Extreme summer heat is compounding the crisis for hundreds of vulnerable people sleeping rough outside a shuttered social centre in Rome, drawing renewed attention to the Italian capital’s severe housing shortage. Families, elderly residents, and pets are currently enduring temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius in tents and on camp beds outside the chained gates of Spin Time Labs, according to RTL and local medical teams.
The site was evacuated last month following a minor fire and subsequently seized by police. The operation ended an occupation that had persisted since 2013 despite prior eviction orders and threats from the far-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The unfolding situation has transformed the pavement outside into an improvised encampment, exposing residents to dangerous daytime heat and mounting psychological strain.
“As the days go by, we are seeing increasing psychological distress; people are at their limit, they are exhausted,” Anastasia Destro, a 33-year-old doctor assisting the displaced individuals, told AFP. Medical and psychological aid teams operating at the site report treating numerous health issues tied directly to street exposure and lack of shelter during the intense seasonal heatwave.
A Decade of Community Sanctuary Meets Political Deadlock
The fate of the building and its roughly 400 former residents—including children and disabled individuals—has galvanized widespread public support. Volunteers from across Rome have mobilized to supply clothing, food, and children’s toys, while the left-wing city council has stepped in with practical relief, providing tents, portable toilets, air-conditioning units, and a dedicated drinking water truck. High-profile figures, ranging from Italian film director Paolo Sorrentino to British filmmaker Ken Loach, have publicly called for authorities to readmit the residents, while director Matteo Garrone arranged a special screening of his film “Pinocchio” for the displaced children.
Over a decade, Spin Time evolved beyond a typical squat, growing into a social hub that housed a food bank, a canteen, a carpenter studio, a theater, and a community newspaper. It even drew backing from the Vatican; in 2019, a cardinal who served as Pope Francis’s charity czar descended into a manhole to reconnect electricity after power lines were cut off. Marco Perilli, a 60-year-old Italian construction worker who moved into the community in 2013 following a personal separation, described the center as a sanctuary. He noted that the building served as a home for 27 distinct ethnic groups, cultures, and religions living together harmoniously as a unified family.
While municipal leadership under Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri has sought to resolve the crisis by proposing that the city purchase the property, the proposal has encountered stiff resistance. The property owner, private asset and investment management firm Investire SGR, has thus far rejected municipal acquisition talks. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party has strongly criticized Mayor Gualtieri’s proposal, accusing city hall of squandering public funds and rewarding illegal behaviour.
Rome’s Deepening Housing Emergency
The sudden clearance of Spin Time Labs has starkly illuminated the capital’s broader structural housing deficit. Official city figures show that more than 17,000 households are currently registered on the municipal waiting list for council accommodation, with nearly half of those applicants having waited for a decade or longer. While municipal authorities have managed to place the most vulnerable evacuees into alternative temporary housing, scores of other former occupants remain on the street, hoping for a breakthrough in negotiations.
Among those waiting outside the gates is Patience Sare, a 40-year-old Nigerian national who fled to Europe following the outbreak of conflict in Libya in 2011. After unsuccessful attempts to build a stable life in France, Switzerland, and Malta, Sare found stability at Spin Time, where she lived with her two children. “Spin Time has taken me in, my kids in,” Sare told reporters, describing the community through tears as a transformative place that finally felt like home.
As negotiations stall between municipal authorities, property owners, and national political figures, local volunteers and medical personnel continue emergency support operations outside the gates.
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