Gualtieri took to the stage with guitar in hand during the final Rome date of the Jova Summer Party, performing a new version of Samba della Rosa as a musical love letter to the city.Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri surprised the crowd at the Circus Maximus on Sunday night by joining singer Jovanotti on stage for a guitar duet during the second and final Rome date of his Jova Summer Party tour.Gualtieri performed a specially adapted version of Samba della Rosa, the classic by Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes made famous in Italy by Ornella Vanoni, with the lyrics reworked into a tribute to Rome, its beauty, its contradictions and the daily life of those who call it home. It was not the first time the centre-left mayor and the singer, whose real name is Lorenzo Cherubini, had performed the song together. The pair had already improvised it in April at Rome's Campidoglio, in the mayor's office, during the presentation of the Jova Summer Party and the Jova Giro cycling event. On that occasion, Gualtieri had announced he would award Jovanotti the Lupa Capitolina, the highest honour bestowed by Rome city council, with the ceremony due to take place in the autumn. What began as an improvised jam session between the two in the spring, drawing on the mayor's well-known passion for the guitar, became a full musical tribute to the capital in front of the crowds at the Circus Maximus. The moment also marked something of a homecoming for the song itself: the Italian version of Samba della Rosa was originally recorded in Rome, at the Forum studios in Piazza Euclide. Elected as mayor of Rome in 2022, Gualtieri is to run for a second five-year term in office in the 2027 municipal election.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri surprised the crowd at the Circus Maximus on Sunday night by joining singer Jovanotti on stage for a guitar duet during the second and final Rome date of his Jova Summer Party tour. Gualtieri performed a specially adapted version of Samba della Rosa, the classic by Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes made famous in Italy by , with the lyrics reworked into a tribute to Rome, its beauty, its contradictions and the daily life of those who call it home. It was not the first time the centre-left mayor and the singer, whose real name is , had performed the song together. The pair had already improvised it in April at Rome's Campidoglio, in the mayor's office, during the presentation of the Jova Summer Party and the Jova Giro cycling event. On that occasion, Gualtieri had announced he would award Jovanotti the Lupa Capitolina, the highest honour bestowed by Rome city council, with the ceremony due to take place in the autumn. What began as an improvised jam session between the two in the spring, drawing on the mayor's well-known passion for the guitar, became a full musical tribute to the capital in front of the crowds at the Circus Maximus. The moment also marked something of a homecoming for the song itself: the Italian version of Samba della Rosa was originally recorded in Rome, at the Forum studios in Piazza Euclide. Elected as mayor of Rome in 2022, Gualtieri is to run for a second five-year term in office in the 2027 municipal election.