RO.MENS - Mental Health Festival
The Roman festival fighting mental health stigma through music, art, cinema, and sport
About RO.MENS
A festival for inclusion against stigma
RO.MENS - Mental Health Festival is the cultural event through which the city of Rome addresses the topic of mental health without rhetoric. Promoted by the Mental Health Department of ASL Roma 2 together with the Department for Social Policies and Health of Roma Capitale, the festival was established in 2022 and reaches its fifth edition in 2026. Each year, the event brings together over 130 associations, social cooperatives, research bodies, and third-sector organizations, under the patronage of RAI, to show that stigma is, in the words of director Massimo Cozza, "a second illness" to be dismantled through culture and participation.
Ten days spread across the city
From October 1st to 10th, RO.MENS occupies theaters, galleries, parks, and institutional halls across the capital with a multidisciplinary program: music, theater, cinema, visual arts, photography, international meetings, and sports. The festival starts in the territory of ASL Roma 2—with a symbolic heart in the Tor Bella Monaca neighborhood—and expands throughout the city, involving people with lived experience of mental health issues, professionals, families, artists, students, and citizens.
Competitions and young protagonists
At the heart of the event are the competitions open to the public. Music@Mens awards original musical tracks dedicated to social inclusion and the fight against stigma, with a final at the Teatro Tor Bella Monaca. The Schools for RO.MENS competition invites local high schools to engage in three categories—visual arts, literature, and audiovisual or musical works—giving young people a leading role in the narrative of mental health.
A journey culminating at the Campidoglio
The event concludes on October 10th, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, with an awards ceremony in the prestigious Sala della Protomoteca at the Campidoglio. It is the moment when the winning works and tracks are returned to the city as a concrete sign of a community that chooses to face mental health challenges rather than hide them.
Rome and Lazio at the forefront of mental health
With RO.MENS, the capital of Lazio connects health services, institutions, and the cultural world around a topic often relegated to the margins. The festival is free and open to all: an invitation to Romans and visitors alike to experience a week of events that combine artistic quality with social commitment, transforming parks, theaters, and museums into places of listening and encounter.
RO.MENS — edition 2026
RO.MENS 2026: the fifth edition
From October 1st to 10th, 2026, Rome hosts the fifth edition of RO.MENS, with a special focus on the relationship between youth and mental health. The festival, promoted by the Mental Health Department of ASL Roma 2 and Roma Capitale, opens on October 1st with the international conference "The Power of Words" on mental health communication and closes on October 10th at the Campidoglio.
Programme RO.MENS 2026
RO.MENS 2026 Program
- October 1-9 — Photo exhibition "Mental health, today" at the Casa della Comunità ASL Roma 2 (via Monza 2), 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
- October 1 — International conference "The Power of Words" on mental health communication, Aula Pocchiari (Viale Regina Elena 299).
- October 4 — "Crazy for Running", sports and cultural event with competitive and non-competitive routes at Parco della Caffarella, from 10:00 AM.
- October 5 — Conference "Sport, Mental Health and Horse Riding" in the CONI Hall (Piazza Lauro de Bosis 15).
- October 5 — Final evening of the Music@Mens musical competition at the Teatro Tor Bella Monaca, 8:00 PM.
- October 7 — Event "FOLL_IA_" on art and artificial intelligence at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, 6:00 PM.
- October 9 — Presentation of the "School Project" notebook, Esperienza Europa (Piazza Venezia 6), 11:30 AM.
- October 10 — Final event with awards ceremonies in the Sala della Protomoteca at the Campidoglio, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.
The program is updated until final confirmation, scheduled for September 2026, on the official website www.salutementale.net/romens.
Highlights RO.MENS 2026
- Final of the Music@Mens competition for original tracks on mental health at the Teatro Tor Bella Monaca.
- Closing awards ceremony at the Campidoglio on World Mental Health Day (October 10).
- "Schools for RO.MENS" competition featuring visual arts, literature, and audiovisual works.
- International conference "The Power of Words" on mental health communication.
Prices RO.MENS 2026
Practical information — RO.MENS
When and where
RO.MENS takes place in Rome from October 1st to 10th, 2026, in numerous locations across the city: the Music@Mens final is at the Teatro Tor Bella Monaca (via Bruno Cirino), and the final awards ceremony is in the Sala della Protomoteca at the Campidoglio. Other events take place at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Parco della Caffarella, and ASL Roma 2 locations.
Admission
Festival events are free and open to the public; participation in the competitions is open to all. The complete and updated program is published on www.salutementale.net/romens.
Getting there
The Teatro Tor Bella Monaca can be reached by car from the Grande Raccordo Anulare (Tor Bella Monaca exit) and by city bus from the Metro C Torre Angela station. The Campidoglio can be reached on foot from the historic center or by public transport serving Piazza Venezia.
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Where does it take place — RO.MENS
Teatro Tor Bella Monaca e vari luoghi di Roma