San Vero Milis remembers Monica and Giorgia, who died while diving in the Maldives.

"Everywhere, tears. But I couldn't pass up returning to our favorite place, where we spent holidays for 25 years. Of course, being here alone isn't easy. The affection I'm receiving these days, however, is enormous, magical, extraordinary, and unexpected." And tomorrow there will be mass.

The affection

Carlo Sommacal, husband of marine biologist and university professor Monica Montefalcone, and father of Giorgia, who tragically died last May while diving in the caves of the Vaavu Atoll in the Maldives, struggles to pronounce these words. Carlo Sommacal arrived just a few days ago in the seaside village of Mandriola, in the San Vero Milis area, where he had always spent holidays with his family. Every place, every beach, and even the smell of the sea remind him of his wife and daughter. "Since I arrived, I've been trying to revisit all the places I used to visit with Monica," he says. "What has moved me is everyone's affection, both from our longtime friends who live here and from those who didn't know me. Those who meet me ask how I'm doing, show me affection, and offer me kind and sweet words. This helps me cope with grief even better. I struggle to eat alone at home because everyone invites me to be together and remember those who are no longer with us." Carlo Sommacal hasn't yet made it to Capo Mannu: "I won't go alone, I don't know how I'll react. It was Monica's favorite place, which she would rush to. Here she would recharge, relax, and become even more beautiful, she shone. Like my daughter. They were my princesses, my mermaids."

The mass

Meanwhile, tomorrow, all of Mandriola will pause to remember Monica and Giorgia. Lifelong friends of the Sommacal family have organized the celebration in the small church of San Lorenzo. A large photo of Monica and Giorgia together in their inseparable wetsuits will welcome the faithful. The celebration will begin at 9:30.

The ashes

Carlo Sommacal will remain in Mandriola until the end of August, but will return in October to fulfill his wife's wish: to scatter her ashes in the waters of Capo Mannu. "Monica was so in love with this place that for years she said she would move there permanently once she retired. She also said that, after cremation, she wanted to rest forever at sea, even though she was Catholic. And so it will be. I can't help but do what she told me every time she saw that beach. I have to wait until October because it's not possible before then; a port authority order allows it."