MERMAID FRANCESCA - La Casa delle Sirene
Menu principale:
Hello everybody! I'm Mermaid Francesca!
My name is Francesca Magnone, I’m a marine biologist with a specialization in marine mammals and marine wildlife recovery. I’m from Milan (Italy), but when I started to study dolphins for my last University Project about Socioechology of bottlenose dolphin I moved definitely to Sardinia Island where I live with my family.
In 2006 I opened a no profit association for the conservation of marine mammals (C.Ri.M.M. onlus) and in 2012 I opened
“Alpha Diving Center” in Golfo Aranci where I completed my training to become a Scuba Diver Instructor and now I carry on diving courses (recreational and professional), snorkeling and dolphin watching activities. President of no profit Sports Association "La Casa delle Sirene".
I got in touch with mermaiding activities in 2013, when in Golfo Aranci the “Mermaid” became a symbol of the city: the statue of a mermaid emerges twice a day from the water with traditional Sardinian music as a tribute to the Sardinian women.
In addition to this a mermaid and a merman made a show in the sea around the “MUMART” an underwater Modern Art Museum.
All that was a great inspiration for me and my dream came true when I bought my first beautiful lycra tail and I started to be a mermaid, swimming with my tail all year long (in the sea during summer and in the swimming pool in the coldest months).
I became a mermaid asking and talking about it with other mermaids, reading all what I could find on mermaiding activities, watching videos of the most popular performers in the world and trying to repeat all their tricks and training hard swimming with my tail. I took part at courses about respiration and free diving.
With other instructors, I have compared the mermaiding programs with programs of scuba, snorkeling and free diver courses. I found out the best way to create a license named “Mermaid Diver” which is a course for beginners an then other advanced courses, in safety and following worldwide rules and methods. Actually, mermaiding is a big part of my life. I can’t stop learning about this interesting activity and I’m planning to dedicate more and more of my time to it because it is now my primary activity. I believe in mermaiding so much that I cut my time for biology and diving creating my Italian project “La Casa delle Sirene”. Besides, it’s a healthy activity for me and helps me to live better also out of water.
“The Mermaid” is also a good charismatic example that can show people and especially children what happens in the sea and what we can do to preserve marine animals and their habitat (pollution, bycatch, overfishing, finning, etc.). During spring, I usually organize meetings on environmental education with schools and children to raise awareness on marine conservation with a specific project on the dangers of plastic waste in the sea.
I love the activity in the sea and not in the aquarium. My favorite part of mermaiding is swimming and snorkeling in the sea with my mermaid tail and children to observe the marine organisms and clear the water from plastic waste!
Mermaiding started like a hobby, but now is my principal activity. I became a mermaiding instructor and
I opened the first mermaid school in Italy
with a program certified from ESA (European Scuba Agency)
for recreational and professional courses.
I usually have mermaiding courses in my divining center (Alpha Diving Center) in Sardinia Island (Italy) during summer in the sea and in swimming pools during the coldest months.
We have different programs for adults and children.
I organize also "Mermaid Instructor Course" every month to give the oppurtunity at other people to become a certified ESA Mermaid Instructor and conduct courses in safety and with high level of quality, to increase the job-opportunities in swimming pool, diving center, fitness club, resort, etc.
Became a Professional Mermaid give a lot of job opportunity.
For example, besides teach like Mermaiding Instructor for mermaiding swimming courses, during summer I also work like a performer during a mermaid show in Golfo Aranci in the sea at “MUMART” an underwater Modern Art Museum where you can see the modern art operas and the mermaids’ show from a submarine. Another funny job like mermaid was a little participation in a movie!
I love mermaid tails. I have a lot in my school, some handmake by me and some of the best quality brend producer.
You can visit the "mermaid shop" in Sardinia or buy good products on line from the Alpha Diving website shop.
I have also a Silicon Mermaid Tail, I looked a lot for tails from all the producers in the world but at the end I designed my “perfect” tail by myself and “Mermaid Kat Shop” helped me to create it.
It’s green and yellow with glitters, dorsal fin, long pectoral fins, hip fins and a “original” shape on caudal fin...I love it!
If you want some suggest about mermaid tails, conctat me!
I don't have any "mermaid idols", I follow a lot of the most famous professional mermaids in the world, I like professional mermaids swimming in the open ocean and not in the aquarium. I like mermaids’ ocean activists, performing for charity projects and awareness to ocean and sea animals.
I created a pod called “La Casa delle Sirene POD” where people having courses with me can keep in touch with other mermaids and mermen to swim together and organize meetings and events. You can find us on Facebook!
In my bucket list, I hope to:
- Expand my mermaiding school and the “mermaid shop” in Italy where you can find good quality mermaid tails and accessories
- Give opportunity to other mermaids to work with us
- Meet other mermaids in workshops and events abroad
- Participate at other training courses with professional mermaids to learn more about different part of mermaiding
(modelling, performing, freediving, tails, etc.)
(modelling, performing, freediving, tails, etc.)
My next goal for the future is to find a sponsor that can help me to expand my mermaid school in Italy and to buy a “water box” where people staying out can see mermaid’s performances in. The “water box” can also be used like a “travelling swimming pool” where people and children can try to swim with mermaid tail, meeting and swimming with professional mermaids and participating to original workshops for schools interacting with mermaids about environmental diseases.
Finally, it can be used for events where the mermaid tails producer can show their new products.
Some tips for others who would like to turn into mermaids or mermen are:
Start to swim with professional mermaid instructors into mermaiding schools where you can learn swimming with tails, hold breath in safety and meet other people who share your passion.
Make or buy a good quality tail with good monofin inside and practice a lot with it in the sea and in the swimming pool always with a buddy.
Stay healthy, eat well, drink a lot of water and make a doctor visit once a year because mermaiding requires high cardiorespiratory effort.
When you swim be yourself, have fun, be creative and try to transmit your passion to others!
Don’t dream it, swim it!
Mermaid Francesca
Mermaid Instructor Trainer ESA - Prolevel Instructor ESA - Specialty Intructor ESA: ECO Diver, Hover, Deep, Deepext, NITROX, BLSD & OXYGEN FIRST AID Instructor, Lifeguard - MIP FIN, ESA APNEA LIFE STYLE (FREEDIVING)
- MERMAIDING COURSES
- DIVING and SNORKELING
- PROFESSIONAL COURSES to became: Mermaiding Instructor, Diving Instructor, Diving Guide, Snorkeling Guide.
- First Aid Courses BLSD and Oxygen First Aid Courses
- DOLPHIN WATCHING BOAT TOURS
- ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN AND SCHOOL
- MERMAIDI BIRTHDAY PARTY
- EVENTS WITH SILICON MERMAID TAILS
CONTACTS: fra@alphadiving.it +39 346 3509725
