Qube

The Qube is a nightclub in east Rome at Via di Portonaccio 212, in the quadrant between Casal Bertone and the Tiburtina rail yard, a few hundred meters from the Portonaccio junction. It is one of the biggest dance venues in the city, spread over several rooms and several floors, and in recent years it has built its identity above all thanks to Muccassassina, the Friday queer night organized by the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, which holds its main season at the Qube from October to June. In the warm months the event moves outdoors, to the park of the Baths of Caracalla, within the Jazz & Image series, as told in the entry dedicated to the Muccassassina Summer Season. The Qube remains, however, the place that gave shape to this story, and understanding the venue largely means understanding the path of that night, with its earlier stops, the suspension of the license in 2019 and the close tie with the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, the association that has organized the event since 1990 and that today has its headquarters in another part of the city, on Via Efeso.

Where the Qube is and how to get there

The address is Via di Portonaccio 212, in the area Romans simply call Portonaccio, on the border between Municipio IV and Municipio V, in a stretch of the city marked by the presence of the freight rail yard and by big through roads more than by residential blocks. Those arriving by car will find the junction with the Tangenziale Est convenient, with an exit right onto Via di Portonaccio, or can drive along Via Tiburtina to the junction of the same name, one of the busiest intersections in the capital during the day and much freer in the evening, when the venue is open. By car from the historic center 20 or 25 minutes is generally enough outside rush hours.

By public transport the reference point is Roma Tiburtina station, served by subway line B and by regional and long-distance trains: from there the Qube is reached in a few minutes on foot or by the bus lines running along Via Tiburtina and Via di Portonaccio. It is the most practical way for those coming from outside Rome or who don't want to worry about parking, and it's the solution I recommend to anyone going for the first time to a night like Muccassassina, when getting back late at night by public transport remains an unknown anyway and a car or taxi becomes the calmest option. Near the venue, street parking is the typical kind of a productive zone, with few restrictions in the evening hours but also little lighting and little passing traffic: a practical element to keep in mind rather than a reason for alarm.

An alternative little used by those arriving from the south of the city is to take Via Prenestina or Via Casilina until reaching the connection with the Tangenziale Est, thus avoiding the most congested stretch of Via Tiburtina in the daytime hours: in the evening, when the Qube opens, traffic drops sharply on all routes anyway, and the choice of route becomes more a matter of personal convenience than real necessity. Those arriving instead from Fiumicino airport can count on the train to Roma Tiburtina and continue from there like those leaving from the city center, while from Ciampino a private transfer or a taxi to the station is advisable, because direct connections with this quadrant are less frequent.

What the Qube really is: a large nightclub in the east of the city

The Qube was born as a general-audience commercial nightclub, designed to host different publics on different nights of the week, and as such it should be framed before talking about its best-known night. The structure, reported by the sources as one of the largest in the city, occupies over 3,000 square meters on several levels, with distinct rooms designed for different musical genres and atmospheres: a layout meant to make publics that rarely overlap coexist at different times. It is the typical scheme of the big dance venues of the Roman metropolitan area, closer in size and concept to a converted trade-fair facility than to a neighborhood club.

What makes the Qube a particular case in the city landscape is the fact that, while remaining an ordinary commercially run venue, it has over the years become the fixed point of the longest-running LGBT+ night in Italy. It was not born as a venue with a queer vocation, and it is not exclusively one even today: it became one for one Friday a week, for part of the year, thanks to an agreement between the venue's owners and an association that has brought its public there for more than a decade. It is a distinction worth having clear before arriving, because it helps to understand what to expect and when.

In the Roman clubbing landscape the Qube belongs to a precise category, that of the big peripheral containers born between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, a time when many historic nightclubs in the center closed or turned into something else, pushed by the cost of rents and by the noise restrictions imposed by proximity to homes. The large size and the out-of-center position, which in other contexts would be a disadvantage, here become the condition that allowed the venue to survive and to host, over time, a broad and composite public without the frictions typical of a venue set in a residential neighborhood of the historic center.

The geography of Roman nightlife has moreover gone through, over the last 30 years, similar shifts in several directions: neighborhoods like Testaccio, Ostiense and the Colosseum area have historically concentrated an important part of the venues frequented by the city's LGBTQIA+ community, with names that became reference points over time, while other addresses, penalized by closures, changes of management or license problems, have left room for new places. In this constantly moving picture, the Qube represents a case of relative stability: despite the forced interruption of 2019, it has been for more than a decade the venue where the main season of Muccassassina takes place, a result not to be taken for granted in a sector where changing address is more the norm than the exception.

