ANCONA – The Passetto is the historic beach of the Ancona people. Here in the last century the Ancona fishermen dug caves inside the rocky cliff to store boats and fishing equipment. Every year the sports association Komaros Sub Ancona organizes at the beginning of the season the cleaning of the seabed in front of the beaches from Monte Cardeto to the Passetto swimming pool. The ASD Kòmaros Sub of Ancona was the first association, 19 years ago, to organize a cleaning of the seabed, an initiative later imitated by many other associations.
In recent years the Ancona club has also participated in the European DeFishGear project for the recovery of ghost nets present on the wrecks and shoals of Ancona. This year the initiative promoted by Kòmaros Sub of Ancona, had the patronage of the Municipality of Ancona and the Conero Park and was included in the “Clean Sea Life” network, a European Union project for cleaning the seabed. The event is aimed at all sea lovers and primarily at sports divers, the “Grottaroli” associations and those who frequent the Passetto cliffs.
Every diver or bather or nautical sports enthusiast should commit to keeping the sea and the seabed clean, as if they were their own home. Kòmaros Sub of Ancona, affiliated to FIPSAS, which is an environmental protection and civil protection association, organizes the “Seabed Cleaning – Passetto 2024” event again this year, an initiative to which the “Grottaroli del Passetto” Associations, the CAS diving clubs of Ancona and Monsub of Jesi, the Banca di Credito Cooperativo of Ancona and Falconara, and the Garbage Service have joined and collaborated. Some sport fishing associations affiliated with FIPSAS will also participate with their boats.
The event will take place Sunday 23 June starting at 9.30am. In case of rough seas the event will take place the following Sunday. The nautical assistance vehicles will gather in the stretch of sea in front of the Passetto steps. The volunteer divers, both in freediving and with scuba, arriving by nautical means will lower themselves into the sea, while those arriving on foot will gather at the “Il Valentino” bathing establishment and from there they will descend into the water to collect the many waste from the seabed accumulated, both due to human negligence and the winter storms that brought every type of waste transported by winds and currents to the shore. The caveroli will provide assistance with their boats and help in the recovery of bulky waste, while the operators of the Passetto bathing establishments will offer logistical support to the event.
All the collected material will be given to the Garbage Service company which will intervene with its own nautical vehicle for transport and disposal in landfill. It is the belief of all the participants that the Passetto should shine in all its beauty, be over time a meeting point for many Ancona residents and not only for summer swimming but also as a lounge and promenade by the sea, a venue for initiatives and events. It is not often that a city has such a beautiful corner as a gift from nature but it must be held dear and promoted more and more. The demonstration on Sunday 23 June aims to give an example to all citizens for the care of the territory and will be a powerful signal in this sense.
