Raise Your Voice, Raise Your Head – Quarticciolo Festival

A festival born from the district

Quarticciolo is a historic district on the eastern outskirts of Rome, located in the V Municipality of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in Lazio. Built in the late 1930s, it is a place with a strong popular identity, often portrayed in the media only through the stereotype of a 'difficult' neighborhood. Raise Your Voice, Raise Your Head was created in 2025 precisely to overturn this narrative: two days where the neighborhood speaks for itself, with the help of writers, cartoonists, musicians, and actors who choose to come to the suburbs rather than talk about them from afar.

Parco Modesto Di Veglia, the heart of the festival

The festival takes place in Parco Modesto Di Veglia, the green space on Via Ugento returned to the neighborhood after a redevelopment project. The park is named after a partisan from the Bandiera Rossa group, and this dedication says a lot about the event's character: anti-fascist memory, popular culture, and civic engagement coexist in the same space. For two days, the lawn fills with stalls, gazebos, independent bookstores, and field kitchens.

What to find at the festival

• Round tables and debates on housing, education, the right to the city, and the representation of the suburbs
• Readings and performances with actors and authors, in a format that alternates between words and the stage
• Local market with stalls, independent publishing, and local associations
• Live music and social gatherings with community dinners and food stands
• Community parade that winds through the streets and abandoned spaces of the district

Guests and recognition

The inaugural 2025 edition brought well-known names from the Italian cultural scene to Quarticciolo: singer Elodie and cartoonist Zerocalcare closed the two days with a discussion on the suburbs and the stigma that accompanies them, while Michele Riondino hosted a talk on how the media portrays these districts, and Valerio Mastandrea read Mattia Torre's monologue Gola in the middle of the market. It was this combination—big names and a neighborhood assembly on the same lawn—that gave the festival resonance far beyond the borders of the V Municipality.

A political and cultural appointment

Raise Your Voice, Raise Your Head is not just a series of shows: it is also a moment of mobilization. The festival is promoted by the Comitato Quarticciolo Ribelle together with Momo Edizioni, and was born around the residents' demands regarding the development plan drafted by the neighborhood itself, the evictions affecting dozens of families, the municipal swimming pool that was never reopened, and public spaces awaiting recovery. Visitors from outside will find a free event, but also a piece of the city telling its story without filters.

When and how to participate

The event is generally held at the end of September, over the weekend, with a program that runs from the afternoon until the evening. Admission is free and all activities take place outdoors: it is therefore advisable to bring something to sit on and dress for the cooler late-summer Roman evenings. Quarticciolo is well-connected to the rest of Rome, and the festival is designed to be accessible to everyone, even those who have never been to the neighborhood before.