The rooms and the program of the Qube

The structure of the Qube is designed to work as a modular container, with distinct rooms that can be opened together or separately depending on the night and the expected attendance. It is a model that allows the venue to host, in the same week, very different publics: from commercial music nights aimed at a younger public, to themed nights following specific genres, up to Muccassassina itself, which in its version at the Qube uses several rooms at once to articulate the night into different musical environments, from the main dance floor to more intimate spaces designed for moments of show and performance.

This articulation into multiple rooms is common to the big European dance venues of comparable size, and is part of the reason why the Qube often appears, in city chronicles, as one of the main references when talking about the big Roman nightclub, distinct from the smaller, single-theme neighborhood club. For those visiting the venue for the first time it's worth knowing that not all rooms are necessarily open every night, and that the configuration can change depending on the type of event scheduled that specific night.

A curiosity about Qube

Few know that the name of the night that made the venue famous, Muccassassina, was not born at the Qube. Before arriving on Via di Portonaccio, the Circolo Mario Mieli night had already changed several venues during the 1990s and 2000s, passing through the former Mattatoio in Testaccio, the Grigio Notte, the former Castello cinema, the Teatro Palladium in Garbatella and the venue Alpheus, before finding a stable home at the Qube. The name of the venue is therefore more recent than the night that is identified with it today: when you talk about Muccassassina you are telling a story longer than that of the building on Via di Portonaccio alone.

Another detail that escapes those who know the Qube only by hearsay is that, in the sequence of earlier venues, there is also a real theater, the Teatro Palladium in Garbatella, today a university venue of Roma Tre University devoted to performances, exhibitions and cultural initiatives: a detail that tells well how much the night has always had a cultural and political side, besides pure nighttime entertainment, since its first editions.

Muccassassina: the night that made the Qube a symbol

Muccassassina was born as a fundraising party of the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, the Roman association for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people founded in 1983 from the merger of two pre-existing groups and named in memory of the activist and writer Mario Mieli. The night started in 1990 and over time became a fixed Friday-night appointment, with a format that combines dance music, drag shows, performances and themed nights that change name and hosting season after season. The 30th birthday of the night was celebrated on January 5, 2020, with artistic directions that over the years have also involved figures known to the general public like Vladimir Luxuria.

The relationship between Muccassassina and the Qube has not been linear. In 2019 the Rome police headquarters ordered the suspension of the venue's license, and for a few months the night had to rely on other city spaces, among them Largo Venue, the Alibi and the Alien, before returning permanently to the Qube on October 25 of the same year. Since then the event has been held every Friday, with a calendar covering the part of the year running roughly from mid-October to June, while in the summer months the night changes venue and moves outdoors, to the park of the Baths of Caracalla, within the Jazz & Image series, as told in detail on the page dedicated to the Muccassassina Summer Season. The Qube, in this scheme, remains the historic home and the venue of the main season, while the summer follows a different format, designed for the city's outdoor spaces.

The Circolo Mario Mieli: who organizes the night

Behind Muccassassina, and therefore largely behind the very fame of the Qube, stands the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, one of the oldest and most structured LGBTQIA+ associations in Italy. Born in Rome in 1983 from the merger of two groups already active in previous years, the Fuori! group and the Collettivo Narciso, the circle takes its name from Mario Mieli, a writer and activist among the reference figures of the Italian homosexual movement of the 1970s, who died in the same year as the founding of the association named after him. Since then the circle has built a range of activities that goes well beyond nightlife alone: it organizes cultural events, book presentations and political debates, founded in 2006 the Roma Rainbow Choir, a choir that gathers its voices from the city's LGBTQIA+ community, and since 1989 has run a home care service for people ill with AIDS, accompanied by free psychological and legal counseling.

The association's headquarters today is at Via Efeso 2a, near the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura and the Basilica San Paolo subway stop, on line B, a different and more secluded place compared to the Qube, which remains instead the public stage of the best-known night among those organized by the circle. It is useful to keep the two places distinct: those looking for information, support or who want to get closer to the association's activities outside the Friday night must refer to Via Efeso headquarters, not to the venue on Via di Portonaccio.

