The new edition of the Rome Science Festival has been unveiled, marking its 20th anniversary this year. From 8 to 13 April, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, research will take centre stage under the theme Bodies. This edition will explore human bodies with their features, shapes, functions, transformations, and adaptations, as well as animal and plant bodies, microscopic entities such as viruses and bacteria, celestial bodies, and, thanks to technological advancements, hybrid and mechanical bodies like robots and automatons.

Renowned scientists, journalists, and intellectuals will engage in discussions and reflections on this year’s theme with the multidisciplinary and cross-cutting approach that defines the festival. The event is structured around five thematic areas: Complex bodies, original bodies, responsible bodies, plastic bodies, and restless bodies. In addition to a rich programme of talks, the festival will feature exhibitions, interactive installations, activities for schools, and workshops for young people and families.

GARR will be among the key players with a dedicated event on 12 April at 12:00 in the Auditorium Arte hall.
The session will highlight the importance of digital infrastructures in supporting researchers in multidisciplinary collaborations and explore the promising frontiers of sensing research—the innovative use of optical fibres as environmental sensors. The conference, titled  “The sea that listens and tells its story - Il mare che ascolta e racconta”, will take attendees deep into the ocean’s depths, far from surface light and noise. Here, an intricate network of electronic eyes and ears helps monitor climate change, biodiversity, and ecosystems by listening to the sea. At the same time, while exploring the depths, marine observatories also detect signals from space, collecting valuable data about the universe. Speakers at the event include Luigi Antonio Fusco, professor at the University of Salerno and INFN associate (Naples section); Giuditta Marinaro, senior technologist at INGV, coordinator of international activities for EMSO-ERIC, and head of research on geosphere-ocean-atmosphere interactions; Paolo Bolletta, optical infrastructure expert at GARR; and Fabrizio Bocchino, researcher at INAF - Astronomical Observatory of Palermo. The discussion will be moderated by science journalist and communicator Giorgia Burzachechi.

Produced by the Fondazione Musica per Roma, with project partnership from Codice Edizioni, the Rome Science Festival is promoted by Roma Capitale – Department of Culture, and organised in collaboration with INAF and INFN. Scientific partners include Bioparco di Roma, CMCC, CNR, ENEA, ESA, GARR, GSSI, Humanitas University, Human Technopole, IIT, INGV, ISPRA, Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science, and the Planetarium of Roma Capitale.

Visit the event website