Estate Ragazzi / Multi-Ethnic Community Festival

An educational project spanning nearly thirty years

In Lausdomini, a district of the Marigliano municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Estate Ragazzi has become a staple of the Campanian summer. Promoted by the social cooperative Irene '95 in collaboration with the San Marcellino Parish, it reached its twenty-ninth edition in 2026. This is far more than a simple entertainment-based summer camp: the organizers describe it as an educational path built on group relationships and the transmission of values, explicitly inspired by the pedagogy of Don Milani and the School of Barbiana. It is powered by dozens of volunteers, mostly high school and university students, supported by experienced adult animators.

The Multi-Ethnic Community Festival

The moment Estate Ragazzi opens up to the entire town is the Multi-Ethnic Community Festival, which in 2026 was held on Thursday, July 9, starting at 8:00 PM in Piazzale Aliperti. The concept is simple yet powerful: celebrate the cultural richness already present in the area by inviting each community to share its story through food. Ten communities set up gastronomic stalls—Morocco, Ukraine, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Romania, Poland, Bengal, Cape Verde, and Italy—creating a journey of flavors, aromas, and recipes that fosters mutual encounter and understanding.

Behind the scenes, the work is entirely artisanal and family-oriented: on the afternoon of the festival, fifteen mothers, aunts, and grandmothers hand-prepared gnocchi for the Italian stand. The evening opened with the group Fronte Murghero Campano ed Argentino and concluded with the drums and dances of La Nuova Tamorra Organizzata, with people of all ages and backgrounds dancing together in the same square. Music, entertainment, and games for the little ones rounded out an evening designed for children, teenagers, and families.

The 2026 theme: "The Island That Never Was"

Every edition of Estate Ragazzi revolves around a theme that weaves through workshops, songs, and the final show. The 2026 theme was "The Island That Never Was", inspired by the film Bridge to Terabithia: an imagined place without war, a refuge, and a space for the children's desires. The cry "The island exists!", launched every year by veteran animator Fedele Salvatore, became the motto of the twenty-ninth edition. In 2025, the guiding thread was "Towards the Rainbow," a symbol of hope in a time marked by conflict and individualism; in 2024, it was "The Growing Forest," based on the Eastern proverb that a falling tree makes more noise than an entire growing forest.

A program filling June and July

The weeks of Estate Ragazzi are marked by a packed calendar, alternating between internal group activities (divided into Junior, Senior, and Youth) and events open to the public:

• Workshops in painting, DIY, journalism, and the "Let's Get Emotional" lab
• Group games, quizzes, water games, and traditional contests like the chalk art competition
• The March for Peace, which starts in Lausdomini and reaches Piazza Municipio in Marigliano
• The Multi-Ethnic Community Festival in Piazzale Aliperti
• The Night of Wishes, bike rides, pool days, and excursions
• The final show and the closing evening party

The people who bring it to life

The Estate Ragazzi revolves around figures who have become familiar faces in Lausdomini: Don Virgilio Marone among the organizers, animator Fedele Salvatore, Aniello Barbarino, who oversees the children's daily well-being, and Don Salvatore Spiezia, who guides the teenagers along the path. The project extends beyond the neighborhood boundaries: every year, children from Sasso di Roccarainola also arrive, with transport provided by their municipality.

Marigliano, Campania, and the meaning of this festival

Marigliano is located in the plains northeast of Naples, a few kilometers from Nola, in a densely populated area of Campania crossed by established migration flows. This is precisely the context that makes the Multi-Ethnic Community Festival something more than a simple ethnic food fair: the communities cooking are not passing guests, but local residents, and for one night, the square becomes the place where the town sees its true face. For those visiting the Vesuvius and Nola area in summer, it is a non-touristy, highly authentic opportunity to see how a Southern Italian community builds its daily exercise in coexistence, one volunteer and one stove at a time.