The format of the nights: what to expect from Muccassassina

Over the seasons Muccassassina has built its own language made of recurring formats, themed nights that return year after year with names recognizable to the regular public, alongside DJ sets and live performances. Among the names appearing in the night's calendar are events like Muccasantissima, one of the most established themed nights, together with other seasonal formats like Abracadabra and Maledetta Primavera, designed to mark different moments of the year with different themes and costumes. It is a structure that lets the most loyal public find again, season after season, events they know, and lets those attending for the first time understand right away that this is not a generic night, but a calendar built with care over time.

Alongside the themed formats, the backbone of the night remains the one typical of the big club: DJ sets alternating in the different rooms, moments of show with drag performances and superstars of the Roman queer scene, and a part of the night devoted more simply to dancing, without a fixed program. It is a balance between structured entertainment and freedom for the public that has contributed, along with continuity over time, to making Muccassassina a reference point also for those who come from outside Rome expressly for this night.

Something nobody tells you about Qube

Those arriving at the Qube thinking of a venue entirely devoted to the LGBT+ community are often thrown off: in the ordinary week the Qube also schedules other nights, with different publics and musical genres, following the typical calendar of the big commercial Roman nightclubs, which changes from season to season and should therefore not be taken for granted without checking directly. It is a detail rarely told when the venue is spoken of as a synonym for Muccassassina, but it explains why the same address can turn out, depending on the night you show up, a place with an atmosphere completely different from the one you expect. It's worth always checking the program of the specific night before organizing the evening, rather than assuming that every Friday works the same all year.

A second little-told element concerns the commercial genesis of the very name of the venue: the Qube was not born as a project tied to the LGBTQIA+ community, and came to host Muccassassina at a time after its opening, when the night was already looking for a stable venue after the years spent among theaters, converted cinemas and other dance venues. The relationship between the two names, in short, is more the fruit of a meeting between practical needs, a large available space and an association looking for continuity, than of a project conceived in these terms from the beginning.

Frequently asked questions about Qube

Where is the Qube?

The Qube is at Via di Portonaccio 212, in Rome, in the quadrant between Casal Bertone and the Tiburtina rail yard, a few minutes from Roma Tiburtina station. Those arriving by car will find the junction with the Tangenziale Est convenient, with an exit right onto Via di Portonaccio.

What is the Qube?

The Qube is a large general-audience commercial nightclub, occupying over 3,000 square meters on several levels with distinct rooms designed for different musical genres and atmospheres. In the ordinary week it offers different nights for different publics, following the typical calendar of the big Roman nightclubs.

Is the Qube a venue only for the LGBT+ community?

No. The Qube is a general-audience commercial nightclub that in the ordinary week schedules different nights for different publics. It becomes the reference point of the Roman LGBTQIA+ community in particular on Friday, when it hosts the night Muccassassina.

What is Muccassassina?

Muccassassina is the night organized by the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, born in 1990 as a fundraising party and over time become a fixed Friday-night appointment at the Qube, with a format that combines music, drag shows and socializing in a space designed for the Roman LGBTQIA+ community.

Who organizes Muccassassina?

Behind Muccassassina stands the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, one of the oldest and most structured LGBTQIA+ associations in Italy, born in Rome in 1983 from the merger of the groups Fuori! and Collettivo Narciso and named after the activist and writer Mario Mieli. Since 1989 the circle has offered home care to people ill with AIDS and free counseling services.

When is Muccassassina held at the Qube?

Muccassassina is held regularly at the Qube every Friday night, roughly from mid-October to June. In the summer months, from late June to September, the event is not held at the Qube but moves to other seasonal venues.

Has the Qube always hosted Muccassassina on Via di Portonaccio?

No: before arriving permanently at the Qube the Muccassassina night had already changed several venues between the 1990s and the 2000s, passing through the former Mattatoio in Testaccio, the Grigio Notte, the former Castello cinema, the Teatro Palladium in Garbatella and the venue Alpheus. In 2019 the Rome police headquarters ordered the suspension of the Qube's license, and the night returned permanently on October 25, 2019.

What is near the Qube?

Near the Qube, in the direction of the San Lorenzo neighborhood, stands the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, one of the seven jubilee churches of Rome and burial place of several pontiffs, as well as grassroots gathering spaces born in the area.

