Their wish was to rest forever at Capo Mannu, that paradise they loved so much, where they had always spent their holidays: it was their favorite place. And so it was. Yesterday morning, from a dinghy that left very early from Mandriola, the ashes of Monica Montefalcone, marine biologist and university professor, and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, who tragically died last May during a fatal dive in the caves of the Vaavu Atoll in the Maldives, were scattered into the sea. It was an intense and moving moment.

Monica Montefalcone, a diving expert and leader of some of the most important projects for the protection of marine environments, had a special relationship with the seaside villages of San Vero Milis. Since she was a child, she spent her summer holidays in Mandriola and over the years developed deep bonds with the locals. Between swims and walks, she expressed her wish to rest forever in the sea after her cremation. Her husband, Carlo Sommacal, also announced his wife's wish in the aftermath of her tragic passing. However, they had to wait for the period established by regional regulations for the release of her ashes into the sea. "Those were intense moments. Now the sea they loved will cradle and protect them forever," says Carlo Sommacal, who, after saying goodbye to his wife and daughter for the last time, immediately left for Genoa, where he lives.

The dinghy departed from the Mandriola dock at seven in the morning. On board, in addition to her husband Carlo and son Matteo, were several friends and family members. "It was like a second funeral ," says Gianni Lutzu, a longtime friend of the Sommacal family and resident of San Vero Milis. "Everything took place in absolute silence, from departure to return. Another blow to the heart."

Monica Montefalcone's friends intend to remember her with a special dedication to be engraved on a sandstone stone at Capo Mannu, where she loved to run early in the morning when she was on vacation.

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