a half-smoked cigar protruding from his
lips, he explained that, during the day,
we’d be experiencing a number of
activities including diving, an obstacle
course, hand-to-hand combat and live
firing. Feeling a little queasy after the
drive (and, truth be told, a typically
indulgent Italian evening), I consoled
myself that at least we weren’t going to
be thrown from a plane.
First up, we were taken to the training
water tank, given wetsuits and Aqua-
Lungs and told to jump in. As the only
one with any experience of diving,
I was sent to the bottom of the
five-metre pool and shown how to
connect pipes and use a bolt
cutter; I was also guided
through the principles of
attaching limpet mines to
the hull of an enemy ship.
I think the others were
just pleased to survive.
Out of the water, we
were told to change into
military fatigues and move
outside in preparationWho
Dares
Swims
A
Panerai executives aren’t ones to shirk a challenge.
They’re even willing to spend a day training with Italy’s elite
military unit—the Navy Divers and Special Forces Command
By JONNY BEALBY Photographs by GREG FUNNELL
s the founder of one
of Britain’s leading
adventure travel
companies, I am no
stranger to
interesting
experiences. In the
past 12 months alone, I have cosied up
to lowland gorillas in the jungles of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, ridden
with gauchos across the Argentine
pampas and trekked through
mountains in the Hindu Kush.
But when asked to spend a day being
put through my paces by the Italian Navy’s
Special Forces, I paused. At the wrong
side of 50, was that really a good idea?
Rarely one to shirk a challenge, I
agreed of course, and a few weeks later
found myself in a minibus with a small
group of Panerai executives being
driven through the town of La Spezia
on Italy’s western coast.
Panerai has a long history with the
Italian military, designing and
manufacturing nautical instruments,
and in particular contact triggers formines and submersible navigation
tools. By the early 1930s, Panerai was
a leading contributor to Italy’s nascent
Special Forces.
As a natural harbour, La Spezia is
home to one of Italy’s main naval bases,
a large commercial shipyard and an
important industrial centre. Skirting the
harbour, we passed huge container
depots, warehouses and factories. On
the eastern side of the bay we entered
the zona militare, where we could look
down into a harbour bristling with
battleships, landing craft and Zodiac
assault launches. As we went
through the security checkpoint,
a grey military helicopter
swooped low over our heads.
This was the Italian Pearl
Harbour. I wondered if I’d
made the right decision.
This feeling was in no
way diminished on
meeting Warrant Officer
Zaia, our host for the day.
A huge bull of a man, with
hands like hams and68 VANITY FAIR ON TIME AUTUMN^2019