Tales from the Territory - Book Festival (Municipality VIII)

A book festival born from the neighborhoods

Tales from the Territory - Book Festival is the literary event promoted by the Municipality VIII of Rome Capital in collaboration with the Cara Garbatella association and Villetta Social LAB. Launched in 2025 with its first edition, the festival focuses on a simple yet powerful idea: books that speak about the territory, set in or inspired by the neighborhoods of Garbatella, Ostiense, San Paolo, and Tor Marancia. Novels, narratives, memoirs, and historical identity essays revolve around the soul of these working-class districts in the southern quadrant of Rome, in the Lazio region.

Our local maps

The subtitle of the first edition, "Garbatella, Ostiense, San Paolo, Tor Marancia: our local maps", perfectly summarizes the spirit of the event. The festival proposes a literary journey starting from the classics linked to these places - from Carlo Levi to Pier Paolo Pasolini - to contemporary voices that continue to narrate neighborhood life. A journey through fiction and non-fiction that explores the identity, memory, and urban transformations of a part of Rome with a very strong character.

Local authors

The heart of the festival is the meetings with writers. The first edition brought together various contemporary voices who, through local history, chronicles, thrillers, and novels, gave a voice to the neighborhoods: from historical reconstructions of the events at the Ponte di Ferro to investigations set among the public housing of Garbatella, up to stories of celebration and community. The presentations are accompanied by moderators, readings by local literary groups, and the participation of associations from the Municipality.

A community atmosphere

The festival takes place at the Villetta Social LAB on Via degli Armatori, a cultural hub in Garbatella. Alongside the book stalls and stands, the day is enlivened by videos, readings, neighborhood choirs, and a bar area with aperitifs and an evening tavern, in an informal and participatory atmosphere that is an integral part of the Garbatella identity. Admission is free.

Rome and Municipality VIII

With this event, the Municipality VIII of Rome enhances the editorial production linked to its neighborhoods and promotes local reading, recognizing the book as a tool to rediscover and transmit the history of places. Tales from the Territory thus fits into the rich cultural calendar of Garbatella, a neighborhood that celebrates its birthday every year with numerous widespread initiatives.