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The Cala del Forte marina in Ventimiglia becomes the first official gateway to Europe for international yachting
Cala del Forte has become the first western border entry point in Liguria, and in Italy, for non-Schengen vessels and crews, a strategic location for regulating access to the Schengen area ensuring security checks and compliance with EU regulations.
“We are excited to announce that Cala del Forte is now officially a Schengen port - stated Anita Amalberti, business developer manager at Cala del Forte - this means that captains and crew members arriving from non-Schengen areas can now handle IN and OUT passport stamping directly in Ventimiglia. The on-site Police office is fully operational, with the first stamps already processed. In just a couple of months, the office will be fully integrated within our marina."
The Schengen area consists of 27 European countries that allow passage from one to another without checkpoints at their borders, thus allowing the free movement of persons, means of transport and goods throughout the area. Entry and exit between the Schengen area and third countries not part of this area are subject to external border controls at Schengen border entry points.
Welcome Anita!
Starting January 2024, Anita Amalberti has joined the Cala del Forte team as our newly appointed Business Development Manager.
With her father captaining a sailing yacht, Anita was born and raised in the world yachting, benefitting since birth from the international worldview only international parents can offer, her mother and father being respectively British and Italian. After completing her studies, Anita spent over 12 years working aboard a yacht then over 10 years ashore for a leading yacht agency maintaining public relations and providing technical assistance for superyachts. At Cala del Forte, Anita will be responsible for all aspects concerning the development of business relations, working side-by-side with Marina Manager Marco Cornacchia, upholding and improving key relationships with clients, owners, captains, superyacht brokers and industry professionals.
After signing the agreement, Anita had this to say: “this new experience as Business Development Manager at Cala del Forte Marina is a wonderful opportunity. I am thrilled to have joined the team and am ready to take on this new challenge and contribute what I can to further develop an already exceptional marina.”
Cala del Forte awarded a Blue Flag for 2023
The prestigious international certification is issued by the Foundation for Environmental Education to marinas who achieve the Blue Flag’s strict standards involving the respect for and management of environmental issues.
The news came directly from Rome where, at the headquarters of the Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (National Research Council), the ceremony was held to award the 2023 Blue Flags to the beaches and marinas that have demonstrated their compliance with the strict international criteria set out in the protocol for sustainable land management.
"We were immensely proud to hear the Foundation for Environmental Education has recognised our merit," stated Gian Battista Borea d'Olmo, Cala del Forte's CEO. "This is the outcome of the dedication that drives the Cala del Forte team, who strive to always be at the forefront of respecting and safeguarding the environment and concretely supporting the energy transition, all while passionately matching the highest standards of professionalism. In fact, we were among the first marinas to install a recharging station for electric boats, along with two recharging points dedicated to cars located in our car park, and we offer advantageous discounts for electric and hybrid boats."
We also provide a varied plethora of other green initiatives: among them, those that guarantee efficiency and energy savings such as the use of LED bulbs throughout the marina, closed facilities for sorted and special waste disposal, and the collection of black and grey water directly at the quay for superyachts. Finally, our pride and joy are the 582 parking spaces available in the harbour car park, which, together with the free lift service, which allows up to 11 people to be transported from the harbour to the historic town centre of Ventimiglia in just 40 seconds, significantly reduce local vehicle traffic. Cala del Forte is also located within the Cetacean Sanctuary, just on the edge of the Capo Mortola Marine Protection Area. This is yet another reason to uphold our daily commitment to environmental sustainability issues."
The Blue Flag is an international recognition, first established in 1987, the European Year of the Environment, and is awarded every year across 49 countries. The countries involved were initially solely European, however, more recently non-European countries have also been included. The Blue Flag benefits from the support and participation of the two UN agencies: UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) with which the FEE has signed a Global Partnership Protocol and been recognised by UNESCO as a world leader in the field of environmental education and education for sustainable development.
The Cala del Forte petrol station is now operational
Ventimiglia, 1st March: today marked the inauguration for the petrol station of Cala del Forte, the marina located on the coast of Ventimiglia. The station is managed by Servizio Mare srl, a specialised company that has operated in the bunkering sector since 1983.
The event saw the attendance of Gian Battista Borea d'Olmo, CEO of Cala del Forte, Massimo Calvi, CEO of Servizio Mare, Marco Cornacchia, Director of Cala del Forte, Dr Samuele De Lucia, Prefectural Commissioner of Ventimiglia municipality, Lieutenant Np Giovanni Larizza, Commander of the Ventimiglia Local Maritime Office.
In addition to supplying refuelling services, the new station, located in a strategic position at the entrance to the port, also offers customers tailored assistance in managing customs procedures for bunkering authorisation.
The opening of the refuelling station completes Cala del Forte's array of services made available to yachting enthusiasts and to the local area in general. These include the lift connecting the waterfront to the historic town centre of Ventimiglia Alta, the two Enel X fast-charging stations for electric cars, 588 parking spaces in the marina’s car parks, the Aqua superPower electric boat charging station, 5 restaurants, bars, a state-of-the-art gym, a ship chandler, and a variety of brokerage and yachting service providers.
Refuelling service opening dates and times from 1st March to 30th April 2023
on-call within 60 minutes: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9.00 am to noon and from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm
with staff in attendance: Saturdays from 9.00 am to 12 noon and from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm
Service will be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.
For further information and refuelling bookings please contact the following numbers:
Construction is underway at Cala del Forte to safeguard the Punta della Rocca coastline.
