Friday: Seems like this year Rome has picked up on that grand old American tradition of Memorial Day weekend street fairs. First off, Via Margutta, that charming little side street off of Via del Corso that’s noted for its art galleries, tasty little restaurants, and the home of Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, is wrapping up a month long festival today. Head over there to take in some art, check out concerts and special window displays throughout the day, and catch vintage photos of the street detailing its artistic history.
In the meantime out in Pigneto, today marks the opening night of Pigneto Citta Aperta – a weekend long, unsponsored festival of art galleries, bbqs, street performances, and concerts. Check out the Facebook invite for a full list of events, or just head out there starting at 5pm today thru Sunday, wander around, and soak up some non-ancient Roman culture.
Saturday: Head to the MACRO Testaccio for the 5th Annual Rome Contemporary Art Fair. Close to 100 different galleries from around the world are in town to show off their best contemporary pieces. The fair is divided into three sections – the Main fair will feature established modern and contemporary galleries, the Start Ups is a place for all those young, cutting edge galleries, and Out of Range will be a place for galleries from both categories to show off some rockin’ large scale works. The fair is open from 4pm -11pm on Friday and Saturday, and, unless I’m misreading the hours on the website, from midnight on Sunday morning until 11pm that night. Admission is 15 euro.
Sunday: For anyone who’s ever dreamed of spending a Sunday afternoon wandering fro vineyard to vineyard, sampling the best of what Italy has to offer to the oenological community, this is your day. Cantine Aperte is an annual event put on by the Movimento Turismo del Vino, and is basically just a day when all of their associated wineries (about 1,000 or so), open their wine cellars to the public for tours and tastings. Check out their website to narrow down your list (you can search by region and provincia), and plan accordingly.
