I am an anthropologist and food geographer, researcher at the University of Pisa (PAGE – Food and Rural Studies for Sustainability), consultant for CGIAR, and associate researcher at UMR Innovation (France). I hold a joint PhD in Geography and Spatial Planning (University of Montpellier 3 / Montpellier SupAgro) and in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science (University of Catania) through the Erasmus Mundus AgTraIn programme, and an MA in Anthropology of Food from SOAS, London.

My research focuses on the development and sustainability of food systems, including the qualification of products and territories. I study the role of social innovation in organic and local food systems, the integration of cultural biodiversity into Geographical Indications, and the implementation of ecological transitions through living labs and innovative knowledge systems.

KEY RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Sustainable and localized food systems, including grassroots movements, Geographical Indications, Slow Food, and gastronomic tourism
• Social innovation in organic farming and participatory approaches (Living Labs, multi-actor networks)
• Biodiversity conservation, rural development, and ecological transitions
• Cheese systems, particularly mountain and raw-milk cheeses: combining sociocultural and microbiological perspectives
• Food education, health governance, and intercultural dynamics

CORE COMPETENCIES

Research

• Qualitative research methods
• Participatory research and facilitation in multi-actor settings (Living Labs, stakeholder networks)
• Analysis of Mediterranean and Latin American food heritage and local agri-food systems
• Integration of cultural biodiversity into food quality schemes (Geographical Indications, Slow Food)

Consulting & Applied Work

• Design, development, and evaluation of rural development and gastronomic projects (e.g., origin labelling, gastronomic tourism)
• Capacity building for public institutions and producer associations in GI governance
• Quality assurance for international agricultural research organizations

CURRENT EU-FUNDED PROJECTS

InnOBreed– Exploring the transformative potential of social innovation in organic fruit breeding and agrobiodiversity

AGROFIG– Revitalizing agroforestry in the Mediterranean for climate-resilient and sustainable land use

See the list of all projects the group is involved in here

SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Carimentrand, A. , Mariani, M., & Pick, B. (2025). Les labels Indications Géographiques, Fairtrade et sentinelle Slow Food: des démarches collectives de progrès pour des régimes alimentaires sains et durables. In F. Girard & É. Lambert (Eds.), Droit et systèmes alimentaires sains et durables. UGA Éditions. https://doi.org/10.4000/14lul
• Mariani, M., Cerdan, C., & Peri, I. (2022). Cultural biodiversity unpacked, separating discourse from practice. Agriculture and Human Values, 39(2), 773–789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10286-y
• Mariani, M., Cerdan, C., & Peri, I. (2021). Origin food schemes and the paradox of reducing diversity to defend it. Sociologia Ruralis. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12330
• Mariani, M., Casabianca, F., & Peri, I. (2021). Protecting Food Cultural Biodiversity: From Theory to Practice. Challenging the Geographical Indications and the Slow Food Models. Sustainability, 13(9), 5265. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095265

Check out my other publications below: