La Madonna del Mare

Anna Maria has been fishing since she was five years old. Today she is 83 years and the oldest Italian fisherwoman active. Born and raised in a village along the Adriatic coast, her family was one of many fishing families in the village. Her father taught her the traditions, art and the knowledge of fishing, and this tradition still holds a strong bond within her. Over the years, the village’s fishers moved on to other towns and harbors, but she continued to travel the same seas that have surrounded her a lifetime. Nowadays, she is known as “the bride of the sea” but she considers herself just a fisherwoman. The sea has changed, nevertheless her days are planned as always; in accordance to the fishing seasons and the flow of the tides. Her history is all in that tireless flow.