With over 7,000 km of coastline, it’s not surprising mussels are such a popular dish on Italian menus. While Mediterranean mussels are nowadays farmed in nets in the sea, there’s one little bay in the central Italian region of Marche where ancient traditions remain.
Just south of the city of Ancona, Portonovo’s a unique place where the fishermen are still licensed to dive for and hand-harvest wild mussels growing on the reef. They call their mussels by the local dialect word: “moscioli”.
You only need a scuba-diving qualification and a medical certificate from the port doctor to become a mosciolo diver. Nevertheless, the tradition’s at risk of disappearing and it’s not because supplies are running out, as I discovered when I went to meet some of Portonovo’s fishermen.
Broadcast on Radio DW, 17 May 2012
Broadcast on Outlook, BBC World Service, 26th July 2012
https://www.dw.com/en/italys-dying-breed-of-wild-mussel-divers/audio-15956397