My advice for visiting Qube

If the goal is to experience Muccassassina, the first piece of advice is to organize the evening knowing that it is an event with its own community identity, born to offer a safe space to the Roman LGBTQIA+ community: anyone attending, regardless of their own orientation, should do so with the same respect they would bring to any other place of other people's social life, without the attitude of a curious spectator. Finding out in advance about any entry arrangements, membership cards required and updated hours avoids surprises on the spot, because these conditions can change from one season to the next and should always be checked on the night's official channels rather than on second-hand sources.

On the practical side, the most useful recommendation concerns the return: the Portonaccio area, outside commuter working hours, empties quickly, and late at night it's best to have already arranged a ride, a taxi or a chauffeured car rather than count on a last-minute public transport vehicle. For those arriving from outside Rome who want to build a more touristic part of the stay around the night as well, a guide who knows the city helps distribute the day's energies better: it's the kind of support offered by the editorial team of TourLeaderPro, which you can contact to organize a tailor-made itinerary in the days before the night.

One last piece of advice concerns the group: if you organize an evening at the Qube with friends arriving from different cities, it's best to set a clear meeting point at Tiburtina station before even heading to the venue, because inside, with loud music and several rooms at once, finding each other can take longer than expected. It's a trivial precaution, but it's what really makes the difference between an organized evening and one spent looking for each other in the dark.

One last practical aspect concerns the budget for the night: as in all big Roman nightclubs, entry, drink and coat check costs can change depending on the night, the arrival time and any lists or promotions active at that moment, and make no sense when reported as a fixed figure in a general guide like this one. It's always best to check the night's official channels in the days immediately before, so as to plan the spending without surprises and with a margin for the return at the end of the night.

Portonaccio and the rail yard: the quadrant surrounding the Qube

The urban context around the Qube tells of a Rome different from that of the central rioni. Portonaccio is a node of traffic and infrastructure before it is a neighborhood in the traditional sense of the term: Via Tiburtina, the Tangenziale Est and a large rail yard linked to the nearby Tiburtina station converge here, which is today one of the main rail hubs of the capital for high speed and regional connections. It is an area with a productive and infrastructural vocation, grown in the 1900s around the railway and the industrial activities the railway itself brought with it, and which only in more recent times has seen commercial and entertainment functions like that of the Qube added.

Understanding this context also helps to read the choice of locating here a venue for 6,000 people: it is a space that, because of its size and its noise, needs a quadrant with limited residential constraints, and that is exactly what an area like this offers, set between rail yard and big through roads. It is an unromantic but concrete aspect, and it is part of the reason the Qube is exactly here and not in one of the more central neighborhoods of the city.

Tiburtina station itself, the reference point for those reaching the Qube by public transport, has gone through a deep transformation over the last 15 years: from an old secondary rail yard it has become one of the main hubs of the city, with a modern glass-and-steel structure inaugurated gradually between 2011 and 2016, designed to handle high-speed traffic and relieve Roma Termini. This process has also brought over the years new flows of people into the Portonaccio quadrant, without however substantially changing its productive vocation, which remains today as then the main characteristic of the zone.

Even the name of the zone tells something of this peripheral identity. Portonaccio, according to local tradition, recalls an old gate or opening along one of the access roads to the city in an earlier era, a practical element more than a monumental one, and the pejorative suffix that closes the place name already suggests a place meant for passage and work more than for show. It is a small consistency between the name and the function the quadrant has kept over time, from the 19th-century rail yard to the industrial and logistics activities of today.

Another well-known fact, yet rarely mentioned

Everyone knows, or thinks they know, that Muccassassina is the most famous gay night in Rome. What tends to be forgotten is that it is first of all a fundraising event: it was born to support the activities of the Circolo Mario Mieli, which since 1989 has offered home care to people ill with AIDS and runs free psychological and legal counseling services for the Roman LGBTQIA+ community. The ticket paid at the entrance of the Qube, put plainly, doesn't only finance a night of music, but supports an association that for over 40 years has worked on very concrete fronts, from the defense of civil rights to health care, with a headquarters that today is on Via Efeso, near the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura.

This aspect makes Muccassassina an interesting case from the economic point of view as well: it is a fundraising event that rests on a commercially run venue, a hybrid formula that lets the association reach a much wider public than it could reach with events organized directly at its own headquarters, and that at the same time gives the Qube, for one night a week, an identity that no other Roman nightclub of comparable size has managed to build with the same continuity over time.

