From the field to the future: agri-food reinvents itself at Maker Faire Rome 2025

Once a year, there is a place where the past and future of the agri-food supply chain come together under the same sky. From 17 to 19 October 2025, the Ostiense Gasometer will become an open-air laboratory where agricultural tradition, scientific innovation and food technology interact, influence each other and transform into real solutions. This is the Agrofood Maker area of Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition, where food meets artificial intelligence, fermentation is accelerated by ultrasound and agricultural waste is turned into paper.

A smart agricultural ecosystem

At Maker Faire Rome 2025, agri-food is not just a theme: it is a complex ecosystem that takes shape thanks to the contribution of research institutions, universities, start-ups and companies operating in the fields of biotechnology, sustainability, energy and health.

Among the protagonists are CREA, ENEA, CNR and Sapienza University of Rome, alongside innovative businesses that have brought concrete solutions that can be touched and felt. The area is completed by a talk space with a calendar of meetings, in-depth discussions and direct dialogues with the protagonists of innovation.

the Light on Food project – CNR

Cultivating ideas, nurturing the future

Each project describes a different approach to transforming the agri-food sector:

• SWITCH DIET: food becomes a tool for ecological and cultural transition. Roman tradition and the Mediterranean diet are reinterpreted in terms of health and sustainability.
• Demetra Project – ENEA: a “green and smart” food system based on aquaponics to produce food with high nutritional value, integrating vegetables and fish resources.
• ReVita – We Are Bi-Rex: paper made from agri-food industry waste. Tomato skins and beer draff become fibre and message.
• SmartGustent – Simply SFA: artificial intelligence supports the sensory analysis of food, without replacing human judgement but enhancing its effectiveness.
• Yeastime: ultrasound-guided fermentation reduces production times and costs, restoring value even to small producers.
• Light on Food – CNR: hyperspectral chambers to read food quality through light. A technology that could transform food labelling into a visual experience.

Technologies that speak the language of taste

The integration between AI and the food supply chain is one of the main themes of the event. One example is Azzurra, the digital avatar of Italian cuisine, which recounts recipes, ingredients and traditions via an interactive totem with artificial intelligence. It is an educational and narrative tool that promotes food culture in an accessible and engaging way.

From the earth to the table, via data

What links every project in the Agrofood area is the ability to interpret agricultural data as if it were a new type of seed. Some use AI models to improve crops (Terravionics), others to rethink urban production processes (CITERA – Sapienza), and still others to create customised foods with 3D printers (G&A Engineering).

Agriculture that tells its own story

During the three days of the event, the talk space will host technical and informative presentations, stories from entrepreneurs, researchers and makers who are building a future in which food is more than just nutrition: it is applied innovation, intelligent design and environmental awareness.

Maker Faire Rome 2025 is an opportunity to experience first-hand the evolution of the agri-food sector: not a utopian conference, but prototypes, data, algorithms and ingredients that are entering real life.

📍 See you from 17 to 19 October at the Gazometro Ostiense
🔎 Consult the exhibitor catalogue to discover all the agri-food projects

🎫 Buy your ticket now for Maker Faire Rome 2025