“You can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)…
Under my umbrella”…

• Padi Master Instructor
• Nitrox Advanced Trainer IATD
• Dan Oxygen Instructor
• Proffessional Skipper
• Boat Engineer

Tonino’s early years were spent in Calabria in Southern Italy during the post-war economic crisis. As a young teenager, Tonino learnt to free-dive in order to catch fish to help feed his family. He came up with an ingenious invention to help him and customised an old umbrella transforming it into a sort of harpoon which he used when he freedived to the sandy bottom to spear the Triglia (mullet) fish that lived there!

Tonino’s family moved to Rapallo in 1963 and he started diving in 1972 and hasn’t stopped since. He qualified with F.I.P.S in 1978 and is this year being honoured by PADI for 25 years as a PADI instructor.

Tonino has been a large part of DWS for many years and we are very proud to have him at the heart of DWS as an integral part of our team. Tonino is a veteran of the Marine Park having reached over 5000 dives mostly in the AMP so he knows every rock and crevice! As you can imagine this makes him a wonderful guide!

Tonino’s favourite dive is “La Grotta Dei Gamberi” (The Cavern of the Shrimps) because of its abundance of pelagic animals like the tuna, big groupers and dentix. He also loves the smaller animals – this dive is called after the massive families of white shrimps which live here. In front of the cave is a mountain which goes from 30 metres down to to 45 covered with beautiful red coral and violet sea fan encrusted with eggs from the Gattucio di Mare (spotted catshark).

Tonino recommends ‘Il Tipico’ in Bogliasco (first village before Genoa as you leave Santa Margherita , leave the highway at Nervi). The owner is his close friend. The sea food is fantastic but also many tasty Ligurian specialities.

Finally, not to be missed! Between Rapallo and Zoagli there is a little bay with a favourite restaurant of Tonino’s right in front of the sea…it is called “Ristorante da Tonino”