Vivicittà Porte Aperte in Rebibbia

Vivicittà Porte Aperte: sport that breaks down walls

Vivicittà Porte Aperte is the "behind bars" version of Vivicittà, the running event organized by UISP (Italian Sport for All Association) that brings dozens of Italian cities to life every year on the same day. In Rome, in the Rebibbia district, the event enters the Germana Stefanini Women's Correctional Facility: here, inmates and external runners run side by side, transforming a prison courtyard into a space of freedom, encounter, and dignity.

A race "bigger than the world"

Founded in 1984, Vivicittà is considered the most participated simultaneous race in the world: on the same day, in over forty cities, thousands of runners cover a 10-kilometer competitive track with a compensated ranking system—a coefficient system developed by the CONI Institute of Sport Science that makes results from different courses comparable—alongside 3-4 kilometer fun runs open to families and schools. The event has always combined sport with themes of peace, rights, the environment, and inclusion.

Porte Aperte: Vivicittà enters the prison

With the Porte Aperte (Open Doors) project, between April and May, Vivicittà crosses the threshold of penitentiary and juvenile detention centers throughout Italy—from Rome to Brescia, from Enna to Reggio Emilia, from Aosta to Cremona. The goal is to bring sport where access is normally denied, affirming that the right to movement and social interaction knows no walls. In Rebibbia, this choice takes on a particularly strong value: the race involves incarcerated women together with athletes from UISP Rome, in an atmosphere of celebration and mutual respect.

The social value of sport in Rome

UISP Rome has been collaborating for decades with the prison administration to build stable social sport paths within the capital's prisons. In Rebibbia, the organization is made possible by the daily work of the institute's management and educators, who accompany the inmates in an experience capable of restoring trust, self-esteem, and a sense of community. Next to the facility, the Open Bar space—managed by a cooperative of inmates and former inmates—testifies to how prison can become a place of reintegration and social economy.

Rebibbia, a symbolic district

Located in the north-eastern suburbs of Rome, in the Lazio region, Rebibbia is known primarily for its penitentiary complex, one of the largest in Italy. Precisely for this reason, the choice to have Vivicittà run within these walls takes on a civic significance that goes beyond sport: it is a way to shine a spotlight on the reality of prison life and to remember that inclusion begins in the most difficult places.