Pier Paolo Pasolini’s first Roman residence stands at 3 Via Giovanni Tagliere, in Rebibbia, just a few steps from the penitentiary complex. This modest apartment in the northeast of the capital, which he shared with his mother from 1951 to 1954, is the place where Ragazzi di vita and the poetry collection Le ceneri di Gramsci took shape—where he nurtured his literary material, his attentive gaze at the working classes and life on the city’s outskirts.

Today, after years of uncertainty, the home has been returned to the Roman community under the name Casa Pasolini, officially joining the network of National Museums of the city of Rome thanks to the commitment of producers Pietro Valsecchi and Camilla Nesbitt. After purchasing it at auction in 2022, they chose to donate it to the Ministry of Culture. The transition was made possible by the intervention of the Directorate-General for Museums, which oversaw the restoration and rehabilitation project, restoring the building’s original identity and transforming it into a cultural hub not only for the neighborhood but for anyone wishing to engage with Pasolini’s artistic and literary vision.

“I chose to purchase the apartment and donate it to the State because I believed that a national cultural institution could ensure its protection and make it accessible to the public in the most appropriate way. […] My hope is that this house can truly live for the neighborhood and the city, becoming a place of encounter, study and creativity. I would like students, teachers, poets, artists, writers and filmmakers to gather here; that they may find, in these rooms and in the surrounding streets, an energy capable of generating new ideas and new visions.”

The restoration work included the complete upgrading of the building’s systems and the careful recovery of original finishes and furnishings, with the only exception of a reconfiguration of the domestic spaces. In addition to housing a thematic library designed as the nucleus of a future center for research and public engagement, Casa Pasolini’s vocation for participatory and experimental models is reflected in a rich program of artist and student workshops, reading groups, writing labs, collaborations with the penitentiary, narrative walks and in-depth encounters designed to resonate with the needs of both the neighborhood and its visitors.  

Completing the inauguration is the photographic exhibition curated by Matilde Amaturo and Sabrina Corarze, “Truth Does Not Lie in a Single Dream but in Many Dreams. Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Homes in Rome”, featuring around forty images documenting friendships and significant moments in the poet’s life.

Opening image: photo of the interior of Casa Pasolini. Courtesy Direzione Musei statali della città di Roma - Ministero della Cultura