Mundialito and Festival of Friendship Among Peoples

A celebration of the world in the heart of Valmarecchia

The Mundialito and Festival of Friendship Among Peoples is one of the most heartfelt and original events in the calendar of Verucchio, a village in the Province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna. The event takes place every year at the beginning of June in the hamlet of Villa Verucchio and transforms the town into a small global village, where dozens of foreign communities residing in the area meet to share sports, culture, music, and cuisine.

Born in 2016 from the idea of the Municipal Social Services Department, the Focolari Romagna Association, and the Diocese of Rimini, the festival has grown year after year following a simple and profound motto: 'Meeting to re-know each other'. The goal is to break down barriers between different cultures by having them play, dance, and eat together, in the spirit of friendship and peace.

Two days, two souls

The sporting heart of the event is the Mundialito, a five-a-side football tournament held at the Ponte Verucchio sports field. The teams represent different nations and take to the field with flags, colors, and festive cheering, but always with mutual respect: each match is preceded by national anthems, and in addition to prizes for the top finishers, the coveted Fair Play Award is up for grabs. Alongside the adults, children from elementary schools and middle schoolers also play, because 'sport for peace' speaks to all ages.

On Sunday, the celebration moves to Piazza Europa in Villa Verucchio, with the tournament awards ceremony, ethnic music and dances, tastings of traditional dishes from dozens of countries, and collective performances involving numerous communities. Before the evening celebration, the Camminata dei Popoli takes place, a free 6 km walk open to everyone, which winds through the most welcoming parts of the town as a symbolic gesture of walking together.

A community project

The strength of the festival lies in the network that supports it: the Municipality of Verucchio, the Focolari Romagna Association, local schools (the Ponte sul Marecchia Comprehensive Institute and other institutes in Valmarecchia), parishes, and numerous associations from foreign communities. It is this widespread collaboration that makes the Mundialito much more than an event: a true integration laboratory that has become an anticipated tradition in Verucchio.