Seagrass has other advantages as a carbon sink. For example, it is less likely to catch fire and immediately release large amounts of carbon back into the atmosphere. But it is vulnerable to other threats.Increased coastal erosion will make the water turbid and make it harder for people to survive Posidonia Carry out photosynthesis. A cruise ship breaking down can cause untold damage. Of course, bottom trawlers can destroy thousand-year-old grasslands in a matter of minutes.
José Miguel González Correa, a professor of marine sciences at Spain’s University of Alicante, said trawling causes the most damage to the plants themselves.But he said trawling could also easily damage the matte, causing “bacterial action to release carbon and increase CO22 Level”. Recovering Posidonia Grass can be a long process, he said. In one paper, he compared grasslands destroyed by trawlers with their healthy neighbors, estimating that they could take up to 100 years to fully recover. He concluded that conservation was better than restoration, and that creating anti-trawling reefs by sinking well-spaced obstacles like Paolo Fanciulli’s Casa dei Pesci sculpture was one of the simplest and most cost-effective methods of conservation. Posidonia.
Despite these Recent scientific research supports his approach; however, Fanciulli has never received any government funding. Indeed, he has been generally scathing of those in power, lambasting EU fisheries subsidies that he claims only encourage bad practices and lampooning local coastguards for their inability or unwillingness to enforce anti-bottom trawling laws. “They did nothing,” he said.
He said that in the 1990s, he was sometimes personally responsible for policing the waters off Talamone. “The Coast Guard always uses headlights on their boats, so what did I do? I put one on my boat,” he said with a laugh. “Think about it, you’re fishing illegally at three in the morning and you see a light coming towards you, what are you going to do? You’re going to run away.” And they do, he said, but they always come back —until he started sinking his statues. Casa dei Pesci has now put in place enough anti-trawling barriers to reach the Ombrone River from the port of Santo Stefano, a distance of about 20 nautical miles, or 37 kilometers, which means about 137 kilometers2 of Posidonia Grassland and fish habitat are now protected. “It’s small,” Fanciulli said. But it’s still remarkable considering the lack of any official support or funding.
“Everything we do here is done entirely with the funds and donations we raise,” Fanciulli said. In the early stages of the project, after sinking several concrete test blocks, he was lucky enough to meet the director of Michelangelo’s Cave, the quarry where the famous Florentine sculptor sourced his stones. “I asked him to give me two marbles. He gave me 100.”
Likewise, sculptors are friends of friends who donate their time for free. “Initially there were five main artists, but the project quickly grew,” explains artist Giorgio Butini, whose work now sits under the sea. A well-known sculptor from Florence, he typically expects to sell a work of his size for €50,000 to €60,000 ($49,500 to $59,500), but he’s happy to contribute several pieces.His latest work is called youth (or “Youth”), is the first in a planned three-part series called past, present, future Casa dei Pesci is currently crowdfunding to relocate further up the coast – because while the sculptors may be offering their time and tools for free, moving the sculptures doesn’t come cheap.
British sculptor Emily Young, arguably the best-known artist internationally, was introduced to Fanciulli because she owned a studio nearby. Initially, she was impressed by his energy and enthusiasm. “He was really focused, he was kind of heroic. I think he barely slept,” she said. But on an artistic level, she is also fascinated by the gallery’s long-term legacy and the message these sculptures will convey to future generations. “This is something I think about a lot in my work. When you work with stone, you leave something behind for the future,” she said. “We are profoundly changing the planet, and some of the things we are leaving behind are extremely destructive, but they can also be incredibly beautiful and poignant.”
She hopes, “By then, people won’t even know what these sculptures are. They will be covered in plants Posidonia— would be a sign that the project is working. In the short term, there’s no doubt her work has helped raise the profile of Fanciulli’s career. “I’ve gotten emails from people saying, ‘We’re going diving, can you tell us more about you?’ information about the sculpture so we know what we are looking at? ‘” said Yang. As more artworks were added to the gallery, word of the project spread. Most recently, outdoor apparel brand Patagonia credited Casa dei Pesci with satisfying its funders of high standards and was awarded a grant of 13,000 euros ($12,800). A German philanthropic foundation pledged a donation of 15,000 euros ($14,800). But most of the money still came from fundraising events run by Fanciulli himself.
Out of place On a warm Sunday in late October, Fanciulli was sweating profusely on his camouflage T-shirt as he cooked three barbecues simultaneously. Amberjack, dolphin fish and some red snapper caught the night before are being grilled fresh from the boat with a simple mix of salt and rosemary for a delicious three course meal for the 40 paying guests attending the fundraiser. in progress.
Despite being ably assisted in the kitchen by his wife, his daughter at the table, and a few friends, Fanciulli still seems to be doing everything — flipping fish, pouring wine, chatting with guests about his next project: a home octopus, created by Hand-painted composition of amphorae – narrow Roman jars with handles and pointed bases.The only time he stopped was to give a presentation and show photos of the damage Posidonia stems and bottom trawlers wreaking havoc. The guests sat at a long table and listened with rapt attention as he told them: “If you want to eat well, you have to protect the environment. It’s like a war.”
After lunch was over and the guests left, Fanciuli finally sat down. He admits that over the past 30 years, there have been times when he felt like he was fighting a lonely, losing battle. “I’ve been threatened by trawlers, I’ve been threatened by institutions, but I always tell the truth. For a long time, no one listened to me,” he said, but now, with local and international public opinion backing him, he The message seems to have finally been conveyed.
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