Volunteering Meets Montesacro

Three days of solidarity in the heart of Montesacro

"Volunteering Meets Montesacro" is the festival that every autumn transforms Piazza Sempione, the beating heart of the Montesacro district in Rome's Third Municipality, into a great square of solidarity. Promoted by the Associazione Grazie al Cielo, the event brings together about thirty volunteer organizations each year, both large and small, which spend three days meeting the neighborhood and sharing their daily commitment to serving others.

Born from the friendship between university students living away from home, young professionals, and local families, the Associazione Grazie al Cielo has created an event that combines culture, reflection, faith, and entertainment, open to all and completely free of charge. In 2025, the festival celebrated its twelfth edition, cementing its place as one of the most cherished events in the associative calendar of northern Rome, in the Lazio region.

A program of meetings, testimonies, and music

The rich calendar alternates between moments of dialogue and festive occasions. Over the three days, there are round tables with volunteer organizations, testimonies dedicated to hospitality, foster care, and adoption, meetings on education and justice, exhibitions, and presentations of contemporary figures of holiness.

• Cultural and civil debates with magistrates, university professors, and social workers
• Concerts ranging from rap to orchestral music, choirs, and local bands
• Holy Mass and moments of spirituality in the neighborhood churches
• A "village" with activities and workshops designed for children and families
• Tastings, food stands, and the traditional raffle draw

The Montesacro district and Piazza Sempione

Montesacro is one of the historic districts in northern Rome, developed around the charming Città Giardino Aniene. Piazza Sempione, with the church of Santi Angeli Custodi and the nearby Nomentano bridge, represents its natural living room: an ideal space for a popular festival that focuses on relationships, hospitality, and community life.

A community event

More than just a simple exhibition, "Volunteering Meets Montesacro" is an opportunity to raise awareness of the many solidarity-based realities active in the area, foster new collaborations, and bring citizens closer to the world of volunteering. A concrete way to remember, as the association likes to repeat, that "everything is born from an encounter."