Sea Urchin and Sea Festival

A festival that protects the sea urchin instead of eating it

The Sea Urchin and Sea Festival, dedicated to their protection, is a unique event in the Italian coastal festival scene. While other sea urchin festivals celebrate consumption, in Santa Marinella, the event was created to safeguard the Paracentrotus lividus, a sea urchin species whose populations along the Lazio coast are suffering due to over-harvesting. The festival's slogan says it lightly: «Every urchin is not a whim». On stage and in the kitchen, you won't find urchins, but rather alternative dishes invented by chefs and enthusiasts to prove that seafood cuisine can thrive without relying on an endangered species.

The Tourist Port becomes an open-air laboratory

The heart of the event is the Santa Marinella Tourist Port, the marina of the seaside town in the Metropolitan City of Rome. Three themed areas are set up along the quay: the Show Area, a culinary arena hosting cooking competitions and show cooking sessions featuring «urchin-saving» recipes; the Urchin Lounge, dedicated to masterclasses, technical and emotional talks, and workshops; and the Kids' Terrace, offering entertainment and environmental education for children. Participation in all activities is free of charge.

Sustainable cuisine, science, and maritime traditions

The program weaves together gastronomy and scientific outreach: workshops on identifying fresh fish, masterclasses on pairing local catches with extra virgin olive oils, show cooking sessions dedicated to zero-waste cooking, meetings with marine biologists on alien species colonizing the Tyrrhenian Sea, archaeological talks on ancient Roman cuisine and garum, and even marine-themed Raku pottery workshops. Alongside the experts are local fishermen, guardians of the coast's maritime traditions, and the Coast Guard, highlighting the fight against illegal fishing.

The Lazio Sea Urchin Ambassadors

The festival is also an educational project that enters schools: the pilot program «Lazio Sea Urchin Ambassadors» offers local students free sessions on sustainability, responsible fishing, and sea protection. Each student receives a «passport» to document their conservation efforts, eventually earning the title of Sea Urchin Ambassador. The Municipality has also announced a project for an experimental sea urchin breeding center at Torre Chiaruccia, confirming a long-term strategy for the blue economy.

A local project supported by the Lazio Region

The event is organized by the association Istinto Social Lab 4 Business APS with the Municipality of Santa Marinella and is funded by the Lazio Region through the regional law on Southern Etruria, in collaboration with the Naval League and the Port Authority. Born in 2024 following the mobilization for sea urchin protection promoted by the local Slow Food movement, the festival has become a reference point for spring by the sea north of Rome, spanning Santa Marinella, Santa Severa, and Civitavecchia.