Hundreds camp on sweltering Rome street amid tussle over squatted building

What the report says

Hundreds of residents and supporters are camped outside Spin Time, a squatted seven-storey former office building near Rome’s Termini station, after police cleared it following a small fire on July 29. Al Jazeera reports that about 300 people, including vulnerable residents and roughly 100 children, have been living on the pavement in extreme heat while they await a solution for the building they occupied in 2013.

According to the article, the fire caused little damage and was put out quickly by residents before firefighters arrived, but police evacuated the building and magistrates placed it under judicial seizure. Residents are now allowed back inside only one at a time to collect belongings. The community says the response was used to push them out, while the city argues the structure does not meet safety standards and cannot be immediately handed back.

Rome officials have been trying to broker a deal to buy the property from the fund that manages it, InvestiRE SGR, but the company rejected an interim arrangement that would have let residents return during any sale process. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said the city is seeking alternative housing, while activists say they will continue the sit-in to press for a return.

Spin Time has long been known not only as housing but also as a cultural and social hub, with communal services and events. The dispute matters because it highlights Rome’s housing crisis, tensions over occupations, and the broader question of what happens to low-income families if the site is cleared for redevelopment.