It is worth adding that this model, an association organizing a fundraising night inside a third party's commercial venue, is by no means a given in the landscape of Italian LGBTQIA+ organizations, many of which rely on smaller spaces or occasional events precisely because of the difficulty of finding a venue willing to guarantee continuity over time. The relationship between the Circolo Mario Mieli and the Qube, even with the interruption of 2019, has lasted more than a decade, and is today one of the most stable relationships of this kind existing in Italy between an LGBTQIA+ association and a big commercially run dance venue.

The right photo to take of Qube

The photo that best tells the Qube is not the one inside the rooms, often too dark and crowded to come out well, but the one outside, at the moment the line forms in front of the entrance: the contrast between the anonymous, industrial architecture of the building, typical of a converted warehouse, and the colors, costumes and rainbow flags of those waiting to get in for Muccassassina is the image that conveys most strongly what happens, for one night a week, in a corner of the city that the rest of the days has a completely different vocation. It is a shot worth taking with discretion, without framing the faces of strangers without their consent, because for many of the people in line that night is also a space of freedom that deserves respect even before documentation.

A second shot, less obvious but just as effective, is the one you can take from the opposite sidewalk, with the venue's structure framed together with the traffic of trucks and heavy vehicles that run along Via di Portonaccio by day: it is the image that best tells the double face of this address, an industrial warehouse six days a week and, on Friday night, a gathering point for thousands of people.

Some important events that happened here in history

Among the milestones that have marked the venue's recent history in relation to Muccassassina, three deserve to be remembered with their dates. In 2019 the Rome police headquarters orders the suspension of the Qube's license, forcing the night into a period of provisional venues among Largo Venue, the Alibi and the Alien. On October 25, 2019 Muccassassina returns permanently to the Qube, marking the resumption of the season in the venue that still hosts it today from October to June. On January 5, 2020 the night celebrates its 30th birthday, a milestone that confirms it as one of the longest-running LGBT+ events in the Italian landscape. More recently, on October 4, 2024 the 35th season of the night started at the Qube, while the 36th, titled Disco Drama, opened its summer edition on June 26, 2026 in the outdoor spaces of the Baths of Caracalla.

Who has passed through Qube

In the history of Muccassassina at the Qube are intertwined names tied above all to the artistic direction and hosting of the nights, as well as to the world of dance music and drag shows that characterizes the format. Among the public figures who over time have had a role in the artistic direction of the night is Vladimir Luxuria, host, author and activist, whose presence helped bring the event to the attention of a public wider than the usual one of Roman clubbing. Alongside the well-known names, the history of the night is made above all of the thousands of people, artists and activists of the Roman LGBTQIA+ community and beyond, who over the years have made the Qube's Friday a fixed appointment of their week.

It is worth remembering also that, since Muccassassina is a fundraising event born inside the Italian LGBTQIA+ movement, its historic public includes different generations of activists who have lived through the civil rights battles of the last three decades: from the first editions in the 1990s, in an Italy where the visibility of the community was much more limited than today, to the most recent seasons at the Qube, the night has also worked as a place for the transmission of a collective memory, as well as a simple occasion for leisure.

When to go to Qube and when to avoid it

Those looking specifically for Muccassassina must move within the night's seasonal window, which covers roughly the period from mid-October to June, with a fixed appointment every Friday night at the Qube: this is the span of time in which the night is held regularly on Via di Portonaccio. In the summer months, from late June to September, the event is not held at the Qube but moves to the park of the Baths of Caracalla within the Jazz & Image series, so anyone aiming specifically at the Portonaccio venue in the height of summer risks finding a program different from the one they were looking for. For the program of the other nights of the week, not tied to Muccassassina, it's always best to check the updated calendar before organizing the visit, because it changes more frequently and is not the subject of this general guide to the venue.

Within the same season, some periods deserve particular attention. The first weeks after the mid-October reopening often coincide with the official inauguration of the night's new season, a moment that tends to draw more public than usual and that is worth planning a few days ahead. The Christmas period, with the holidays breaking up the calendar, can instead bring occasional variations to the fixed Friday appointment, as can spring, when the calendar nears the close of the indoor season and the transition to the summer format at Caracalla: in both cases it's best to check the program of the specific weeks rather than assume the appointment's regularity.

