27 Metres Under the Tyrrhenian Sea

Europe's last fatal shark attack

Gordiano Lupi,

Off the coast of Italy, Luciano Costanza pumped his flippers towards the support boat — a six-metre Great White Shark was in quick pursuit. From the edge of the nearby fishing vessel his son could only watch on as his father was grabbed in a violent surface charge.

The shark took one, single, vicious bite. The body of the 46-year-old spearfisher was . His death remains a terrifying reminder of nature’s ruthless potential.

Tuscany, Italy, 1989

The blazing sun charged fields of jellyfish while warm salty air crackled the pages of the local rag — La Nazione. Behind guardrails on switchback mountain roads, pricky pears were ripening to crimson.

I was four years old and had arrived on holiday.

Me, aged 6 on Elba — Photo courtesy of the author who retains all copywrite

In the 1980s, driving 1000 miles in a boxy Renault Espace was a hit-and-miss affair. With no sat-nav or air conditioning, my dad motored from the UK to Elba, an idyllic Italian island off the coast of Tuscany. This was a long, hot, mess of a journey, broken up by channel ferries and Carrefour supermarkets. The accompanying…