Marine Science is open to the public in Fano

Fano (PU) – FAI – Italian Environment Fund – is a national non-profit foundation that, since 1975, has preserved, restored and opened to the public important certificates of Italian artistic and natural heritage. Today the FAI manages and preserves the life of more than 70 castles, villas, historical parks, natural areas and landscapes of unspoiled beauty, 55 of which have already been opened to the public after careful restoration.

The FAI works throughout the Italian territory also thanks to a dense network of volunteers organized in more than a hundred local delegations that work concretely to promote a culture of respect for nature, art, history and Italian traditions to protect the heritage of which it is an essential part. Our roots and identity.

Action for the environment and climate change

In recent years, the FAI has strengthened its commitment to the environment and launched awareness campaigns on the topic of soil #saveilsuolo, water #salvalacqua and on the very pressing issue of climate change: #faiperilclima. A new social and economic agreement (the Blue Deal) allows us to address deficiencies in national infrastructure, the impacts of global climate change and integrated management between different uses of water, so as to stimulate virtuous cycles of saving, recovery and recycling.

The extraordinary diversity of FAI’s origins, from the Alps to Sardinia, from pastures to wetlands, from the Olivetti store in Venice’s Piazza San Marco to the Colimpithra Garden in Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples, allows us to delve into the different influences. Climate change that threatens natural ecosystems, biodiversity and traditional crops, but also urban landscapes and historical monuments based on the concrete experience of the work that FAI carries out daily on its properties where the environmental crisis is tangible. Proof of this is the recent storm that hit Milan on July 25 and caused serious damage to Villa Niki, the overflow of the Tessio stream in the Bosco di San Francesco plain in Assisi or the collapsed cliff in the Villa Gregoriana park in Tivoli.

It is no longer a storm in itself, but rather a succession of what are now known as “climate lashes”, which are extreme and recurring events of a different and destructive nature that must be addressed by taking appropriate measures, focusing on mitigation and adaptation but also on knowledge because knowledge is the first step to action. .

Because of this strong sensitivity of the FAI to climate problems, it is particularly important that this year during the autumn days of the FAI, the Fano Marine Center is opened to the public, a center of excellence in scientific research at sea, also involved in monitoring its health condition, especially in the Adriatic Sea.

“It is a unique and very interesting opportunity – said Anna Cicoli, President of the FAI Group in Fano – the opportunity given to us by the Scientific Committee, for which we sincerely thank, to introduce citizens to the activities of the Fano Marine Center. Ongoing projects will be told by champions who will demonstrate research on marine biodiversity. and environmental monitoring, and they will explain why the Adriatic Sea can be considered a true nursery for many marine species and why it is a tremendous indicator of human impacts. Climate activities and changes have their impact on the marine environment and therefore on our lives.

Fano Marine Centre: Marine Science

The Fano Marine Center (FMC) is a joint research laboratory and national and international center of excellence for the study of marine biodiversity, resources and biotechnology. The Center was born as a result of the agreement signed in 2019 between the University of Bologna, the Carlo Bo University of Urbino, the Polytechnic University of Marche, the Anton Dorn Zoological Station of Naples, the National Research Council and the Municipality of Fano. The high qualifications of the participating professionals allow us to carry out research activity at the highest level capable of cooperating with other important international entities. The Center is also one of the most important scientific educational centers in the Adriatic region and annually welcomes many students from all over Italy for doctoral activities.

There are many research fields in which researchers are engaged: from marine biology and ecology, to the study of the genome of marine organisms, from aquaculture to medicines derived from marine microorganisms, from citizen science to the bioremediation of marine sediments and matrices, from the study of biomineralization mechanisms. Marine, technological and biotechnological applications of vital minerals.

The building housing the centre, designed by architects Cilio Francione and Mariano Cantarini in 1989, presents itself as a container with an easily recognizable image that is deliberately different from the neighboring buildings. The distinctive element is the interior gallery that crosses diagonally the entire volume of the laboratories and creates a telescopic perspective in which the sea visually becomes the protagonist of the activities taking place in the interior spaces.

The headquarters of the Fano Marine Center are located in the first two levels of the building, which maintains the upper floors for the activities of the Marine Biology and Fisheries Laboratory directed, according to ancient tradition, to the study of fish stocks. Starting in 2024, an expansion of laboratories and office space will be planned, the Maritime Museum will be completed and an aquarium will be created to reproduce the environments of the Adriatic Sea.

What you will discover during your visit

The opening of the Center during the Autumn Days organized by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FAI) represents a unique opportunity to learn about ongoing scientific studies aimed at understanding and protecting our sea. Accompanied by researchers, you will be able to discover how water, sediments and sea organisms are sampled and visit new scientific laboratories, where the collected samples are analyzed from multiple aspects, from biological and environmental to chemical and molecular.

An important contribution to the research activity of the Fano Marine Center, which will be demonstrated on the visit, is the oceanographic buoy Fortunae that was placed a year ago off the coast of Fano, thanks to the commitment of the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Fano. Marche Polytechnic University and IRBIM-CNR.

It is a real sentinel of the sea that detects key environmental parameters and provides data online in real time. Thanks to films and images acquired by the oceanographic buoy, researchers at the Fano Marine Center have a valuable monitoring system that provides basic environmental parameters for studying the sea. The buoy, about 6 meters long, represents a unique example of a fully autonomous marine laboratory, powered by solar energy and connected to the outside world using a cellular router.

Equipped with an array of meteorological sensors, organized like a weather station, the buoy allows you to obtain weather observations directly at sea where coverage is generally lower. On the other hand, submerged sensors provide measurements of temperature, salinity and oxygen, as well as other essential parameters for monitoring sea conditions and identifying potential critical issues. Finally, the buoy is equipped with a sensor to measure wave movement. All this data is available in almost real time, https://fanomarinecenter.eu/it/ricerca/boa-meteo-marinaThey can be used for scientific purposes and for anyone conducting activities at sea.

Entry and access methods

Visits, approx 30 minutesfor groups of 10 people At most, the following times will be followed:

Saturday 14 October and Sunday 15, from 3pm to 6.30pm Only for FAI members Without reservation

Registration can also be done on site, at the FAI’s welcome table, and enjoy a €10 lower discount on each type of fee.