Quartieri in scena – Culture, Community and Tradition in Rome's Municipio V

Quartieri in scena: culture in Rome's Municipio V

Quartieri in scena – Culture, Community and Tradition in Rome's Municipio V is the cultural event program promoted by Municipio V of Rome, in the Lazio region, designed to bring culture to the eastern districts of the capital during the autumn and winter seasons. The initiative, launched in 2025, is based on a public call for proposals through which the municipality provides financial support to local associations, tasked with creating a widespread calendar of free or low-cost events.

A program spread across the eastern districts

Municipio V includes some of the city's most vibrant and distinctive neighborhoods: Pigneto, Torpignattara, Centocelle, Quadraro, Prenestino, Casilino, Gordiani, and Tor Sapienza. These are areas of great social and cultural vitality, where Roman popular tradition, grassroots associations, and a multicultural community coexist. Quartieri in scena was created specifically to enhance this richness, taking events out of the historic center and spreading them into squares, gardens, local theatres, and community gathering spaces.

Music, theatre, and popular traditions

The program encompasses various forms of live performance and cultural expression. The languages involved include:

• live concerts and musical events;
• theatrical performances, street theatre, and performing arts;
• initiatives dedicated to popular traditions and neighborhood identity;
• cultural activities designed for families, young people, and local communities.

The goal stated in the public call is to promote innovative cultural activities, foster active participation and social inclusion, and enhance the local cultural heritage by stimulating collaboration between public bodies, private entities, associations, and schools.

A call for local associations

Quartieri in scena stands out for its participatory model: it is not a top-down festival, but a program built together with the local associative fabric. Through the public call, Municipio V selects projects submitted by associations and assigns them financial contributions to support cultural activities. The first edition took place in the autumn and winter of 2025; subsequently, the municipality published a new call for the 2026/2027 two-year period, corresponding to the second and third editions of the initiative.

Community, identity, and participation

The common thread of Quartieri in scena is the bond between culture and community. The events are not just shows, but opportunities for meeting and for residents to reclaim public spaces. In a part of Rome often far from the main tourist circuits, the program represents an investment in local culture and neighborhood identity, helping to strengthen the sense of belonging and social cohesion within Municipio V.

When and where

The events are concentrated in the autumn and winter season, roughly from October to December, and take place in various locations across the districts of Municipio V. The final calendar, with dates, locations, and a detailed program, is published annually on the municipality's official channels following the selection of the beneficiary associations.