Roma in Festa – Music, Art and Theatre in Garbatella

A summer of grassroots culture in Garbatella

Roma in Festa – Music, Art and Theatre in Garbatella is a summer festival promoted by the Associazione Carmentalia, taking place in the open-air spaces of Garbatella, a historic working-class district in Rome's Municipio VIII. The project is part of the broader Estate Romana program by Rome Capital, dedicated to bringing culture out of the city center and into the neighborhoods. It was born with the vision of transforming squares, courtyards and communal spaces into open-air stages that are free and accessible to everyone.

Music, theatre and art for the neighborhood

The festival brings together various forms of live performance. The program alternates between concerts and musical interludes, theatrical plays, dance performances and visual art installations, with a special focus on intergenerational audiences and families. The format favors the district's open spaces, where residents and visitors can enjoy events together, rebuilding the sense of community that has always defined Garbatella.

Garbatella, a neighborhood as a stage

Founded in 1920, Garbatella is one of Rome's most iconic districts, known for its public housing blocks, open courtyards and staircases that have become symbols of cinema and local memory. This architecture of shared spaces makes it the ideal setting for a grassroots cultural festival: the stage is not a closed theatre, but the neighborhood itself, with its most evocative squares and corners.

Who organizes it

Behind the project is the Associazione Carmentalia, a Roman theatre company active since 2007, specializing in drama, puppet theatre, children's theatre and dance. For years, Carmentalia has organized festivals and events involving local and national artists, with the support of the Lazio Region, Rome Capital and local entities. The festival is included among the grassroots cultural initiatives supported by municipal creativity grants.

A project for the whole city

Roma in Festa in Garbatella is part of a vision for a capital that values all its neighborhoods, with music, theatre, art and participation as key protagonists. The free nature of the events and the choice of public spaces make it an appointment designed primarily for the residents of the district, but open to anyone wishing to discover a different side of Rome, far from the most beaten tourist paths.