Cinema Liberato — MEDA Urban Oasis

A free arena born from the neighborhood, for the neighborhood

Cinema Liberato is the open-air film festival that brings Parco Andrea Campagna (formerly Parco Meda) to life in Rome's Tiburtino district, within the 4th Municipality. It is the only completely free cinema arena in the entire district, which explains why it has quickly become a landmark for the Roman summer outside the city center's usual circuits. The project was born from the grassroots, led by a local association with a simple yet profound idea: to bring people back to a public park using culture as a tool for urban renewal.

MEDA Urban Oasis, the hub

Cinema Liberato thrives within MEDA Urban Oasis, an event promoted by Roma Capitale — Department of Culture, winner of the Roma Creativa 365 «Culture all year round» call in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura, and coordinated by the V Zona APS association alongside about fifteen partner organizations (including ARCI, UCCA, Fantafestival, and the Roma Film Academy). Across approximately two thousand square meters of greenery, with 940 dedicated to the arena, the park hosts a continuous four-month calendar: art workshops, creative writing and pottery classes, science outreach evenings, book presentations, concerts and DJ sets, contemporary circus, board games, activities for children, a radio station, a playground, and a food & drink area.

Uncompromising programming

The film selection is curated by screenwriter Emiliano Rubbi, director Luna Gualano, and Susetto er Duro, in collaboration with UCCA, Premiere Film, Fantafestival, and Mujeres nel Cinema. The result is a deliberately eclectic lineup that alternates auteur cinema, award-winning international festival titles, recent Italian blockbusters, cult classics, and family-friendly offerings. Alongside the regular schedule, there are thematic sections and special evenings: political-thematic reviews, children's cinema, and mutosonoro events featuring live re-scoring of silent films, as well as meetings with directors and actors.

• Screenings every night at 9 PM, from Tuesday to Sunday
• Free admission, no booking or membership card required
• Auteur films, cult classics, Italian comedy, animation, and children's cinema
• Evenings with guests, debates, and live musical re-scoring
• Bar and refreshment area inside the park

Why go

The atmosphere is reminiscent of the old-fashioned neighborhood arenas: chairs, a large screen, the city noise fading away, and an audience ranging from local seniors and families with children to students and cinephiles from across Rome. The fact that it is free changes the very nature of the evening: you don't choose a film because you paid for a ticket; you sit down and discover something new. This is why Cinema Liberato has become a small phenomenon in the landscape of the capital's summer arenas, where options are plentiful but almost always paid.

Rome, Tiburtino, and Lazio

The Municipality of Rome, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital and the Lazio region, offers dozens of open-air festivals in the summer, but most are concentrated between the center and the major archaeological sites. Cinema Liberato instead chooses the established suburbs of Tiburtino III and Monti Tiburtini, a working-class area rich in 20th-century history. The park, named after Andrea Campagna, is located about a hundred meters from the subway station, making it accessible in minutes from half the city—a rare condition for a neighborhood initiative.

Tips

Evenings start promptly at 9 PM, but it is advisable to arrive at least half an hour early, especially on weekends and for the most anticipated titles: seating is limited and cannot be reserved. On late summer evenings, a light sweater is useful as the park gets cool. The day-by-day updated calendar is published on the official website and the project's social media channels.