Al via domani - UN SOLO MARE Festival

Starting tomorrow until Sunday, February 15, 2026, the first edition of "Un Solo Mare," a new festival produced by the Fondazione Musica per Roma, will take place at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone. This festival aims to celebrate the sea, a shared heritage and indispensable resource. The inaugural day on Wednesday, February 11, opens at 11:00 AM in Sala Petrassi with an event dedicated to schools that brings together sports personalities, institutional representatives, and voices from marine research to kick off the event with a broad perspective on the future of the oceans. Notable attendees will include Sabrina Alfonsi, the Councilor for Agriculture, Environment, and Waste Cycle of Rome, and Raffaele Ranucci, CEO of the Fondazione Musica per Roma. Olympic champion Alessandra Sensini and sailor Giovanni Soldini will also be present, moderated by the festival's scientific director Roberto Danovaro. After the opening remarks, there will be an immersive documentary by Marevivo titled "The Sounds that Show the Sea," which explores the sounds of the sea and underwater noise pollution. The film presents the natural sounds of the oceans, fostering a unique sensory experience and highlighting their importance to marine ecosystem life, especially for mammals and cetaceans. Sounds are crucial for communication among certain species, but noise pollution solely caused by humans seriously threatens their balance and survival.

At 3:00 PM in Auditorium Arte, the event "Blue Economy between Italy and the Mediterranean" organized by Cluster BIG will take place. The first panel, "The Centrality of the Sea for Italy," will discuss the strategic role of the sea for the national system, maritime infrastructures, the competitiveness of the Italian blue sector, and governance, as they intertwine in a dialogue on how the marine dimension can become a lever for economic development, technological innovation, and sustainability for Italy in the Mediterranean and global context. This panel will be introduced and moderated by Giorgio Ricci Maccarini, President of Cluster BIG. Participants will include Admiral Pierpaolo Ribuffo, Head of the Department for Maritime Policies, Admiral Fabio Agostini, Commander of the Interregional Maritime Command Centro and Capitale, Maria Siclari, General Director of ISPRA, Mario Mattioli, President of the Federation of the Sea, and Alessandra Sensi, Head of the Department of Environment, Green and Blue Economy, Union for the Mediterranean.

At 4:30 PM in Auditorium Arte, the second panel, "The Mediterranean between Cooperation, Security, and Sustainability," will discuss the Mediterranean as a space for strategic interconnection between economies, territories, and emerging geopolitical scenarios, focusing on infrastructure, international cooperation, and new balances between North and South, between open sea and global routes. Giorgio Ricci Maccarini will introduce the meeting, with contributions from Captain Carmine Lapia, Head of the 7th Office "Inter-Ministerial Relations and Territorial Coordination" of the 3rd Department of the Navy General Staff, Roberto Paolo Cazzulo, Secretary General of the Italian Naval Register, Mario Mattioli, President of the Federation of the Sea, Alessandro Panaro, Head of Maritime & Energy SRM Intesa S. Paolo, Agata Lavorio, Researcher at the Arctic Intelligence Observatory UniMilano, and Leonardo Manzari, WestMED National Hub for Italy. The session will be moderated by Leonardo Parigi, journalist and External Relations of the Italian Maritime Academy Foundation.

The festival "Un Solo Mare" aims to promote a culture of the sea that allows everyone to know, value, protect, and experience it sustainably. The event seeks to be a meeting point between science, culture, economy, society, and art, while also paying homage to the sea – a means of communication and exchange among peoples, languages, and knowledge – through a festival that intertwines science, responsibility, and creativity, ranging from research to communication, photography to theater, to explore the sea as a living, fragile, and shared space.

Produced by the Fondazione Musica per Roma, with the project partnership of Codice Edizioni, the festival "Un Solo Mare," under the scientific direction of Prof. Roberto Danovaro, is promoted by the Municipality of Rome – Department of Culture, with the sponsorship of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Waste Cycle of Rome, and has as scientific partners CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, CNR – National Research Council, ENEA – National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, ISPRA – Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, OGS – National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, Marevivo Foundation, ASviS – Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development. In collaboration with the National Technological Cluster "Blue Italian Growth" (CTN-BIG), Libraries of Rome, and the Italian Navy, with the participation of the Foundation Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti and the Santo Versace Foundation. Cultural partners include Pianeta Mare Film Festival, Scuola Holden, and Fondazione Symbola.

"Un Solo Mare" brings together authoritative voices and diverse perspectives: from the writer Björn Larsson, who has entrusted critical pages of his imagination to the sea, to Dario Fabbri, a prominent expert in geopolitics, and the engaging languages of Elisabetta Dami, creator of Geronimo Stilton, and Claudio Sciarrone, screenwriter and illustrator of Topolino, to Andrea Rinaldo, professor emeritus and director of the Laboratory of Ecohydrology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, winner of the Water Prize 2023, whose pioneering research on river networks and the spread of species and pathogens intersects with marine ecology to explore the interconnections between the environment, human health, and sustainable water resource management in a changing planet. Diverse figures, united by a direct, lived, and conscious relationship with the sea. There will also be moments devoted to the economy of the sea or the arts, such as the concert of the Orchestra del Mare organized in collaboration with the Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti Foundation and the Santo Versace Foundation, featuring Maestro Nicola Piovani and Alessio Boni. Numerous activities and workshops dedicated to schools and families will be organized in the EduMare space. The program for schools combines scientific rigor with creativity and fun, to inspire new generations to take care of our sea: boys and girls will participate in scientific workshops, meetings with exceptional protagonists, audiovisual contributions about the beauty and challenges of the oceans, engaging performances, interactive workshops, and sustainability-focused paths. In collaboration with the Libraries of Rome, from February 11 to 14, the Elsa Morante Library at the Rome Tourist Port (Municipality X) will host a structured program intertwining science, literature, and activities for families, curated by ISPRA and OGS. Exhibitions, workshops, and meetings with authors will alternate to offer a cultural experience aimed at diverse audiences: a cultural journey dedicated to the territory of Ostia and its privileged relationship with the sea. Among the expected guests are writers Björn Larsson and Claudia Fachinetti.

Five exhibitions will be held: "AMERIGO VESPUCCI - ON BOARD!" (curated by the Italian Navy), a selection of black and white shots by Carlo Mari telling the life aboard the Amerigo Vespucci during the transatlantic crossing, an authentic portrait of maneuvers, faces, and emotions, where documentary rigor and artistic sensitivity reveal the soul of the sailing ship and its crew; "BANQUETTE TO THE RESCUE!" (by ISPRA), an exhibition on ecological beaches, aimed at children and adults: through the adventure of Leaf, visitors discover the usefulness of the Banquette for beaches and tourism; "TOURISM IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE ERA," photographs by Marco Zorzanello: a photographic project analyzing the effects of climate change on our lifestyles; "VESPUCCI SHIP - A VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD" (curated by the Italian Navy), photographs by Massimo Sestini, an exhibition dedicated to the Vespucci Ship, closely followed by everyone on its journey around the world, celebrated upon its return in many Mediterranean ports; "ONLY ONE" (curated by Marevivo), an exhibition addressing energy and ecological transition, circular economy, plastic pollution, and ocean warming, emphasizing how the health of all living beings depends on the balance between the natural environment and human activities, and how this balance can only be restored through shared and integrated commitments.

The Fondazione Musica per Roma thanks its main sponsors Banca del Fucino and Enel, as well as Frecciarossa of Trenitalia (FS Group) as the official train of the event.