Ten years on, the summer festival on the river has, if anything, got even worse

We must admit it had been years since we’d last set foot there. Perhaps ten or so. But as you know, when a relative or friend is passing through Rome, you turn into a tour guide and end up doing things you’d never do in everyday life. “What are all those lights along the river?”, asks our visiting friend. And so we found ourselves heading down to take a stroll along ‘Lungo il Tevere…Roma’, the 24th edition of the festival of ‘events, culture, music and gastronomy’ running from 5 June to 24 August. We had not been there for quite some time, as mentioned, and we must note that the festival has declined considerably. In previous years, there were a few clothing stalls that were actually quite decent (we might even have bought a shirt there years ago); there was, for example, one selling lovely hats, as well as a few decent bistros and some spin-offs of well-known Roman taverns that opened here in the summer. And then there was the cinema, perfect for enjoying the films you’d missed during the season in the open air.

Now there is none of that to be seen. From well before Ponte Sisto all the way to Ponte Palatino, beyond Tiber Island, along the river beneath Trastevere, there is a succession of shoddy stalls, bistros that do not tempt one to stop, fairground games such as pinball or tin can shooting to win small figurines, cotton candy and table football galore (though those have always been there), stalls piled high with second-hand books, stalls selling costume jewellery and even a bull-riding ride where you mustn’t fall off. There is music, of course: lone DJs (in the sense that there is no audience), the inevitable karaoke, a stall where people dance to Latin music and a ‘Salotto Tevere’, where a singer performs a string of songs by Lucio Battisti. However, we also read that book launches and cultural events of various kinds take place there.

The utmost respect for those who work there – chefs and waiters alike – but overall the atmosphere is rather dreary. A sort of tacky, shambolic spectacle where the only patrons are teenagers out on a night out, the worst sort of hooligans and somewhat disorientated tourists. And the question springs to mind: why is the centre of Rome transformed into a seedy village funfair every summer? The positive aspect is that the left-hand side—the Tiber Island side—has been left clear, whereas we remembered it too being overrun with tables. Meanwhile, we note with some surprise that the open-air cinema is no longer there, which used to be the best part of the whole affair. What’s more, it is extremely hot, because, as we all know, there is less air circulation along the riverbank. We also note that the cycle path (which we have cycled along dozens of times) is completely overrun. And that alone puts us in a bad mood. We press on with our walk, but the heat rules out table football; we are too old for the hookah bar, and Battisti covers are not to our taste either, so in the end we settle for a beer at a Tex-Mex stall—perhaps the only genuinely pleasant one along the entire route.

However, there is also a packed programme. “Every evening, visitors will be able to enjoy 60 commercial stalls, 15 food and drink outlets, 3 cultural areas and 200 artistic performances. Every year, there are 2 million visitors – 15,000 a day,” we read on the event’s website. From what we can see, the figures seem a tad exaggerated. The festival is organised by the cultural association La Vela d’Oro with the aim of “creating events that promote culture and art, encouraging the rediscovery of iconic locations such as the banks of the Tiber, which are transformed into an open-air stage every year, enriching the capital with exhibitions, concerts, presentations and free activities for audiences of all ages”. It should be noted that we are not opposed to riverfront bars and events. We appreciate the riverboats—it is a shame that the Lian Club is no longer there—and we have been regulars at the Magik Bar, beneath the Convitto Nazionale, for years. Similar events are also organised along the Seine and the Thames in the summer, mostly music festivals, and the standard appears to be considerably higher. In Paris, there is even a beach with sun loungers and parasols. Here, Virginia Raggi tried it, but it was not a great success. As we are leaving, we notice that someone has written ‘Afa Zone’ on the retaining wall. And it seems perfect to us.