What's around Qube

The quadrant surrounding the Qube is not a tourist area in the classic sense, but it offers some points of interest for those who want to extend the evening or the day. In the direction of the center, toward the San Lorenzo neighborhood, are the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, one of the seven jubilee churches of Rome and burial place of several pontiffs, and some grassroots gathering spaces like Container San Lorenzo and the Palestra Popolare San Lorenzo, as well as the urban park of Castagneto Prenestino. In the same neighborhood the San Lorenzo Film Festival also returns every year, a series that tells the recent history of this piece of the city. For those who instead want a comparison with another historic page of Roman clubbing, closer to the center and tied to a different era, a visit is worth paying to the Piper Club, the nightclub that in the 1960s changed the way of dancing in Rome and that still today remains a reference point of the city's nightlife.

Those who want to extend the visit in the same quadrant toward the university area can reach in a few minutes the Sapienza University City, with its minor museums often overlooked by the big itineraries, like the Gipsoteca dell'Arte Classica and the MLAC, the Museo Laboratorio d'Arte Contemporanea. Not far away, toward the Tiburtino neighborhood, is also the monumental Verano Cemetery, one of the largest and oldest monumental cemeteries in Europe, a stop that lends itself to a daytime visit before devoting the evening to the Qube.

The San Lorenzo neighborhood, in particular, deserves a separate visit regardless of the night at the Qube: born as a working-class neighborhood at the end of the 1800s and heavily hit by the Allied bombings of July 1943, it is today an area with a strong student vocation, thanks to the proximity of the Sapienza, with a concentration of venues, independent bookstores and self-managed cultural spaces that tell a social story different from that of the Portonaccio quadrant but not far from it in spirit. Moving between the two neighborhoods on the same day, perhaps with an afternoon stop in San Lorenzo before reaching the Qube in the evening, is a way to give the visit a broader sense in this less-trodden part of the city.

For those arriving from outside Rome who want to organize the whole stay, including the more touristic stops of the historic center, it's worth pairing this part of the city with a more classic itinerary as well: the English-language guide of ItalyPlanner.com helps with orientation among the main monuments, while those organizing a private tour with a guide can contact the editorial team of TourLeaderPro to build an itinerary that combines the city's great classics with neighborhoods like this one, less frequented but equally significant for understanding Rome in its entirety.

Safety, respect and queer space: how to experience the night

Muccassassina was not born as a tourist attraction, but as a space designed first of all for the Roman LGBTQIA+ community, and this should be kept in mind by anyone who decides to attend without being strictly part of it. It doesn't mean the straight public is not welcome, all the more since the night is open and known well beyond the boundaries of the community that created it, but it means behaving with the awareness of being a guest in a place that for many people represents one of the few contexts where they can live their identity openly without having to justify or hide it. A respectful attitude, avoiding out-of-place comments, insistent stares or a casual use of the camera, makes the difference between a positive experience for everyone and a nuisance for those who live that space every week.

On the practical side, anyone who feels uncomfortable or observes improper behavior during the night can always turn to the venue's security staff, who in managing events like this are generally trained to intervene in episodes of this kind. It is also worth remembering that the Circolo Mario Mieli, besides organizing the night, also offers listening and support services through its Via Efeso headquarters, a useful reference not only for those looking for specific assistance but also for those who want to learn more, outside the context of the nightclub, about the activities of the association that organizes Muccassassina.

Quick questions about Qube

Where is the Qube?

At Via di Portonaccio 212, in Rome, in the quadrant between Casal Bertone and the Tiburtina rail yard, a few minutes from Roma Tiburtina station.

Is the Qube a venue only for the LGBT+ community?

No. It is a general-audience commercial nightclub that in the ordinary week schedules different nights for different publics. It becomes the reference point of the Roman LGBTQIA+ community in particular on Friday, when it hosts Muccassassina.

What is Muccassassina?

It is the historic queer night organized by the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, born in 1990 as a fundraising party for the association and over the years become one of the longest-running LGBT+ events in Italy.

Is Muccassassina held at the Qube all year?

No. The season at the Qube covers roughly the period from mid-October to June. In the summer months the event moves outdoors, to the park of the Baths of Caracalla, within the Jazz & Image series.

