Ex Dogana (Via dello Scalo San Lorenzo 10, Rome, in the San Lorenzo quarter, adjacent to the Tiburtina railway zone and the Sapienza University) is the most ambitious post-industrial cultural conversion in Rome: the former customs warehouse (dogana) for goods arriving by rail at the San Lorenzo freight yard, built in the early 20th century and decommissioned as the freight operations moved to more peripheral locations, was converted in the 2010s into a multi-purpose cultural and commercial space that now operates as Rome's primary alternative cultural hub. The space includes: an outdoor event area (the courtyard, used for summer concerts, markets, and aperitivo (pre-dinner drink with snacks) events), a rooftop terrace (for seated events and panoramic cocktail service), multiple indoor performance and exhibition spaces, and a permanent food and beverage circuit that operates independently of the event program.
The San Lorenzo context: San Lorenzo is the Roman university quarter, historically associated with student culture, the left-wing political tradition, and the specific anti-establishment character that Rome's proximity to the Vatican and the national government has always generated as its counterpart. The San Lorenzo Bombardamento (the Allied bombing of July 19, 1943, which struck San Lorenzo and Tiburtina rather than the city center, killing approximately 3,000 civilians in the densely populated working-class quarter) is the central historical trauma of the neighborhood, the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura was partially destroyed in the bombing and remains partially rebuilt in a way that preserves the wound. The neighborhood has the specific Roman quality of a place where the political, the cultural, and the historical coexist in the same walk.
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Ex Dogana: What to Expect
Events and Program
The Ex Dogana program (exdogana.com, updated regularly) covers: summer outdoor concerts (June-September, in the courtyard) with a focus on electronic, hip-hop, and indie music. Cultural markets (vintage, design, food, the periodic Ex Dogana markets are among the better-curated of the Roman market format). Art exhibitions and installations in the indoor spaces. And the rooftop aperitivo season (May-October, Thursday-Sunday). Ticket prices for concerts: €10-25 depending on act. The rooftop aperitivo: €12-18 per drink including snacks, no reservation required except for specific events.
The San Lorenzo Neighborhood
Walking the San Lorenzo streets after an Ex Dogana event: Via dei Volsci, Via dei Sabelli, and Via Tiburtina form the commercial spine of the quarter, with the specific combination of student bars (the cheapest aperitivo in Rome. €5-7 for a spritz with substantial snack buffet, a student-culture tradition), independent restaurants, vintage shops, and the specific graffiti and street art culture that San Lorenzo has maintained since the 1990s. The Cimitero del Verano (the main Roman municipal cemetery, at the northern end of San Lorenzo) is one of the most interesting 19th-century cemeteries in Italy, the monumental entrance, the Neo-Gothic chapels, and the specific density of sculptural funerary art from the liberal Italy of the Risorgimento through the Fascist period.
Q&A: Ex Dogana Rome
How do I get to Ex Dogana?
From Termini: 15-minute walk east along Via Tiburtina, or tram 3 to Scalo San Lorenzo (5 minutes). From the Metro B Tiburtina stop: 10-minute walk south. The San Lorenzo area is walkable from the Termini hub and well-connected by the tram and bus network. Late-night return: the night bus service from San Lorenzo runs on the Tiburtina axis until 3-4am on weekends. Confirm the night bus schedule at atac.roma.it before the event.
