Circo Massimo area to be closed off this weekend for Vasco Rossi concerts.

Italian rock star Vasco Rossi will perform two sold-out concerts at Rome's Circus Maximus on 11 and 12 June, after a two-year wait due to the covid pandemic.

The 70-year-old singer-songwriter, currently on a concert tour of Italy, was originally scheduled to play the coveted Roman venue in June 2020 however the dates were postponed several times.

This weekend's long-awaited concerts will lead to numerous street closures in the Circus Maximus area, with the Roma Pride parade also causing traffic restrictions in the city on Saturday.

Hugely popular in Italy, Rossi has released 30 albums and written more than 250 songs including numerous hits such as Senza Parole, Un Senso and Siamo Soli.

Rome gets ready for #VascoRossi who will perform two concerts at the Circus Maximus this weekend pic.twitter.com/iqNhN07FAN— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) June 10, 2022

On 9 July, a month after Rossi's double-show, the Circus Maximus will host a sold-out concert by Måneskin in what is being billed by organisers Rock in Roma as the "event of the year".

Over the last decade the historic Rome venue has hosted several major interational acts including The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and David Gilmour.

• Rome's Circus Maximus to host summer rock concerts

In 2019 there was just one concert at the Circus Maximus, by TheGiornalisti, an Italian band that split up just days after performing.

In 2020 and 2021 Circo Massimo swapped rock concerts for Rome's summer opera festival which this year has returned to its traditional base at the Baths of Caracalla.

Last month it was announced that Bruce Springsteen would return to the Circus Maximus on 23 May 2023 as part of a European tour.