Solidarity Festival of Music and Arts

A festival that puts music at the service of inclusion

The Solidarity Festival of Music and Arts is a spring event held in Rome, in the Montesacro district, within the territory of Municipio III. Promoted by the social cooperative Spes contra spem with the patronage of the Municipio Roma III Montesacro, the festival is the result of a stable collaboration between the cooperative, the municipal administration, and the Liceo Musicale Giordano Bruno. The idea is both simple and ambitious: to use live music and arts as a tool for growth, education, and above all, inclusion, bringing students, young musicians, and people with disabilities onto the stage together.

From the first edition in 2022 to today

The festival was born in 2022, with its first edition held from May 12th to 14th in the spaces of the cooperative at Via Paolo Monelli 26. Since then, the festival has grown year by year, moving out of the courtyards to conquer public space: the second edition, in June 2023, united the Via Paolo Monelli venue and Piazza Sempione, the living-room square of Montesacro; the third edition, in May 2024, confirmed the two-day format; the fourth edition took place on May 29th and 30th, 2025. It is a journey that perfectly illustrates the project's vocation: transforming urban spaces into places of culture and community.

What to see and hear

The program alternates between musical moments and spoken word. The bands and orchestras of the Liceo Musicale Giordano Bruno form the backbone of the musical side, joined over the years by local choral groups and ensembles from high schools in the northern quadrant of Rome. Alongside the concerts, there is space for readings of original texts and literary pieces performed by youth and people with disabilities, theatrical performances, and dance exhibitions, as well as art therapy exhibitions created by the guests of the cooperative's family homes.

• Concerts by school orchestras and bands
• Choral performances and dance groups
• Theatre and original monologues
• Readings of texts written by participants
• Art therapy exhibitions

A free and sustainable event

Admission is free to all initiatives: this is a choice consistent with the solidarity spirit of the event, designed to be accessible to the entire neighborhood. The festival also adopts a plastic-free policy, without single-use plastic tableware and containers, in line with the environmental policies promoted by Municipio III. The events are concentrated in the late afternoon, usually between 5 PM and 7 PM, a time that makes it easy for families and children to participate.

Montesacro, a neighborhood that builds community

Municipio III is one of the most extensive in Rome Capital, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region. Montesacro, with its Piazza Sempione overlooking the Ponte Nomentano and the Aniene river, retains a strong village character within the metropolis, with a particularly vibrant associative fabric. The Solidarity Festival of Music and Arts fits exactly into this neighborhood tradition: not a large tourist-attracting event, but a local appointment that gives visibility to the daily work of those who deal with fragility, disability, and inclusion.

Why it is worth visiting

Those who arrive without specific expectations are often struck by the quality of the musical performances and the naturalness with which different languages and protagonists mingle. There is no welfare rhetoric: there is a shared stage, an audience of neighbors, teachers, parents, and passersby, and two hours of music that restore the square to its original function as a meeting place. It is one of the most authentic ways to experience the Rome that lives outside the historic center circuits.