Resistance Festival

A civic festival in the heart of Testaccio

The Resistance Festival is the event with which the Municipality of Rome accompanies the April 25th celebrations every spring. Established in 2023, the event has grown rapidly to become one of the most attended cultural gatherings in the capital: the 2026 edition, hosted at the newly renovated Mattatoio di Testaccio, welcomed over 34,000 visitors in four days. The program, curated by Silvia Barbagallo, features over one hundred events, almost entirely free of charge.

The format is that of a citadel: pavilions, courtyards, and open spaces of the 19th-century former slaughterhouse are renamed after figures of Italian democracy—Tina Anselmi, Adele Bei, Sandro Pertini—and simultaneously host debates, workshops for children, screenings, and musical stages. Visitors can come and go freely, stopping for a history lesson before heading to a concert; this fluidity gives the festival its popular character.

What's on the program

• Meetings and lectures with historians, writers, and journalists: recent guests have included Roberto Saviano, Dacia Maraini, Gianrico Carofiglio, Concita De Gregorio, Corrado Augias, Erri De Luca, and Benedetta Tobagi.
• Live music in the evenings, featuring renowned singer-songwriters and Italian rock acts.
• Theater and staged readings, often performed by actors from Italian cinema, alongside stand-up comedy nights.
• Cinema and documentaries focusing on the Resistance, deportation, and republican history.
• Exhibitions, open archives, and guided tours of Rome's historical memory sites.
• Activities for children, designed to introduce 20th-century history to younger generations.

A city-wide celebration

While headquartered in Testaccio, the Resistance Festival extends to dozens of venues across Rome: the Historical Museum of the Liberation on Via Tasso, the House of Memory and History, the Garibaldino Ossuary Mausoleum on the Janiculum, the Martyrs' Park at Forte Bravetta, the Commonwealth War Cemetery, the Museum of the Roman Republic, the Villa Torlonia Bunker, and the Capitoline Historical Archive, alongside the Opera House, the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, and the Casa del Cinema. The main venue changes each year: in 2025, the heart of the festival was the San Lorenzo district, bombed in July 1943 and a symbol of Rome's partisan struggle.

The context: why in Rome

Rome was occupied by Nazi troops from September 1943 to June 1944, nine months marked by the Ardeatine Massacre, the prisons of Via Tasso, and the defense of Porta San Paolo, just a short walk from Testaccio. Celebrating the Resistance here is no abstract exercise: many events take place in the very locations where that history unfolded. The 2026 edition linked the 81st anniversary of the Liberation to the 80th anniversary of the Constituent Assembly, dedicating significant space to the twenty-one women who helped write the Italian Constitution.

An event for everyone

Almost all events are free and do not require reservations, except for some limited-capacity shows. Several meetings are accompanied by Italian Sign Language (LIS) interpretation. The final Sunday hosts the traditional Anti-fascist Pasta Party, a convivial moment recalling the famous pasta offered by the Cervi brothers in July 1943, held in Rome at the Città dell'Altra Economia, also in the Testaccio district. For those visiting the capital during the April 25th long weekend, it is an opportunity to experience a side of Rome beyond the usual tourist circuits, deep in the heart of Lazio and its civic history.