Sogni Viandanti

A decentralized theater festival in Rome's Municipality XIV

Sogni Viandanti is the summer theater festival that, between late August and September, transforms the public spaces of Municipality XIV in Rome into an open-air stage. The festival traverses the neighborhoods of Monte Mario, Gemelli, and Primavalle, taking theater out of traditional venues and into the heart of daily life: public housing courtyards, cycling paths, gardens, and community spaces become places of encounter and wonder. The heart of the event remains the Teatro La Casetta, located on Via Federico Borromeo, the historic home of Cantieri dello Spettacolo.

Puppet theater and lambe-lambe miniature stages

Sogni Viandanti is primarily dedicated to puppet theater and actor's theater. The stars of the show are hybrid, life-sized body puppets, manipulated by actors and accompanied by string instruments, alongside intimate lambe-lambe theaters—miniature boxes that host short performances for one spectator at a time. These languages are complemented by moments of clowning, storytelling, and itinerant performances that rely almost entirely on the universal language of images and emotions rather than words. The guiding thread is the dream, understood in a broad sense as desire, aspiration, and personal journey.

Widespread spaces between Monte Mario, Gemelli, and Primavalle

The festival's formula is that of community theater. Performances are not concentrated in a single location but are distributed across multiple stops: the cycling path connecting Gemelli to Monte Mario, the Ater housing courtyards, the Teatro La Casetta, and local community hubs like the SaMiFo center of ASL Roma 1. This itinerant dimension brings theater closer to an audience that rarely visits traditional venues, with a special focus on children, families, and vulnerable individuals.

Workshops and training for all ages

Alongside the performances, Sogni Viandanti offers a rich program of free workshops: theater and puppet theater courses designed for children, teenagers, and adults, led by the artists of Cantieri dello Spettacolo. Training is an integral part of the project, which aims to leave behind not just events, but also skills and opportunities for participation within the local area.

A project by Cantieri dello Spettacolo

The festival is conceived and organized by the association Cantieri dello Spettacolo ETS, which has been active in Municipality XIV for over thirty years, under the artistic direction of Federica Mancini. The project is part of Rome Capital's cultural policies for live performance in the suburbs and has benefited from the support of the Ministry of Culture and programs dedicated to widespread creativity in the Rome area, within the Lazio region. Sogni Viandanti represents one of the many ways in which theatrical culture moves out of the historic center to take root in the neighborhoods.

Free admission

All performances and workshops at Sogni Viandanti are free of charge, in line with the project's social and community-focused vocation. Reservations may be required for certain events and workshops.