Financial Times

This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Rome

On your first visit to Rome, you will doubtless feel the need to jostle with the masses at the heavy-hitters — the Colosseum, the Forum, the Trevi Fountain, etc — but the more you get to know the city, you may feel you can begin to venture into the more recent past. This year, the Roman calendar is jam-packed with cultural happenings. From art shows focusing on everything from Filippo and Filippino Lippi, the Renaissance father-and-son painters, to Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, as well as concerts, operas and festivals, the Rome Marathon, Italian Open and the European Athletic Championships, the Città Eterna never stays still. Here is our selection.

On now

Art

‘Andy Warhol: Universo Warhol’, Museo Storico della Fanteria

‘Gem’, 1978, by Andy Warhol: a screenprint of an emerald with red lines drawn over it — ‘Gem’, 1978, by Andy Warhol © Private collection

See more than 250 Warhols in one space. Beyond the classic screen prints, the show highlights the artist’s photography and film work. Until March 17; further information here

‘Escher’, Palazzo Bonaparte

‘Bond of Union’, 1956, by MC Escher: a black and white lithograph depicting a woman and a man’s heads in spiral cut-outs — ‘Bond of Union’, 1956, by MC Escher © 2023 The MC Escher Company. All rights reserved

Marking 100 years since MC Escher’s first visit to Rome, this major exhibition features 300 examples of the Dutch artist’s mind-bending illusionism, including his most famous pieces alongside works never previously displayed. Until April 1; further information and tickets here

‘Ukiyoe: The Floating World — Visions of Japan’, Museo di Roma

A fascinating journey from 17th- to 19th-century Japan through 150 paintings, fans, prints, traditional objects, items of clothing and musical instruments. The show brings to light a culture in flux: the birth of cities, social classes, tastes and fashions, all of which contributed to the new aesthetic values of the era. Until June 26; further information and tickets here

March

Art

‘Di padre in figlio: Filippo e Filippino Lippi, pittori fiorentini del Quattrocento’ (From Father to Son: Filippo and Filippino Lippi, 15th-century Florentine Painters), Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Caffarelli

‘Madonna with Child’, c1437, by Filippo Lippi: a haloed Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus surrounded by haloed men — ‘Madonna with Child’, c1437, by Filippo Lippi © Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Galleria di Palazzo Cini

A spotlight on Filippo and Filippino Lippi, the father-and-son painters and draughtsmen of the Florentine Renaissance, focusing on their craft with a selection of paintings and drawings. March 28 to June 30; further information and tickets here

‘Impressionisti: l’alba della modernità’ (Impressionists: The Dawn of Modernity), Museo della Fanteria

In honour of the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris, this key exhibition presents 200 works by Monet, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Gauguin, Pissarro and more. March 30 to July 28; further information here

Performance

‘Salome’, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

A female singer wearing an elaborate headdress made of long grasses against a black backdrop in opera director Barrie Kosky’s production of ‘Salome’ — Australian opera director Barrie Kosky’s production of ‘Salome’ © Monika Rittershaus

Richard Strauss’s operatic adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play. In Barrie Kosky’s must-see production, US soprano Lise Lindstrom sings Salome and British tenor John Daszak is Herod, while Swedish mezzo-soprano Katarina Dalayman plays Herodias. March 7 to 16; further information and tickets here

‘Les Étoiles’, Sala Santa Cecilia

A ballet gala featuring a dazzling array of stars from major dance companies around the globe, such as Svetlana Zakharova, Marianela Nuñez, Eleonora Abbagnato, Natalia Osipova and many more. March 15 and 16; further information and tickets here.

‘Trittico Contemporaneo’ (Contemporary Triptych), Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

An exciting trio of works: Playlist (Track1, 2) by William Forsythe, Windgames by Patrick de Bana and Women by Juliano Nunes. Each choreography introduces a different mode of contemporary ballet. March 23 to 29; further information and tickets here

Event

Ides of March 2024, Largo di Torre Argentina

Men in historic Roman costume re-enacting the assassination of Julius Caesar in Rome’s Largo di Torre Argentina — The assassination of Caesar is re-enacted in Rome every year on March 15 © Shutterstock/Corina Daniela Obertas

A historical re-enactment of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44BC — on the day and at the very site where it happened. March 15; more information here

Sport

Run Rome: The Marathon

The Eternal City’s marathon is a scenic one, to say the least. Starting at Fori Imperiali and proceeding past the Vittoriano, it also takes in Circo Massimo, the Lungotevere and Castel Sant’Angelo en route to St Peter’s Basilica. March 17; further information here

April

Art

‘Fragmented Bodies’, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill Roma

‘Pedestal’, 2022, by US photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya: a red-hued image of a man’s arms and legs stretching towards a stone pedestal — ‘Pedestal’, 2022, by US photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya, one of three artists featured in ‘Fragmented Bodies’ © Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Lorcan O’Neill

Sepuya’s ‘Mirror Study’, 2018: a man’s hands reaching towards triangular-shaped mirrors, in one of which a man’s back is reflected — Sepuya’s ‘Mirror Study’, 2018 © Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Lorcan O’Neill

Three artists’ explorations of the corporeal: London-based painter Celia Hempton examines concepts of voyeurism in our age; American photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya considers intimacy and the nude in relation to portraiture; and multidisciplinary artist Wardell Milan situates the body as an intersecting site of history through collage, painting and photography. From April 5; further information here

Festival

Festival del Verde e del Paesaggio, Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone

Admire glorious flora, pick up artisanal gifts, taste local street foods and take part in creative workshops at this annual garden festival in the Renzo Piano-designed music complex. April 5 to 7; further information here

Natale di Roma

Every year, the city commemorates the founding of Rome with a variety of festivities, including concerts, parades and historical re-enactments at the Circus Maximus. Expect highlights like fireworks and gladiator displays. April 19 to 21; further information here

May

Art

‘Keith Haring Deleted’, Galleria d’Arte Moderna

Keith Haring, watched by onlookers sitting on steps beside him, painting large pink letters on wall in Rome in 1984 — Keith Haring at work in Rome, 1984

Rome once had two graffiti murals by Keith Haring, both now gone. But their traces are preserved in the photography of Stefano Fontebasso De Martino, which will be displayed alongside works that Haring created and signed for the public when he visited the city in 1984. May 25 to November 3; further information and tickets here