What’s on in Rome this month?
Breathtaking astronomical events, Rome’s birthday, flowers, air shows and more. There’s so many things to do in Rome this April 2026!
Without wasting a lot of time, let’s dive into these super exciting things to explore and events in the city! 🤩
Things to do in Rome in April 2026
6th-9th April – Arch of light at the Pantheon
Between April 6th and 9th 2026, the sun light will enter the Pantheon and point exactly at the arch above the main door.
This phenomenon was noticed in 2014 by Marina de Franceschini and Giuseppe Veneziano thanks to their archaeoastronomy studies. The light will be positioned as in the photo above at around 1PM. Don’t miss it!
Are you looking to make your Rome trip special? Are you looking for something fun, unique, personal? Our walking tours grew from the legacy of our media content online. We won’t dwell on academic frills, only on insider’s knowledge with the fun storytelling of a local expert. Check our private and semi-private tours here
Easter – April 5th
For those who will be in Rome on Easter and would like to attend the Pope’s Easter mass in St Peter in the Vatican – we recommend submitting your requests no later than mid-March.
Here’s the link where you can find all the instructions: https://www.vatican.va/content/romancuria/it/uffici/prefettura-della-casa-pontificia/strutt
Rose Garden Spring reopening – April 11th
The Rose Garden of Rome opens twice a year for some weeks, during Spring and Autumn. This is when the roses bloom.
The 1100 species of roses hosted in this garden are coming from many different parts of the world, including, for example, China and Mongolia! Each rose plant has a little tag at the bottom with name, year and country of origin, so you can play and search for the furthest country or the oldest species. We are always so amazed by how many species of roses you can actually encounter here, many of them are so peculiar and unique and we’ve have never seen before.
And to make things even more special, the ancient Roman ruins of the Palatine hill in the background!
Entrance is free and does not require any booking or tickets.
The Rose Garden will reopen on April 11th 2026.
The Azaleas on Spanish Steps
Every year, for Rome’s birthday, the Spanish Steps are dressed in a beautiful and colorful carpet of azaleas for the whole month of April. One of the most elegant and photogenic moments for Piazza di Spagna.
Romics – International festival of comics, animations, cinema and gaming – April 9th to 12th
This is a great exhibition that takes place every year since 2001, dedicated to comics, animation, cinema and gaming.
If you are into one of those things, or if you just love being surrounded by high levels of creativity, this is an event you can’t miss!
It’s four days of shows, exhibits, conferences, previews and Cosplays contests (“cosplay” stands for “costume play”).
The 34th edition of Romics will take place from April 9th to 12th.
Website: https://www.romics.it/en/
Rome’s birthday on April 21st
On April 21st of the year 753BC, Rome was founded. This year Rome turn 2778 years old!
Rome’s birthday will be celebrated from April 18th to 21st with historical reenactments performed by the Gruppo Storico Romano at the Circo Massimo, via dei Fori Imperiali, Pantheon and more.
For the full schedule of the events check the updates on the dedicated website: https://www.natalidiroma.it/
LAST CHANCE! “Greece in Rome” exhibition at Musei Capitolini – until April 12th
Why would you come to Rome to see an exhibition about Greece? Because Rome has always been so deeply connected to Greece, more than you probably imagined.
The Romans laid the foundations of their civilization, architecture and culture on the Greek culture that they imported into Rome since its very early times.
At the beginning Rome had commercial exchanges with Greece, and that brought Greek products in Rome and the Italian peninsula. That’s why in the Roman archaeological sites, archaeologists found objects made in Greece. It would be as if in 2000 years from now, archaeologists would find items made in China in our cities. Something that we would call globalization today!
At a later time, II century BC, Rome conquered Greece, which then became part of the Roman territories. At that point Rome was flooded with masterpieces from Greece.
The ancient Roman poet Horace said “Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit”, which means “the savage Romans conquerors were conquered by Greek culture”.
Over the centuries Greek masterpieces were imported and copied. The Greek culture was something that was in such high demand that many Greek artists moved to Rome and opened their shops and studios to make Greek art.
Eventually there was a fusion between Roman and Greek art that led to the masterpieces we see today in our museums.
In this wonderful exhibition you can find for the first time a collection of 150 artworks of the thousands of masterpieces that came to Rome from Greece. You won’t regret spending time here, promised!
You can visit the exhibition at the Musei Capitolini, the oldest museum in the world.. and one of our favorites museums in Rome!
Please note: until April 12th, every Sunday at 4:30PM there will be free guided tours of the exhibition in English. The tour will last 75 minutes.
More info here: https://www.museicapitolini.org/en/node/1017374
“Vasari in Rome” exhibition at the Musei Capitolini
Vasari is often remembered as one of the first art historians. His book, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550), is frequently cited when recounting episodes from the lives of artists such as Giotto, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, and many others.
Yet Vasari was also a remarkable artist in his own right. On the occasion of the 450th anniversary of his death, Rome celebrates his artistic production during the years he spent in the Eternal City. The exhibition highlights Vasari’s multifaceted personality as a painter, architect, scenographer, and biographer—a truly well-rounded figure and a quintessential Renaissance artist, capable of excelling across multiple disciplines.
You can visit this exhibition until July 19th at the Musei Capitolini. Here you can find the official audioguide of the exhibition in multiple languages.
Liberation Day – April 25th
Each year, on April 25th, we celebrate Liberation Day, which marks the anniversary of when the Allied Troops freed Italy from the Germans in 1945.
On this day, solemn celebrations take place at the Vittoriano, the altar of the Fatherland. The President of the Italian Republic poses a crown of flowers by the tomb of the Unknown soldier, sometimes with the participation of the Frecce Tricolore flying over the skies of Rome. It is quite a beautiful moment. So far, the participation of the Frecce Tricolore on April 25th 2026 has not been announced. We’ll update this if we know more.
Usually they fence the space around this event and if you want to attend you’ll have to be ready to stand in the crowds for some time. Usually the best places where to see the Frecce Tricolore from are Piazza Venezia, via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo and higher viewpoints such as the Gianicolo hill.
Live a unique experience with us!
If you want to make your April Rome trip special and looking for something fun, unique, personal… you’re in the right place!
Our small group walking tours grew from the legacy of our media content online, meaning that we focus on showing you Rome “behind-the-scenes”.
We explore the iconic neighborhoods of Rome where you get to discover lots of hidden gems and secrets hiding in plain sight, that most tourists miss.
And we do it in small groups only, to keep the experience personal and interactive 😊
Discover more about how our Rome tours work, the best Rome tours or browse all our small-group tours to see the experiences currently available.
