The awards we receive normally belong to those who are honored.
The awards we receive normally belong to those who are honored. But this one tells a larger story, made up of people, places and visions that transcend time.
This is the deeper meaning of the SDF–Clara Rametta Award – Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio, presented to chef Martina Caruso as part of the 20th edition of SalinaDocFest, the international documentary film festival that returns to Salina from July 8 to 12, bringing cinema, culture and opportunities for dialogue to the island.
For Martina, chef at Ristorante Signum, the award carries an even deeper meaning because it bears the name of her mother, Clara Rametta, who founded Signum together with Michele Caruso and left a profound mark on the island’s cultural and social life.
The award is presented by Regional Councillor for Agriculture Luca Sammartino. The citation recognizes Martina for “her ability to combine entrepreneurial excellence, innovation and the enhancement of local identity, transforming the gastronomic tradition of the Aeolian Islands into a cultural heritage recognized internationally. A professional commitment and entrepreneurial vision that have helped promote Sicily as a place of culture, hospitality and sustainability, embodying the connection between business and culture that this award seeks to celebrate.”
These words describe a journey built without ever moving away from Salina.
In Martina Caruso’s kitchen, which holds a Michelin star, the island is not simply a geographical origin. It is material, memory and inspiration. The local catch, wild herbs, citrus fruits, tomatoes, ricotta and the scents of the Mediterranean maquis become the elements of a contemporary language that remains deeply connected to its roots.
And it is precisely here that the award ideally reconnects with Clara.
Her vision accompanied the birth and growth of Signum, but it also found expression through her constant commitment to culture. As Mayor of Malfa and a cultural promoter, Clara Rametta helped imagine an island capable of opening itself to new forms of expression and new opportunities for dialogue. Palazzo Marchetti, today one of the venues hosting SalinaDocFest, is part of this legacy.
The connection between Signum and the festival goes back a long way. The hotel has been a partner of SalinaDocFest since its very first edition and lends its name to the Audience Award, presented each year to the documentary chosen by viewers. Over time, this presence has become an expression of a shared vision: considering culture an integral part of island life.
“SalinaDocFest is a virtuous example of how culture can generate value, social cohesion and development for local communities,” says Carlo Fontana, President of Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio, highlighting the importance of supporting those entrepreneurial ventures which, through talent, innovation and vision, help promote Italian identity around the world.
It is from this same idea that the SDF–Clara Rametta Award – Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio was born: to recognize women and men who, through their work, embody the relationship between culture, business and territory. Naming the award after Clara Rametta pays tribute to a woman and entrepreneur who left a profound mark on the community of Salina, making civic participation and her love for the island an essential part of her commitment.
An additional connection between cinema and gastronomy comes through La Quinta Stagione by Giuseppe Carrieri, presented at the festival in the presence of producer Valeria Jovinelli, founder in Milan in 2000 of L’Arte del Convivio, where young people with difficult backgrounds train to become chefs.
In the documentary, the voice of Isabella Ragonese accompanies the stories of five leading women in Italian cuisine, including Martina Caruso. Before the camera, they share their professional choices, culinary philosophy, flavors, journeys, memories, relationship with time and vision of the future. Five paths that also reveal how these women have succeeded in establishing their own identities in a highly competitive world that has traditionally been dominated by men.
But during the days of SalinaDocFest, Martina’s cooking also leaves the restaurant. The chef cooks for the island’s Maghrebi community, turning food into an opportunity for encounters between people and cultures.
A gesture that restores to cooking one of its most authentic dimensions: sharing.
The award dedicated to Clara Rametta therefore takes on a meaning that goes far beyond personal recognition. It brings together two generations and two deeply connected ways of telling the story of Salina: Clara’s vision, which saw culture as a tool for growth and openness, and Martina’s, which through cuisine continues to carry the island’s identity beyond its shores.
At the center stands Signum, the place where this legacy continues to evolve and take on new forms.
Because some visions belong to a generation. And others, passed from one generation to the next, continue to imagine the future.
