Controcorrente Festival

A festival going against the current on the Roman coast

In the heart of the 2026 summer, while the Ostia Lido coastline is busy with beachgoers, the Controcorrente festival chose to offer something different: two days entirely dedicated to independent culture, connection, and participation. The event took place on July 3rd and 4th, 2026, at the Piccola Oasi di Stella Polare, located at Via Simone Straticò 9. This redeveloped green space has become a key landmark for residents and associations in Rome's Municipio X, within the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region.

Who organizes it

The festival was created by THE ACT STUDIO, a group described by local press as a true powerhouse of young artists and innovative ideas. Their stated goal is twofold: to give visibility to the many entities working daily within the city's fabric and to create a physical space where residents, active groups, and associations can meet and collaborate. This is the origin of the festival's name, an explicit invitation to go against the current (controcorrente) of a summer season often defined solely by consumerism.

A multidisciplinary cultural village

For two days, the Piccola Oasi was transformed into a small, free-entry cultural village, structured around various disciplines:

• Art and performance — live artistic interventions in the open-air spaces of the oasis;
• Independent publishing — presentations and stalls dedicated to small presses and literature;
• Theater — live performances designed for audiences of all ages;
• Cinema — screenings and discussions on audiovisual arts;
• Talks, workshops, and debates — participatory activities on civic and cultural themes;
• Associations — presentation spaces for local groups and active organizations on the coast.

The Piccola Oasi di Stella Polare

The chosen location is no coincidence. The Piccola Oasi di Stella Polare is a green space in the heart of the Ostia neighborhood of the same name, returned to the community thanks to the efforts of local neighborhood committees and associations. Today, it hosts neighborhood festivals, environmental initiatives, and cultural events, representing one of the primary examples of grassroots regeneration on the Roman coast. For the organizers, hosting a festival dedicated to independent culture here means rooting the event firmly in the local social fabric.

Ostia Lido and the cultural summer of Municipio X

Controcorrente is part of a particularly rich summer for the Roman coast, which during the same period offers free theater seasons, film festivals, and events at the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica. Compared to these major attractions, however, Controcorrente chooses a deliberately more intimate and local scale, where the audience is not just a spectator but an active participant in the proposed activities.

Why attend

As this was the inaugural edition, the festival carries the charm of grassroots initiatives: limited resources, boundless energy, and a strong neighborhood identity. For anyone in Rome or on the coast during the first weekend of July, it is an opportunity to discover a less touristy side of Ostia, defined by associations, emerging artists, and green spaces reclaimed by citizens. Admission is completely free.