Welcome to La Città dell’Utopia!

La Città dell’Utopia is a social lab located in the neighbourhood of San Paolo Ostiense, in southern Rome. The project’s main goal is understanding the volunteering and communitarian activism involved in different social struggles to build a better, more horizontal and inclusive world. 

La Città dell’utopia is located in a 400-year historically remarkable building, labelled as ‘Casa di Garibaldi’. Legend says Garibaldi, one of the main contributors to the unification of Italy, stayed there for a couple of nights during his travels. At the beginning of the 20th century, the place became a trattoria, called Trattoria Volpi. It took its name after Augusto Volpi, who ran the small business together with his family. Volpi was known for his antifascist political stance and for helping partisans hide in this space during WWII. His legacy has passed on, as we continue to fight fascism at La Città dell’Utopia.

La Città dell’Utopia is a project of Service Civil International (SCI) Italy. SCI is an international organisation currently based in 43 different countries. During the past 90 years, it has promoted volunteering around the themes of peace, human rights, international solidarity, sustainability, social inclusion and active citizenship. We also organise other events together with SCI, such as international work camps and festivals (No Border fest, Festival della Zuppa) as well as volunteer trainings.

La Città dell’Utopia is run by local and international volunteers who come together to organise events, courses, and festivals, often in collaboration with other local activist groups. The volunteers are the heart of La Città dell’Utopia, and this project would not be possible without their continuous contribution towards organising activities and taking care of the space.

The events and activities organised at La Città dell’Utopia are the following:

  • Social Cafè – a weekly event to discuss issues related to antifascism, the environment and gender through book presentations, film screenings, workshops and games, among others.
  • Courses – weekly language, music and yoga courses.
  • Mercatino terra/Terra – a monthly market organised by a network of small-scale producers where you can buy local, seasonal and organic produce.
  • Festival Internazionale della Zuppa di Roma – a festival taking place once a year that aims to explore social and environmental issues (both locally and globally) through an uncomplicated concept such as that of soup.
  • No Border Fest – an annual festival that celebrates freedom of movement. It is organised in collaboration with SCI and the local NGOs Laboratorio 53 and Eduraduno.
  • Fundraising Dinners – Occasionally, we  organise fundraising events and dinners to preserve our autonomy.

La Città dell’Utopia also hosts various associations. These include: 

  • Laboratorio 53, an NGO that offers legal and social support to refugee and migrant people.
  • Repair Café Roma is the local branch of a European movement whose aim is to democratise the reparation of everyday objects and devices in communal spaces to reduce waste, overconsumption and fight planned obsolescence. 
  • Eduraduno is an association formed by local social workers to connect people from different backgrounds working in the same field.
  • Il Gruppo di Acquisto Solidale (GAS) supports small producers growing and selling organic, ecological and healthy produce against large-scale food companies. 
  • Femminismi Antropologia Quotidiano (FAQ) is a non-profit organisation formed by several anthropologists that organise events and activities about feminism and gender.

We are also part of several regional and national networks, such as terra/TERRA, Rete Roma Sud, Restiamo Umani and NO TAV and collaborate with other local groups and associations to organise events outside La Città dell’Utopia such as the Renoize Festival.

This is only a brief summary of the activity of La Città dell’Utopia for our non-Italian speaking friends. However, if you would like to know more or wish to get involved with us, do not hesitate to contact us at lacittadellutopia@sci-italia.it.