the EstateRomana umbrella. Programme details are posted in late spring; as the festival’s website seems to change address each year, it’s safest to access it through the city council website (www.comune.roma.it).

 

Festivals to look out for include the Cornetto Free Music Festival (www.cornettoalgida.com) in June and July in the Foro Italico tennis stadium; the huge Latin American-themed Fiesta (www.fiesta.it) event at the Capannelle race track near Ciampino airport from June to August; the Jazz and Image Festival (www.villacelimontanajazz.com) in the gorgeous cool of the Villa Celimontana park from mid-June to August; the Roma Incontra il Mondo (www.villaada.org) world music festival in the Villa Ada park from late June to mid-August; and the all-free, off-beat Enzimi music and theatre festival (www.enzimi.com) held in unlikely venues around the city in September.

 

Where it happens
Most of Rome’s nightlife is concentrated around a few easily accessible areas. Testaccio is one of Rome’s liveliest quarters: just walk around the Monte Testaccio area until you find the vibe you’re after. South of Testaccio off the via Ostiense, the area around via Libetta teems with trendy clubs and is poised to become even more crowded: the arrival of the Roma Tre university campus here has livened up the neighbourhood no end, and there are plans to develop the whole district as an arts hub based around the former wholesale fruit and veg market.

Fashionistas head for the centro storico: spend an evening sipping wine in campo de’ Fiori or the triangolo della Pace, which is the area west of piazza Navona, and you’re automatically ensconced in trendy Roman life. The university quarter of San Lorenzo is less pretentious: drinks are cheaper, and there’s always something new going on. Trastevere has lovely alleys packed with friendly, crowded bars. If you’re longing for company but your Italian’s weak, this is the place for you: English is the lingua franca.

 

Getting through the door
Getting into alternative, down-to-earth venues is easy enough: just join the chaotic queues at the door. But making it inside fashionable mainstream clubs can be stressful, no matter how elegantly you’re dressed. Intimidating bouncers will bar your way, asking ‘can I help you?’ when their role is clearly to make your life difficult. Persistence and patience will usually get you in eventually.

Clubs and discobars generally charge an entrance fee at weekends but not on weekdays; sometimes you have to pay for a tessera (membership card) on top of, or perhaps instead of, the entrance fee. Tessere may be valid for a season or for a month, and in some cases they’re absolutely free. Admission tickets often include a ‘free’ drink, but you can expect the drinks you buy thereafter to be pricey. Another popular formula is to grant ‘free’ admission while forcing you to buy a drink (generally expensive). To get out again you have to hand a stamped ‘drink card’ to the bouncer, so hold on to whatever piece of paper they give you or you’ll be forced to pay twice.

 

Where we have not specified an admission price, entry is free.

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