Italy

Forte Prenestino

A Byrd

— 5 min read
Forte Prenestino
Inside the front doors of Forte Prenestino, Rome.

On Monday (B's birthday!), we had a few hours to fill in between checking out of our AirBnb and needing to be at Roma Termini Station for the departure of our high-speed train to Florence. Our AirBnb host was kind enough to let us leave our luggage at the apartment for a few more hours, so we walked to a very interesting place I had found out about via a bit of googling the night before: Forte Prenestino.

Forte Prenestino is a large abandoned fort, surrounded by a moat and parkland, that has been occupied (i.e. by squatters) since the 1980s. They have turned it into a self-managed social centre that runs various classes, hosts music concerts, etc — albeit all without official permission. They have an online presence and are involved in various forms of activism.

This all sounded rather fascinating and "off the beaten track", so my interest was piqued! I read a bit online about these movements (there are various other "occupied social centres" in Italy; this is one of Rome's oldest) and couldn't see anything indicating it would be unsafe to visit with kids, so off we went!

The entrance drawbridge to the fort.
This awesome artwork was near the entrance.
The name of the organisation — CSOA Forte Prenestino — was painted on the wall beside the entrance.
We ran the signs through Google Translate to make sure they didn't say "no entry"! The sign on the left says that it is not a drug-dealing square.

After a bit of loitering outside — during which we saw a couple of people come and go, taking no notice of us, and all seemed quiet and near-deserted — we got up the courage to go in.

It seems that "No TAV" is a protest movement against a particular high-speed train line.
The view from the drawbridge. Cool vines!
In we go!

Once inside, we were in a tunnel plastered with graffiti, signs and stickers. There were a couple of rooms with closed doors leading off the tunnel; maybe they were people's accommodation... we weren't about to be that nosy! There was hardly anyone around, but the couple of people we saw coming and going just said hello (in Italian) and didn't seem bothered by us being there.

We translated these signs too. From memory, they are anti-prohibitionist and anti-police-state. The top one says not to stop in the tunnel.

We sat and ate our sandwiches in a deserted outdoor dining area until the mozzies made us move on. We also saw a truck drive in (through the tunnel we'd entered from!) and start pumping out the portaloos. It was all very well set up with gardens, recycling bins and fantastic art everywhere!

After lunch, we explored some more tunnels and saw a stage set up where they must host the concerts I'd read about. We also saw a boxing class finishing up (which I'd seen on their website and we'd initially wondered about trying to join in for!). What we didn't see was a single other tourist the whole time we were there!

This sign had rules for people who come to Forte Prenestino. Things like being respectful, the importance of consent, and "if you need help, look around, there will be someone to help you".

This was a really interesting place to visit, and we're glad we checked it out! I'm sure it would have a totally different vibe at night, especially when there's a music event on, but during the day it was a fabulous break from the heat, crowds and constant pickpocket vigilance!

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