Was Muccassassina born at the Qube?

No. Before arriving at the Qube the night had already changed several venues, among them the former Mattatoio in Testaccio, the Grigio Notte, the former Castello cinema, the Teatro Palladium and the venue Alpheus.

Is it true that the Qube had problems with its license?

Yes. In 2019 the Rome police headquarters ordered the suspension of the venue's license, and Muccassassina relied for a few months on other city venues before returning permanently to the Qube on October 25, 2019.

How do you get to the Qube without a car?

The reference point is Roma Tiburtina station, served by subway line B and by regional and long-distance trains, from which the venue is reached in a few minutes on foot or by the bus lines running along Via Tiburtina and Via di Portonaccio.

Do you need a membership card to get into Muccassassina?

Entry conditions, including any membership cards, can change from one season to the next: it's always best to check them on the night's official channels before organizing the visit.

What is the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli?

It is the Roman association for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, founded in Rome in 1983 from the merger of two pre-existing groups and named in memory of the activist and writer Mario Mieli. Among other things it organizes Muccassassina, home care for people ill with AIDS and psychological and legal counseling services.

How big is the Qube?

The sources describe the venue as one of the largest nightclubs in the city, with over 3,000 square meters spread over several rooms and several floors devoted to different musical genres.

Who has handled the artistic direction of Muccassassina over time?

The artistic direction has changed several times over the years. Among the public figures involved in it is Vladimir Luxuria.

Can you have dinner near the Qube before the night?

The Portonaccio area has a mainly productive and infrastructural vocation, with a food offering more tied to the workers' lunch than to evening dinner: for a proper dinner it's best to head to neighboring areas like San Lorenzo, better served in this respect.

Can you get to the Qube by taxi at the end of the night?

Yes, and it is the most practical solution: late at night the area empties out and it's best to have already arranged the return by taxi or car rather than count on a last-minute public transport vehicle.

Does the name Qube have a particular meaning?

The name recalls the geometric shape of the cube, common in the naming of big European dance venues. No sources attribute to it any further meaning tied specifically to the history of the building.

What is the difference between the season at the Qube and the Summer Season at Caracalla?

The season at the Qube takes place indoors, from mid-October to June, while the Summer Season is held outdoors, in the park of the Baths of Caracalla, with a format designed for the archaeological spaces and the summer evenings.

Where is the Circolo Mario Mieli headquartered?

The association's headquarters is at Via Efeso 2a, in Rome, near the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura and the Basilica San Paolo stop of subway line B. It is an address distinct from the Qube, which remains instead the place where the Friday night is held.

When was the Circolo Mario Mieli born?

In 1983, in Rome, from the merger of two groups already active in previous years, the Fuori! group and the Collettivo Narciso. The name recalls the activist and writer Mario Mieli, who died in the same year.

What other activities does the Circolo Mario Mieli organize besides Muccassassina?

It organizes cultural events, book presentations and political debates, has run since 1989 a home care service for people ill with AIDS, offers free psychological and legal counseling and founded the Roma Rainbow Choir in 2006.

Is there a dress code to get into the Qube during Muccassassina?

The access rules, including any dress code, can vary from one season to the next and should be checked on the night's official channels before the visit. In general, themed nights of this kind invite more creative clothing than usual, without this being an obligation for the public.

How old has Muccassassina turned?

The night celebrated its 30th birthday on January 5, 2020 and, according to the numbering of the seasons, opened its 35th edition at the Qube on October 4, 2024 and its 36th, called Disco Drama, in its summer version at Caracalla on June 26, 2026.

Is the Qube near other nightlife venues?

The Portonaccio quadrant is not an area historically associated with Roman nightlife the way Testaccio, Ostiense or the historic center are. In this sense the Qube is an isolated case rather than part of a cluster of venues.

What is the best way to get to the Qube from outside Rome?

Arriving by train at Roma Tiburtina station is the most practical solution, because it avoids the parking problem and puts the venue's entrance a short distance away on foot or by bus, both on the way there and, above all, on the way back at the end of the night.

Is entry to the Qube restricted to adults?

As in Italian nightclubs generally, access is restricted to adults. For specific conditions tied to individual nights it's still best to check the official indications before organizing the visit.

Can you take photos and videos inside the Qube during Muccassassina?

