Mental Health in the Square (Massimo Fagioli Foundation Summer Festival)

The Massimo Fagioli Foundation Summer Festival

Mental Health in the Square is the traditional summer festival of the Massimo Fagioli Foundation, which every June brings the Città dell'Altra Economia in Testaccio, Rome, to life. The initiative was born from the desire to bring a topic often confined to clinics and doctors' offices into the public square in an open and free manner: mental health as an issue that concerns everyone, not just those who suffer.

The event is part of the Testaccio Estate calendar, the summer festival that transforms the spaces of the former Mattatoio into a place for meeting, culture, and social interaction. For an entire day, the Foundation sets up an exhibition area where various thematic workshops present completed projects and future initiatives in a direct dialogue with the public.

Talks, culture, and outreach

The heart of the festival is the Special Left Talk, a public discussion moment that addresses a current topic related to thought, the mind, and the human dimension in every edition. Psychiatrists, teachers, association representatives, journalists, artists, and young people take turns at the table for a discussion that combines scientific rigor with a social perspective.

Outreach on mental health is accompanied by different languages: choral music, poetry readings, live concerts, and DJ sets transform reflection into a true community celebration, where culture becomes a tool for meeting and nurturing social bonds.

An event for all ages

• Exhibition area of the Foundation and its workshops
• Left Talk with guests from the worlds of culture, psychiatry, and activism
• Choirs, poetry readings, and live music
• DJ set curated by Testaccio Estate
• Children's area with games and entertainment

From the opening, there is an area dedicated to children, with games and activities led by entertainers, ensuring the day is accessible to families and becomes a shared moment of celebration.

Testaccio and the Città dell'Altra Economia

The choice of the Città dell'Altra Economia, located in the spaces of the old wholesale market of Testaccio, is no coincidence: it is a symbolic place for solidarity economy, participation, and grassroots culture. Here, the Massimo Fagioli Foundation festival finds its natural setting in one of Rome's most authentic neighborhoods, capable of blending popular memory, local life, and cultural experimentation.

Free admission, outdoors, and open to all: Mental Health in the Square is an invitation to reflect together, with both lightness and depth, on what makes us human.