The fourth edition of the recreational event “Giochi senza Quartiere 2025” was illustrated today at Palazzo Zanca, in the presence of the Mayor Federico Basile. The press conference was attended by the Councilor for Youth Policies Liana Cannata, the Municipal Councilor Raimondo Mortelliti, the Presidents and Delegate Councilors of the six Municipalities, Father Giovanni Amante, Guarantor for Children and Adolescents of the Municipality of Messina, and the Contact person for SSD Unileague Messina Antonio Giacobbe.
The event is promoted by the Municipality of Messina – Department of Youth Policies, in collaboration with the Municipalities and the Special Agency Messina Social City. The initiative, born in 2022 with the Basile Council, is also confirmed for 2025 as an eagerly awaited and participated event, aimed at promoting collaboration, healthy competition and respect for the rules, while enhancing urban spaces and the sense of community in the different city territories. “Involvement – explained Mayor Basile – is the recurring term in the initiatives promoted by the municipal administration. It is an objective fact and Games without Neighborhood 2025, together with many other events, summarizes this concept, since it is an event to enhance the neighborhoods, promote collaboration and strengthen the sense of community. With the aim of enhancing places and spaces of our city, the final will be played at Villa Dante, which has become a symbol and stage multidisciplinary, as it is capable of hosting sporting activities, the Messina Oktoberfest and many other events. I am happy that Giochi senza Quartiere, which began quietly, has become a structured event and point of reference, in the context of healthy competition, to bring together those who live in the same area”.
“The Games without Neighborhood initiative – continued councilor Cannata – is linked to three fundamental points of the Administration’s will: to promote the valorisation of the territory and inclusion, with particular attention to the relationship with schools. The added value of this event also lies in the ability to enhance the places and urban spaces of the city, bringing attention and positive energy to all the neighbourhoods. The event summarizes a strong synergy between the municipal Administration, the six Municipalities, the sector of the School and the Parish. This year, on the occasion of the fourth edition, there are some new features – added the Councilor – as new sports disciplines and the involvement of the school are planned to change the vision and perspective of young people. The initiative, in recent years, has grown both in terms of participation and impact, confirming that the initial intuition was correct: offering young people opportunities to try their hand at physical and creative tests, stimulating the strategy and the sense of team, is the right way to build a more inclusive and dynamic Messina”.
Even the president Valeria Asquini, an active part of the organization with the Messina Social City, highlighted that: “Giochi senza Quartiere is an opportunity to transmit fundamental educational values such as mutual respect, cooperation and inclusion, involving both young people and adults in a process of cultural and civic growth that starts from the territory. Public spaces, as places of aggregation, therefore become an opportunity for growth for the community”. The representative of SSD Unileague Messina Giacobbe described the various types of games, while the city councilor Mortelliti focused on the discipline of football, underlining that “participants will have the opportunity to strengthen their sense of belonging to the six districts”.
The guarantor, Father Amante, expressed “personal satisfaction with the initiative of the municipal administration thanks to which gaming represents a fundamental right of young people without any distinction or difference. The event represents not only a moment of leisure, but also an educational and aggregative opportunity”. In conclusion, the representatives of the Municipalities who spoke, firstly the President Alessandro Costa; for the second the President Davide Siracusano; for the third, Vice President Sebastian Romeo; for the fourth the President Matteo Grasso; for the fifth the Vice President Giulio Fragale; they expressed “appreciation for the initiative of the municipal administration which allows the Corconscriptions to be a living and integral part of the organization”.
Calendar of activities
The “Games without Neighborhood 2025” will take place in two phases: a qualification phase, hosted in the various city districts, and a final phase at Villa Dante. Qualifying phase is scheduled from 20 to 29 October 2025; the games will liven up the city municipalities with afternoon appointments from 4pm to 7pm, according to the following calendar:
Monday 20 October – III Municipality: Piazza Bisconte
Wednesday 22 October – V Municipality: San Matteo Oratory
Friday 24 October – IV Municipality: Piazza Casa Pia
Monday 27 October – I Municipality: IC Santa Margherita “Simone Neri” Giampilieri Superiore complex
Tuesday 28 October – VI Municipality: IC “Evemero da Messina”
Wednesday 29 October – II Municipality: Piazza Felice Bartolotta – Santa Lucia sopra Contesse
In each stage, the neighborhood teams will compete in a series of physical and creative tests, designed to stimulate agility, strategy, cooperation and team spirit.
The planned activities include:
Fight of the Titans – test of strength and endurance; Checkers – strategy and concentration; Table football – team play and reflexes; Sacco Matto – obstacle course in sackcloth; Race Links – coordination and collaboration; Tiki Limbo – balance and flexibility; Urban Race – urban route in stages; Xtreme rings – precision and coordination; Hit him! – aim and speed; Flagon – timed team game.
All tests will involve children, teenagers and young adults aged 8 to 35, divided into three age groups: Group I: 8-12 years; Band II: 13-17 years; Band III: 18-35 years.
Final phase
The final phase of the “Giochi senza Quartiere 2025” will be held on Saturday 1 November, from 9.30 to 12.30, at Villa Dante. The winning teams of the municipal qualifiers will compete in an exciting city final which will include, in addition to the previous tests, special games with high involvement: Human Table Football – a large playing field in which the participants move like the cues of a human table football; Gladiator’s Course – obstacle race with ropes, jumps and endurance tests; Orienteering – route in stages with map and control points to reach in the shortest time possible.
The final day at Villa Dante will represent the culminating moment of this recreational-educational and active citizenship journey, celebrating the values of collaboration, sportsmanship and sociability that animate the Games without Neighborhood.