Casa del Popolo di Grassina: A New Season of Music, Culture and Participation

A casa del popolo – literally a “house of the people,” one of the community clubs born from Italy’s labor movement – is not just a place to catch a concert or spend an evening with friends: it is a space to meet, exchange ideas and build relationships. That is the idea behind the new season at the Casa del Popolo di Grassina, in Bagno a Ripoli, which through the program of Sicurcaiv, the club’s space for live music and cultural events, sets out to weave together contemporary art forms, social commitment and participation.

Promoted by ARCI Firenze, the Florence branch of Italy’s largest network of cultural associations, the season is built on collaborations with groups such as Lattex and Music Pool, and brings concerts, performances, talks and initiatives tied to today’s social, political and environmental issues. Among the main events is “A Day in the Life”, the festival returning to Sicurcaiv on Friday, October 16, and Saturday, October 17, for its second edition and to launch the ARCI 2026/2027 membership drive. Promoted by ARCI Firenze together with the Collettivo di Fabbrica ex GKN, Non Una Di Meno Firenze, Romanticismo Periferico and the Casa del Popolo di Grassina, the event brings together artists and activist groups around social justice, feminism and ecology.

The program opens on Friday, October 16, with a stop on the European tour of Argentine singer Sara Hebe, joined by Anafem & Sam Arcanda and a DJ set by La Reina del Fomento. There will also be art performances curated by ColletivOscena di Tettelibere. Saturday, October 17, brings a meeting between Andrea Appino, frontman of The Zen Circus, and Maestro Pellegrini, mixing words and music in the form of a talk and showcase. The night continues with Dalcò, the solo project of Giulio Vannuzzi, and with I Gatti Mézzi, who chose Sicurcaiv for the final date of their tour. After that, a live set by Ejent and DJ sets by Abo Abo and Plastique01. From 8:30 p.m., Novaradio will also be broadcasting live.

Meanwhile, the Casa del Popolo is renovating its spaces, with a new pizzeria with outdoor seating and a makeover of the entrance hall. It is part of an approach that sees culture not only as a lineup of events, but as a way to make the club ever more lived-in and rooted in the community.

We talked about it with Edoardo Treviri, a member of the board of ARCI Firenze.

What is the common thread running through the events of the new season?

“The common thread linking the program at the Casa del Popolo di Grassina, as in all our Florentine clubs, is the idea that culture is not mere entertainment or passive consumption, but a tool for emancipation, social cohesion and active participation. We want case del popolo to be places where engaged citizens meet, discuss and build community ties. For us, culture has to be accessible, widespread and deeply rooted in the needs of the area.”

How important is it to pair the cultural program with moments of reflection on social, political and environmental issues?

“For ARCI Firenze, this alliance is simply essential: there is no culture without civic awareness. Case del popolo were born with a very clear political and social mission, which today we apply to the great emergencies of our time: the climate crisis, the defense of social and labor rights, and the fight against every form of discrimination.

“These topics are not meant to be handed down from above. The goal is to support the Casa del Popolo di Grassina in organizing events that bring together the conviviality and everyday life of the club with reflections on the present, using every means available – concerts, book presentations, debates and workshops – to encourage as much direct exchange with the community as possible.”

This is exactly the approach that defines “A Day in the Life,” which connects its music program with experiences of activism and participation. Working with Non Una Di Meno Firenze and with the Collettivo di Fabbrica ex GKN across the festival’s two days underlines the aim of creating opportunities for different audiences, artistic languages and experiences to meet.

What does the Casa del Popolo di Grassina mean today for the cultural and social life of the area?

“Today the Casa del Popolo di Grassina is a major cultural hub in our area. For a long time, Florence and its province have been missing a space able to host the kind of cultural offering the city has lacked since FLOG [a long-running Florence live-music venue] had to close its auditorium.

“We are working on a truly shared program, aiming for real co-design with local associations, youth groups and the neighborhood. We firmly believe that a casa del popolo is only alive insofar as it can open up and be inhabited by the people who live in the neighborhood and in the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli every day.”

Building a shared program is therefore one of the season’s central goals. It is not just about offering a calendar of events, but about strengthening a network of collaborations with associations, independent groups and the people who live in the area. Seen this way, the Casa del Popolo presents itself as a space where cultural programming can also grow out of dialogue with the community.

At a time when many gathering places are struggling, what does a casa del popolo mean today?

“In an age marked by individualism, extreme digitalization and the steady closing of public spaces for socializing, case del popolo take on a fundamental role of civic and human resistance. For ARCI Firenze, the daily commitment to revitalizing and supporting these spaces answers a vital need: to offer a refuge from loneliness, a safe place where people can feel good, where generations meet and where it is still possible to feel part of a community built on solidarity.”

This is where the different sides of the Grassina project come together: music, events, food and the care of the spaces are not separate activities, but complementary ways to keep the club alive all year round.

What are your goals for this season, and what would you like audiences to take away?

“The season’s goals are ambitious but concrete: bringing people back to the physical spaces of participation, strengthening the network of case del popolo and widening the circle of people who use these places, especially younger generations. At the end of this journey, we would like audiences to leave not just with the memory of a great event or a pleasant evening, but with the awareness of belonging to a living community, one capable of changing the places it inhabits for the better through sharing and participation.”

It is a vision that, starting from the events at Sicurcaiv and the new opportunities to get together that the club offers, aims to make the Casa del Popolo di Grassina a place to live in and build collectively: not just a container for events, but a space where culture becomes an everyday community practice.

The Casa del Popolo is also renewing itself through concrete work on its spaces. The new pizzeria, with outdoor seating and open every weekend of the year, gives people more reasons to come to the club and strengthens its convivial side. The entrance hall has also been refurbished, with fresh paint and designs in the colors of the Palestinian flag. It is an intervention that renews the shared spaces and introduces a visual reference to a political and humanitarian issue at the center of today’s debate. The work is part of an approach that treats the care of spaces as an integral part of the club’s life as an association: making it more welcoming means encouraging people to stay, meet and take part even outside the individual events on the calendar.