Photo and video policies can vary from one night to the next and are normally communicated at the entrance or on the event's official channels. In any case, even where allowed, the general rule applies of not filming other people without their consent, especially in a context that for many is also a private space of freedom.

What does the name Muccassassina mean?

It is a slang name born inside the community that has promoted the night since its first editions, which entered common use as the recognizable brand of the party organized by the Circolo Mario Mieli. It should not be confused with the name of the venue that hosts it today.

What formats recur in the Muccassassina calendar?

Over the seasons several themed formats have appeared, among them Muccasantissima, Abracadabra and Maledetta Primavera, alongside the usual DJ sets and drag performances that characterize the night every Friday.

Does the Qube host events other than Muccassassina during the week?

Yes: being a general-audience commercial nightclub, the venue also schedules other nights aimed at different publics, with a calendar that must always be checked specifically because it changes more often than the by now established one of the Muccassassina Friday.

Which neighborhoods are historically tied to LGBTQIA+ nightlife in Rome?

Testaccio, Ostiense and the Colosseum area have concentrated over time a good part of the venues frequented by the city's community. The Qube, in the Portonaccio quadrant, is in this sense a case apart, tied more to the continuity of a single night than to a tradition of the area.

What is the Roma Rainbow Choir?

It is the choir founded in 2006 by the Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale Mario Mieli, which gathers voices from the Roman LGBTQIA+ community and performs on public occasions tied to the association's activities.

What should you do if you've never been to a night like Muccassassina?

It's best to find out in advance about hours, any entry arrangements and the program of the specific night, arrive with a group or at least in company, organize the return before leaving and approach the night with the same openness and the same respect you would bring to any other social context that is not your own.

Is the Qube connected to the Cotral network or only to Roman public transport?

The venue is reachable mainly by the urban network of Rome, starting from Tiburtina station. Those arriving from outside the city by Cotral intercity connections must in any case rely on the city network for the last stretch to Via di Portonaccio.

Why does Muccassassina move to Caracalla in summer?

The summer format makes use of the outdoor spaces of the park of the Baths of Caracalla, consistent with the warm season and with the calendar of the Jazz & Image series, while the Qube remains the venue of the indoor season from mid-October to June.

Are there other historic nights of the Circolo Mario Mieli besides Muccassassina?

Muccassassina is the best-known and longest-running night organized by the association, but over time the circle also carries on other cultural, social and awareness initiatives that do not have the same weekly rhythm and the same public visibility.

Is the Muccassassina public only Roman?

No: over the seasons the night has built a fame that goes beyond the city, and it is not rare to meet people who came from other Italian regions or from abroad, in particular for the best-known themed nights or the anniversaries of the night.

Is it worth booking ahead for Muccassassina?

On nights with higher expected attendance, like the season opening or the best-known themed nights in the calendar, booking or finding out ahead about access arrangements reduces the risk of long waits in line. For ordinary Friday nights the organization required is generally less.

Does the Qube have a coat check?

Like most big Roman nightclubs, the venue provides a paid coat check service, useful above all in the colder months of the indoor season, from mid-October to March.

Looking at the history of the Qube, the judgment is that this venue represents a rare case: a building born for general nightlife that, for one night a week and for much of the year, becomes the symbolic space of an entire community. It is not a museum and not a monument, but in its small way it tells a piece of the city's social history that is worth knowing even just by reading about it, regardless of whether or not you decide to take part in person.

What strikes you, retracing the stages of this story from the founding of the Circolo Mario Mieli in 1983 to the most recent season at the Qube, is the continuity with which a night born as a simple fundraising event has managed to cross four decades, several venues, a license suspension and a radical change of format between winter and summer, without losing its public. It is a continuity that says something not only about the organizational ability of the association that promotes it, but also about the real need, on the part of a portion of the city, to have a fixed space in which to meet. The Qube, with its anonymous industrial-warehouse architecture, has become over the years the container of this need, and for those interested in the recent social history of Rome, more than in nightlife alone, it remains an address worth knowing, even just to understand how a building born for commercial music can end up representing, for a part of the city, much more than a simple nightclub.

Article written by the editorial team of TourLeaderPro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences. To organize a tailor-made day in the east quadrant of Rome, with a licensed tour guide, start from the TourLeaderPro contact page. Tour operators building itineraries on the city instead find the consulting service in the section dedicated to tour operators.

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