Sassi nello Stagno - Left Wing Festival
The political and cultural festival by Left Wing at Parco Nemorense in Rome
About Left Wing Festival
A festival of ideas in the heart of Rome
Sassi nello Stagno is the annual festival promoted by Left Wing, an organization that combines a cultural association with a progressive Italian magazine. Every July, the event transforms Parco Nemorense—also known as Parco Virgiliano—in the Trieste district of Rome into a large, open-air public forum. It is not a music or food festival, but a laboratory for political and civil discussion: dozens of thematic roundtables where politics meets the worlds of culture, research, rights, and local government.
The meaning of the title
The title of the 2026 edition, Sassi nello Stagno (Stones in the Pond), draws on the famous metaphor by Gianni Rodari: a stone thrown into water creates concentric waves, disturbing the still surface and forcing the surrounding environment to react. It is the image chosen to convey the idea that small actions and proposals can trigger widespread change. Each year, the festival adopts a different title, from Fiori di Carta (Paper Flowers) in 2025 to the stones in the pond of this thirteenth edition.
How the event works
The format consists of discussion roundtables open to the public: working groups on specific topics, coordinated by a speaker and driven by direct dialogue between guests and citizens. Discussions cover university and research, schools and new technologies, the environment and energy transition, the feminist agenda, rights, justice, rural areas, social inclusion, the cultural economy, and policies for Rome. The festival is attended by members of parliament, administrators, professors, union representatives, and civil society associations.
- Where: Parco Nemorense, Trieste district, Rome (Lazio Region)
- When: Two days in mid-July, starting in the late afternoon
- Format: Thematic roundtables, debates, and meetings with free admission
- Refreshments: The Caffè Nemorense inside the park is open for aperitifs and dinner
A staple of Rome's progressive scene
For over a decade, the Left Wing festival has become a fixed appointment in the capital's political summer, capable of bringing together representatives from various progressive forces, academia, and associations in the Trieste district park. The green setting of Parco Nemorense, in the Municipality of Rome, offers an informal context where discussions blend with the conviviality of summer evenings, making the event a reference point for those wishing to participate in public debate in the Lazio Region.
Left Wing Festival — edition 2026
Sassi nello Stagno 2026 - Thirteenth edition
The 13th Left Wing festival was held at Parco Nemorense in Rome on the evenings of Thursday, July 16, and Friday, July 17, 2026, with roundtables starting at 6:00 PM. The title Sassi nello Stagno, inspired by Gianni Rodari's metaphor, served as the common thread for two days of public discussion on politics, culture, rights, and the environment.
The program featured numerous thematic roundtables, each coordinated by a speaker, with the participation of members of the Democratic Party and other progressive forces, university professors, union representatives, and associations. Topics addressed included: university and research, schools and new technologies, energy transition and renewables, the feminist agenda, justice, rural areas, social inclusion and the new European pact on asylum, the cultural economy, and policies for Rome.
Programme Left Wing Festival 2026
Thursday, July 16 - 6:00 PM
- University and Research in the progressive agenda - with Lorenzo Bassi (CNSU), Alessandro Bruscella (UDU), Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore)
- Affective and emotional education - coordinated by Andrea Crisanti; with Valeria Valente and Sara Ferrari
- Party, participation, citizenship: new forms of politics - coordinated by Michele Fina
- AFAM, Conservatories, Academies, and ISIA - coordinated by Antonio Caroccia
- Latin America and Europe: facing the new right - coordinated by Fabio Porta; introduced by Donato Di Santo and Peppe Provenzano
- Schools and new technologies - coordinated by Irene Manzi
- No nuclear, yes renewables - coordinated by Giuseppe Mattioli (CNR); with Stefano Ciafani (Legambiente)
- Future agricultures: sustainability, rights, and development - coordinated by Camilla Laureti
- Entertainment Code: the long wait - coordinated by Maurizio Roi
- Between proposals and protests: let's take the present - coordinated by Simone Cardellini
- After the referendum: what future for justice?
- Safe and for everyone: new mobility paradigms - coordinated by Fabrizio Grant
Friday, July 17 - 6:00 PM
- For a feminist agenda - coordinated by Roberta Mori
- Youth and Civil Service - coordinated by Fabio Porta; introduced by Rossano Salvatore (CNESC)
- In praise of the margin: rural areas at the center - coordinated by Caterina Cerroni
- Memory and future: historical and cultural institutes - coordinated by Alberto Melarangelo
- Words are important: countering hate speech - coordinated by Francesco Verducci
- The Sardinia case, towards free university - coordinated by Gabriele Serra
- The border within: new European pact on asylum and reception - coordinated by Luca Rizzo Nervo
- Cultural economy: towards the general states - coordinated by Alessandro Leon
- The living city: supporting cultural spaces - coordinated by Rita Borioni and Maurizio Roi
- Rome and its main economy
- Not a country for the poor: poverty in Rome and local welfare
Highlights Left Wing Festival 2026
- Thirteenth edition of the Left Wing festival, with a title inspired by Gianni Rodari's "stones in the pond"
- Over twenty thematic roundtables over two evenings at Parco Nemorense
- Participation of parliamentarians, university professors, unions, and civil society associations
- Key themes: university and research, environment and renewables, feminist agenda, justice, social inclusion, and cultural economy
Prices Left Wing Festival 2026
Practical information — Left Wing Festival
How to get there
Parco Nemorense (Parco Virgiliano) is located on Via Nemorense, in the Trieste district of Rome. By metro: Line B1 towards Jonio, stop Sant'Agnese/Annibaliano. By bus: Line 92 (stop Nemorense/Verbano) or Line 310 (stop Panaro/Nemorense).
Admission
Free entry. To participate in the thematic roundtables, registration via the online form available on the Left Wing website is recommended.
Services
The Caffè Nemorense is available inside the park for aperitifs and dinner during the festival evenings.
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Where does it take place — Left Wing Festival
Parco Nemorense (Parco Virgiliano)
Via Nemorense, 00199 Roma