News Lifestyle

How to celebrate Halloween in Rome

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

26 Oct, 2022

A guide to Halloween events for kids and adults in Rome in 2022.

Rome embraces the ghoulish festival of Halloween - still a slightly foreign concept in Italy - a little more each year with themed events and spooky shop-fronts becoming increasingly popular.

This year Halloween falls on Monday 31 October, followed on 1 November by All Saints’ Day, or Ognissanti, a public holiday in Italy, resulting in a four-day "ponte" weekend for many Italians.

If you are looking for the perfect Halloween costume, masks, make-up and accessories head to Studio 13 on Piazza Cavour or Profondo Rosso on Via dei Gracchi - both in the Prati district - but don't leave it until the last minute as you may have to queue down the street just to get in.

For cheaper Halloween fare check out the city's "casalinghi" stores while if you are seeking a more bespoke look, pay a visit to Rome's vintage boutiques.

There are always fancy dress parties in the city's night clubs and live music venues as well as pubs such as the Abbey Theatre near Piazza Navona, Finnegan’s and Fiddler's Elbow in Monti, and Scholars Lounge near Piazza Venezia.

Manca solo una settimana ad #Halloween!

Ecco un breve video sull'origine della festa #irlandese più famosa al mondo pic.twitter.com/ybk8gnopQt
— Ireland in Rome (@IrlEmbRome) October 24, 2022

Rome has special Halloween events for children at the Bioparco, and plenty of Halloween fun at Luneur Park in EUR, or theme parks such as Rainbow Magicland and Cinecittà World to the south of Rome.

The newly re-opened Cinema Troisi in Trastevere is staging a Halloween marathon of scary films from 27-31 October, including Scary Movie and the first three Scream movies in their original language versions.

Rome's Comedy Club is staging a special Halloween night of stand-up in English on Friday 28 October at 20.30 at the Makai Surf & Tiki Bar in Ostiense, with a prize for whoever has the best costume.

As an ancient city, Rome also has some authentically scary sites such as a spine-chilling visit to Via Veneto’s Capuchin crypt.

Lastly, check out our Halloween recipe which features pumpkin, obviously, and for those wondering about the weather, Rome is set to usher in its first "Novembrata" this year.