Treccani Italian Language Festival (Garbatella)
Two days of words, encounters, and music in Piazza Damiano Sauli, in the heart of Garbatella
About Treccani Festival Rome
A festival dedicated to the Italian language
The Treccani Italian Language Festival is the event through which the Fondazione Treccani Cultura ETS takes the reflection on language out of dictionaries and into the public squares. The Roman edition takes place every May in Piazza Damiano Sauli, in the heart of Garbatella, a neighborhood within the Municipality of Rome VIII, and has established itself as one of the most popular cultural events of the spring in the Lazio region.
A keyword every year
The festival's formula is simple and recognizable: each edition selects a keyword and explores it from every possible angle—linguistic, literary, historical, artistic, scientific, and social. In 2026, the word is «Dialogue»; in 2025, it was «Responsibility». Around this term, two days of meetings, lectures, readings, workshops, and performances are built, with a pace designed for the general public without sacrificing scientific rigor.
The program
The days alternate between very different registers, allowing visitors to move within a few hours from an academic conversation to a concert or a theatrical monologue:
- Meetings and lectures with linguists, university professors, historians, philosophers, and researchers
- Workshops for children and families, often focused on comics and creative writing
- Readings and monologues by writers and actors
- Concerts, featuring ensembles from the Roma Tre Orchestra
- Conversations on music, media, and new technologies, from artificial intelligence to the language of songs
Collaboration with Roma Tre University
The Roman stage is born from the collaboration between the Fondazione Treccani Cultura and Roma Tre University, which has its historic headquarters just a few steps from the square. Professors and researchers from the university curate many of the sessions, while the Roma Tre Orchestra ensembles provide the musical highlights. This bond gives the festival a unique character: it is not a top-down event, but one deeply rooted in the university and community fabric of the neighborhood.
Garbatella as a stage
Choosing Garbatella is no detail. Born in the 1920s as a working-class garden suburb, with its housing blocks, courtyards, and stairways, it is today one of the most iconic places in Rome and one of the most photographed outside the classic tourist circuits. Piazza Damiano Sauli, with its backdrop of low houses and trees, naturally lends itself to a festival that aims to restore a public and convivial dimension to words. Spectators arrive with their own chairs from the neighborhood, stop at the local bar, and return for the next session: the atmosphere is more like a local street party than a conference.
Why it's worth attending
The Treccani Festival is one of the rare events where high-level outreach remains completely free. There are no tickets, and no mandatory reservations for most events: just show up. For those visiting Rome in May, it is also an opportunity to step out of the historic center and discover an authentic neighborhood, just a stone's throw from the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and the Park of the Aqueducts, in a city and region, Lazio, that offer the best climate for outdoor events at that time of year.
Treccani Festival Rome — edition 2026
9th edition: the word «Dialogue»
For the ninth Roman edition, the Treccani Festival chose «Dialogue» as its keyword, exploring it in all its forms: from literature to art, pedagogy to psychotherapy, music to artificial intelligence, and even communication between animals. Piazza Damiano Sauli hosted a dense schedule for two days, from morning until evening, with a large and diverse audience.
Among the most popular moments were the monologue by Francesco Piccolo «Il maschio Zeno Cosini», the lecture by Enrico Terrinoni on the inner dialogue in Joyce's Ulysses, the reflection by Enrico Alleva on animal language, and the meeting between Antonella Inverno and Francesco «Kento» Carlo on rap as an educational tool. Music closed both days, with the string duo of the Roma Tre Orchestra and the conversation between Casadilego and Sofia Assante on the lyrics of songs.
Programme Treccani Festival Rome 2026
Saturday, May 23, 2026
- 10:00 AM — Welcome with coffee and croissants
- 10:30 AM — Institutional greetings and festival opening
- 11:00 AM — «Plurality in Dialogue», with Elisabetta Bonvino and Diego Edisson Cortes Velasquez
- 12:00 PM — «Practicing Dialogue: margins, relationships, and engaged pedagogy», with Lavinia Bianchi
- 4:00 PM — Children's workshop «Word to Mickey Mouse», with Marco Gervasio
- 5:00 PM — «Dialogue in Psychotherapy», with Gemma Calamandrei and Alberto Siracusano
- 6:00 PM — «The Art of Dialogue», with Luana Toniolo and Maria Cristina Terzaghi, moderated by Massimo Sebastiani
- 7:00 PM — «Inner Dialogue in Joyce's Ulysses», with Enrico Terrinoni
- 8:00 PM — «Youth and Marginality: Rap and New Forms of Dialogue», with Antonella Inverno and Francesco Kento Carlo
- 9:30 PM — Concert by the Roma Tre Orchestra String Duo (Maria Teresa De Sanio and Leonardo Spinedi): Mozart, Handel, Prokofiev, Piazzolla
Sunday, May 24, 2026
- 9:30 AM — Welcome
- 10:00 AM — Workshop «Word to Mickey Mouse», with Marco Gervasio
- 11:00 AM — «From Talk Show to Prompt: Media, AI, and Conversation», with Marta Perrotta and Francesco Agrusti
- 4:00 PM — «The Constitution and Dialogue in the Constituent Assembly, 1946-2026», with Liliosa Azara and Elisabetta Frontoni
- 5:00 PM — «Landscape: The Word and the Thing», with Paolo D'Angelo
- 6:00 PM — «Do Animals Talk to Each Other?», with Enrico Alleva
- 7:00 PM — Monologue «Il maschio Zeno Cosini», with Francesco Piccolo
- 8:00 PM — «The Lyrics of Songs», with Casadilego and Sofia Assante
Highlights Treccani Festival Rome 2026
- The monologue «Il maschio Zeno Cosini» by and with Francesco Piccolo
- Enrico Terrinoni on inner dialogue in Joyce's Ulysses
- Enrico Alleva: «Do animals talk to each other?»
- The Roma Tre Orchestra String Duo concert in the square
- The children's comic book workshop «Word to Mickey Mouse» with Marco Gervasio
- Casadilego and the lyrics of songs
Prices Treccani Festival Rome 2026
Practical information — Treccani Festival Rome
Location
Piazza Damiano Sauli, Garbatella district, Municipality of Rome VIII, 00154 Rome.
How to get there
- Metro: Line B, Garbatella stop, about a 5-minute walk from the square.
- Train: From Roma Termini station, take Metro Line B towards Laurentina.
- Bus: Numerous urban lines serve Via Guglielmo Massaia and Circonvallazione Ostiense.
- Car: Not recommended, as parking in the area is very limited; it is better to use the metro.
Admission
All events are free of charge until capacity is reached. Some children's workshops may require on-site registration.
Tips
The meetings are held outdoors: it is advisable to bring a hat during the middle of the day and a light jacket for the evening. The neighborhood offers numerous trattorias and historic local spots for lunch or an aperitivo between sessions.
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Where does it take place — Treccani Festival Rome
Piazza Damiano Sauli (Garbatella)
Piazza Damiano Sauli, 00154 Roma