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Rosamarina

PAT · Fish and seafood · Calabria

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In brief

History and origin

Rosamarina is one of Calabria's best-known seafood preserves. ARSAC, the regional agricultural development agency, names it together with Crotone's salted sardella among the Calabrian traditional products known beyond the region and abroad: both are preserves of blue-fish fry with hot chilli. In the national list of traditional products the two appear as separate entries.

The dialect name recorded by the regional file is sardella, and the Region's own tourism portal uses the two names almost as synonyms, along with the nicknames Calabrian caviar and fish 'nduja. According to the portal, the origins of this preparation may go back to the Roman garum, the fermented fish sauce of antiquity.

The regional record documents a long tradition: the recipe appears in Calabrian cookery books, and a firm in Amantea, on the Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza province, has been making rosamarina since 1947.

Sources: ARSAC Regione Calabria — DOP, IGP e PAT della Calabria (opuscolo) · Regione Calabria — Schede PAT: preparazioni di pesci, molluschi e crostacei (scheda Rosamarina) · Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — La Sardella crotonese, una storia di mare e bontà · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)

Area and method of production

The Calabria Region's record gives the provinces of Cosenza and Catanzaro as the production area. The raw material is newborn sardine or anchovy fry, with salt and red chilli added; wild fennel is sometimes included too. The working season runs from March to June, and all the work is done by hand.

As soon as they are landed, the tiny fish are washed in fresh water and spread on a work surface, usually marble. Salt and chilli, mild or hot as preferred, are added and everything is mixed by hand. The mixture is then left to drain for about two days to lose the excess salt.

At this point the rosamarina goes into large glass containers, where it matures naturally. Maturing takes place in cold rooms at 6-7 degrees, under weights, for six months to a year. When it is sold, the paste is stirred again and packed, depending on the case, in sealed glass jars or clear tubs.

Sources: Regione Calabria — Schede PAT: preparazioni di pesci, molluschi e crostacei (scheda Rosamarina)

How to recognise it

Rosamarina is a dense, even paste, bright red because of the chilli. It can be hot or only mildly hot, depending on the chilli chosen, while the aroma is strong and intense, typical of blue fish matured under salt.

In the traditional pack described by the regional record it weighs about half a kilo, in sealed glass jars or clear plastic tubs, so the colour stays clearly visible.

The regional tourism portal, speaking of the Crotone sardella, explains that the long maturing turns fish and chilli into a spicy, savoury cream. The fish is used while the bone is still very soft, just born: hence the dialect name nunnata, meaning newborn.

Sources: Regione Calabria — Schede PAT: preparazioni di pesci, molluschi e crostacei (scheda Rosamarina) · Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — La Sardella crotonese, una storia di mare e bontà

In the kitchen

The simplest way to enjoy rosamarina is to spread it just as it is on fresh bread or bruschetta: a ready-made starter that in Calabria is found in every season. The regional tourism portal describes it as a cream that can also be thinned and used as a dressing for pasta dishes and starters.

Its character comes from the chilli and from fish left to mature for months: this is why the regional record distinguishes hot and mildly hot versions, depending on the chilli used in the paste.

In the restaurants along the Crotone seafront, sardella, a close relative of rosamarina, appears both in traditional recipes and in more modern, creative versions. At markets and fishmongers it is bought over the counter, in the jars or tubs in which it is packed.

Sources: Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — La Sardella crotonese, una storia di mare e bontà · Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — Piatti tipici calabresi a base di pesce · Regione Calabria — Schede PAT: preparazioni di pesci, molluschi e crostacei (scheda Rosamarina)

Where to taste it

The regional record ties rosamarina to the provinces of Cosenza and Catanzaro, while sardella has its capital in Crotone. The regional tourism portal lists among the places of this tradition the coastal villages of the Alto Ionio cosentino, Cariati, Cirò Marina and above all Crucoli, known as the sardella village.

In Crucoli, a medieval village overlooking the Costa dei Saraceni, sardella stars in a festival held without a break since 1970, on the second Sunday of August, with tastings, exhibitions and music. The Norman castle dominates the top of the village; heading down to the sea you find the Manipuglia sanctuary and the watchtower of Torretta di Crucoli, with the beach at its foot.

In Crotone, look for it in the neighbourhood markets, at the fish market and in the seafront restaurants, then take a walk through the city's historic centre.

Sources: Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — La Sardella crotonese, una storia di mare e bontà · Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — Piatti tipici calabresi a base di pesce · Regione Calabria — Schede PAT: preparazioni di pesci, molluschi e crostacei (scheda Rosamarina) · Calabria Straordinaria (Regione Calabria) — Crucoli, il paese della prelibata sardella

Protection

When

Where

Calabria