Sunday, July 6, 2025 – Calasetta hosts the 5th TABARCHIN ROOTS FESTIVAL
Ràixe presents the fifth edition of the Tabarchin Roots Festival, taking place on Sunday, July 6 in Calasetta, on the Island of Sant’Antioco, in southwestern Sardinia.
About Ràixe
Ràixe has been active since September 2019 across Calasetta, the Sulcis area, and southern Sardinia. It is both a protector of the shared Tabarchin heritage and a dynamic cultural hub: collecting and digitizing memory materials, promoting cultural and musical events, book launches, round tables, and community encounters that celebrate and preserve Tabarchin identity and local traditions. Ràixe is also a gathering place—connecting people to their familial, social, and territorial roots.
Calasetta photo Credit Gianluca Bucci
Ràixe is a continually evolving digital archive and multimedia museum installation open to the public, featuring various contents in accessible formats. It aims to become a welcoming Creative Cultural Tourism Ecosystem for Tabarchin communities, dedicated to rediscovering and sharing their common roots (ràixe in Tabarchin language) among the five sister communities: Tabarka (Tunisia), Nueva Tabarca (Spain), Genoa Pegli, Carloforte, and Calasetta (Italy).
Ràixe is part of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ PNRR “Roots Tourism” project, under the Directorate General for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies. It has also been selected by the Ministry of Culture (MIC) for the Dicolab “Digital Culture” program, receiving 50 hours of annual training aimed at innovation and promotion of its archive.
Festival Theme – 2025 Edition
This year, the fifth edition of the RÀIXE D’@MARE FESTIVAL delves into another kind of root: the roots of the vine in our lives. Through stories of those who have “adopted” ancient, ungrafted (franc de pied) vineyards, the festival will explore:
- The economic development of viticulture
- How winemaking has evolved on the island in recent years
- The growth potential of the island’s wine sector and strategic paths forward
- Local winemaking practices and vinification at the source
- Sardinia’s economic identity (with a focus on wineries) within the European context
PROGRAM
Sunday, July 6, 2025 – 6:00 PM
Roundtable Discussion
Location: Ràixe – Digital Archive of Tabarchin Culture, Via Umberto 61, Calasetta
Hosted by: Marzia Varaldo – Chair of Coop Millepiedi and Director of the Ràixe Archive
Institutional greetings by the municipalities of Sant’Antioco, Calasetta, and Carloforte
Speakers:
- Luca Mercenaro – University of Sassari
Overview of Viticulture on the Island of Sant’Antioco - Andrea Vallebona – Italea Sardegna
Roots Tourism: Intertwining Lives and Territories - Walter Secci – L’Altra Sardegna Consortium
Experience-based Tourism for the Sulcis Archipelago - Ignazio Cirronis – Bio-District South Sardinia & Sulcis Archipelago
Organic Wine and the Transition to Sustainable Practices - Giuseppe Grosso – Terre Tabarchine Association
The Piedmontese Influence on the Development of Calasetta’s Viticulture
7:00 PM – Second Roundtable with Local Winemakers
Same venue: Ràixe, Via Umberto 61
Speakers:
- Luisa Camoglio – Physician and Winemaker, La Casa di Sophia
The Evolution of Viticulture on Sant’Antioco over Recent Decades - Paolo Balia – Winemaker, Andaras
Rediscovering the Roots and Values of Winemaking to Revitalize the Social and Economic Fabric - Ovidio Marongiu – Winemaker
Vermentino: The Island’s Rising Star
Carignano franc de pied in Calasetta. Photo credit Luisa Camoglio
8:00 PM – Experiential Workshop
Venue: Ràixe – Digital Space for Tabarchin Culture, Via Umberto 61
Italea Sardegna Workshop:
Hands-on preparation of Capunadda Calasettana, led by the Ancilla Domini Association and Mario Aste Bakery.
Presented by: Alessandra Guigoni – Food Anthropologist and Food & Wine Journalist
Followed by:
Tasting of Capunadda and local Tabarchin wines from the featured winemakers.
Facussa (Cucumis melo) a typical Tabarchin agrobiodiversity, an ingredient of Capunadda tabarchina Photo credit Agenzia Laore.
Free event – advance booking required at:
https://www.eventbrite.it/e/biglietti-laboratorio-enogastronomico-cappunada-di-calasetta-1444469409889?aff=oddttcreator
