A local's guide to what's on in Rome in September.

September is one of the best times to visit Rome. The sweltering heat of August gives way to balmy sunshine and the nights are still warm enough to dine under the stars.

As summer draws to an end, Rome looks forward to a September of exciting cultural events, from cutting-edge art festivals to blockbuster exhibitions and open-air concerts.

The month kicks off with state museums and archaeological sites in Rome and across Italy opening for free on Sunday 1 September. The free landmark sites in the capital range from the Capitoline Museums to the Museo Forma Urbis where visitors walk across a glass floor over the surviving fragments of a famed marble map of ancient Rome.

Also on 1 September, Rome hosts the final day 14th leg of the Longines Global Champions Roma Tour, part of the world's most prestigious show jumping circuit, at the Circus Maximus.

For those interested in taking a culinary trip out of the city, the Castelli town of Ariccia hosts its popular Sagra della Porchetta, in honour of the savoury roast pork traditional to the area. The last day of the porchetta festival is 1 September.

Romaeuropa, Rome's cutting-edge arts festival, returns with a packed programme of contemporary dance, theatre, music, digital art and events for kids, from 4 September until 17 November. The festival will feature 100 different shows taking place in 20 venues across the city, with more than 700 artists from around the world.

Short Theatre also offers avant-garde theatre, dance, music, performance, prose, dj sets and workshops at the Mattatoio and a dozen other cultural venues around Rome from 5-15 September.

Although most of Rome's summer festivals are over, a number of popular out-door initiatives continue into September. These include Lungo il Tevere with pop-up restaurants, bars and live music along the banks of the river Tiber (until 29 Sept), a jazz music festival with a backdrop of the Colosseum (until 22 Sept), and outdoor jazz and swing music in the Villa Celimontana park (until 7 Sept).

Roma Summer Fest stages concerts by Francesco De Gregori (2 Sept), Fatboy Slim (4 Sept) and Ermal Meta (5 Sept), while the ancient Roman theatre at Ostia Antica hosts concerts by Patti Smith (3 Sept) and Carmen Consoli (7 Sept).

Spring Attitude, the international festival devoted to electronic music and its emerging sounds, returns to Rome from 13-14 September at Cinecittà Studios. The headliners include Viagra Boys, Cosmo, Kiasmos, Acid Arab, MACE and Daniela Pes.

Rome Future Week, taking place from 16-22 September, will host discussions and presentations relating to how the future will change the areas of technology, mobility, sustainability, economics, research and education, culture, smart cities, health and biotech.

The largest exhibition in Italy ever dedicated to Colombian artist Fernando Botero will open at Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome on 17 September. The show charts the more than 60-year career of the late artist who is famed for his paintings and sculptures of corpulent figures.

Gilmour's concerts at the landmark Roman venue - where he played two nights in 2016 - are scheduled for 27, 28 and 29 September and 1, 2 and 3 October.