Ventimiglia, 19th October 2022: the off-shore tug MER PROVIDER (45.00 metres long and 14.00 wide - 4000 HP) arrived at Cala del Forte at 05:00 on Wednesday 19th October, towing a 90-metre long 30-metre wide barge. The barge itself is carrying 8.000 tonnes of boulders and inert stone material (limestone), the first of the loads that will be needed to complete the foundations of the coastal protection project at Punta della Rocca, commonly referred to as the 'banana' plan due to its unique shape. The ‘banana’ will also benefit Cala del Forte, safeguarding the marina in the event of south-westerly dangerous sea storms.
How the project will be constructed
The boulders are made of a notably hard and efficient type of limestone that has obtained the necessary quality and suitability certifications as required by the construction contract. Upon its arrival, the barge was positioned within the perimeter designated as the location of the coastal protection project’s foundations where, today, the boulders will gradually begin to be unloaded.
At the end of the second phase of unloading, scheduled for the last week of October, the positioning the reef foundation will be able to begin, to be carried out using a pontoon crane equipped with a bucket and a mechanical arm capable of operating underwater. In total, approximately 120,000 tonnes of boulders and stones will be used, two-thirds of which will come from quarries in the Trapani area, while boulders from local quarries (Bevera) will be used for the rest, constituting the above-water section of the reef, as required by landscape regulations.
Weather permitting, there will be a complete loading and unloading cycle of materials from Sicily every 10 days, while for the remaining local materials, loading and transport times will be much shorter.
Timeframe and dimensions
The schedule predicts the project to reach completion by April 2023, which will be followed by the necessary administrative authorisations. Upon completion, the coastal protection project will boast a total length of approximately 120 metres and a depth of between 7 and 8 metres. The base on the seabed will be more than 40 metres wide with a pyramid shape that reduces the width to approximately 26 metres towards the surface (mid-sea). The above-water part, which will be around 4 metres high, will feature a summit berm with a width of 5 to 9 metres.
An environmentally sustainable approach
The entire operation will only involve the placement of boulders made of inert material that vary in size and weight in relation to the project specifications, which will be followed scrupulously. For this reason, there will be no negative environmental impact, as the use of anything other than the planned boulders made of inert stone material, therefore of natural origin, is categorically excluded.
The project manager is engineer Stefano Puppo, who has a degree in hydraulic engineering and specialised in maritime hydraulics at the University of Genoa. Puppo has more than 40 years of direct experience in the field of the executive design of maritime and port constructions, including the final design and supervision over the construction of Cala del Forte itself, the consolidation work for Portosole, and the executive design and supervision over the construction of the 'Marina di San Lorenzo' port.
The entire coastal protection project was realised using the mathematical models of the Danish Hydraulic Institute, one of the world's most accredited hydraulic institutes with 50 years of experience in over 140 countries and a global network of offices across 30 countries.
The company that won the public tender for the construction of the coastal protection project is Ador.mare SrL, having operated on the market for three generations. The company is a leader in the construction of maritime projects for which it is SOA-certified for unlimited investments. The SOA is the mandatory certification required in order to take part in tenders relating to the execution of public construction contracts. The company regulates all production and operating processes in full accordance with the UNI EN ISO 9001 efficiency and quality management standards.
COAST PROTECTION WORK GETS THE OFFICIAL GO-AHEAD
30th July 2022: We are thrilled to announce that the Italian public administration has authorized the construction of a protection work close to the marina's entrance, dubbed 'banana' due to its unique shape (see the image above). The main purpose of this banana design will be to protect the cliff that overlooks the famous path to the Calandre beach passes from the steady erosion of the sea.
The ‘banana’ will also benefit Cala del Forte, safeguarding the marina in the event of south-westerly dangerous sea storms. Construction work will begin at the end of the Summer season (late September) and will be completed over the course of four months, weather permitting. Stay tuned👍.
CALA DEL FORTE: THE PUBLIC GARDENS OF ARE OFFICIALLY OPENED
From Saturday 30 July, the gardens of Cala del Forte are officially open to the public: over 15,000 square metres of greenery, olfactory trails and areas dedicated to the most diverse species (over 70) of plants, the rose garden dedicated to H.S.H. Princess Charlene, and the amphitheatre. The area is completely enclosed with free entry via four access points and includes a play area equipped for children. The closed-circuit camera control system is currently being set up.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER MILESTONE AT CALA DEL FORTE
Today, April 7th 2022, the CEO of Cala del Forte Gian Battista Borea d’Olmo, alongside the Mayor of Ventimiglia Mr. Gaetano Scullino, celebrated the inauguration of a cutting-edge vertical lift which, from this day forward, will provide a direct, fast and free of charge pedestrian connection between the Cala del Forte marina and the historic town centre of Ventimiglia Alta. It is now possible to reach the charming town centre in just 40 seconds.
The vertical lift, together with the 582 parking spaces at Cala del Forte, all of which are already fully operational and open to the public, opens up a new era for innovative mobility and hospitality in Ventimiglia.
By the way the Cala del Forte parking area offer two Enel X fast charging points for electric vehicles, both located within the ground-level carpark.
Moreover, boats owners and crews can already benefit from a direct transfer service to and from Monaco by sea thanks to the high-speed power catamaran Monaco One, which connects the two destinations in under 15 minutes.
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY AND WORLD-CLASS HOSPITALITY TAKE CENTRE STAGE THIS MONTH AS CALA DEL FORTE.
On March 30, 2022, two Enel X fast charging points for electric vehicles, both located within the ground-level carpark, are open and available to the public👍.
At the same time one AQUA superPower station, located at the head of the Cala del Forte’s main pier, the Molo d’Onore, is ready to provide power for both electric boats and cars.
On Thursday 7th April, the lift that directly connects Cala del Forte to the historical town centre of Ventimiglia Alta, will be officially opened.
