CSOA La Strada Anniversary

A neighborhood festival running for over thirty years

The CSOA La Strada Anniversary is one of the most deeply rooted events in the autumn calendar of the Garbatella district, in Rome's Municipio VIII. Every year, at the beginning of October, the occupied and self-managed social center at Via Francesco Passino 24 celebrates the date of its occupation—October 8, 1994—with a four-day festival open to the entire neighborhood.

This is not just a birthday party: the festival has always been an opportunity for the collective to take stock of the past year and propose a theme for reflection to the city. Each edition features a specific title, which serves as a common thread for assemblies, meetings, and screenings. The 2025 edition, marking 31 years, was titled In alto mare — In viaggio negli abissi del presente (Adrift — A journey into the depths of the present).

How the festival is organized

The program follows a well-established format that alternates between social gatherings and moments of discussion. The community dinner kicks off the festivities on the first night, usually around 7:30 PM, and regularly sells out well in advance: it is the most anticipated moment, where the neighborhood literally sits down to eat under the covered market. In the following days, public assemblies take place in the late afternoon, alongside book presentations, historical and political debates, film screenings, karaoke nights, and live concerts.

• Opening community dinner, with music and socializing until late at night
• Public assemblies and debates, often dedicated to the neighborhood's history and social movements
• Screenings and presentations with guests, journalists, and researchers
• Concerts and musical evenings, ranging from punk to hip-hop, plus collective karaoke
• Stalls, exhibitions, and activities hosted by the space's internal projects

La Strada, a piece of Garbatella history

Occupied in 1994, CSOA La Strada defines itself as the "antifascist and democratic heart" of the city and functions as a small popular university of rebellion, where generations of Roman activists have been formed. The space is active year-round: it hosts the Piero Bruno Popular School, the study hall named after Bruno himself, the Alfredo Martini Cycle Workshop, the Minerva Socio-Legal Desk, the Mompracem Solidarity Brigade, the Helter Skelter art lab, and the Garbatella Moonstomp Revolution bar. The general assembly meets every Monday evening.

The figure of Piero Bruno, a young militant killed in Rome in 1975, often returns to the center of the festival days: the memory of the neighborhood and the movements of the 1970s are recurring themes in the assemblies.

The setting: Garbatella

The festival takes place in a neighborhood with a very strong identity, founded in 1920 as a garden suburb and which has become one of the symbols of working-class Rome, with its courtyard housing blocks, stairways, and neighborhood squares. Via Francesco Passino, where La Strada is located, is just a few steps from Piazza Benedetto Brin and the local market: the anniversary is therefore also a way to walk through one of the most characteristic areas of the capital, just a stone's throw from the Garbatella metro station.

Atmosphere and audience

The atmosphere is typical of Roman self-managed festivals: entry is generally by free donation or membership card, with affordable prices at the kitchen and bar, and a very intergenerational audience that mixes neighborhood residents, university students, and long-time regulars of the space. First-time visitors will find an informal setting where musical evenings coexist with presentation tables and stalls from solidarity groups.

Information on the 2026 edition

The collective has not yet released the program for the 32nd anniversary: as every year, the dates and the title of the edition are announced at the end of the summer on the space's social media channels. It is therefore advisable to follow the CSOA La Strada Instagram and Facebook profiles to learn the date of the community dinner in advance, as it sells out quickly.