International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees By Country (Italy)

He was born in Palermo, on the beautiful island of Sicily, but he grew up in Syracuse, where he began learning to swim at the age of six. Sandro, as he is affectionately known, was afraid at first, but the more time he spent in the water, the more confident he became, and he soon came to love it. At the same time, he also loved football and trained seriously in both sports.

He was born in Roma, Italy and as a youth he loved sports, especially basketball, swimming and water polo. Aquatics won out over basketball, and Bartolo Consolo has spent the last 40+ years dedicating his life and his free time to FINA and all its aquatic disciplines.

He started in water polo with the Rowing Club of Naples, moved up to the famed Club Posillipo and became one of the most important players in Neopolitan and Italian water polo history. When he joined the national team in 1992, Italy hadn’t won a gold medal in water polo since 1960 and finished a distant sixth in the 1991 World Championships. But it did have Ratko Rudic, the gruff disciplinarian who coached Yugoslavia to its Olympic championships in 1984 and 1988.

Considered a coaching genius, Alberto Castagnetti was a “wizard of swimming” who made the Italian colors shine on the world stage. But he did not do magic. The reality was that he obtained magnificent results through hard work and unsurpassed professionalism. These were the talents that allowed him to write his name on the greatest chapter of Italian swimming history.

Domenico Fioravanti was born in Novara, Italy on the 31st of May, 1977. He started to swim competitively at the age of nine. One year later, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Massimiliano, he began training daily.

For the first time in history, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognizing a father and son as one, jointly in the same year. This honor goes to three-time Olympic water polo playersGiuseppe and Marco D’Altruiof Italy.

For the first time in history, the International Swimming Hall of Fame is recognizing a father and son as one, jointly in the same year. This honor goes to three-time Olympic water polo players Giuseppe and Marco D’Altrui of Italy.

Gianni Lonzi was born in Florence, Italy, in 1938, just steps away from the famous swimming club, Rari Nantes Firenze. On his first visit to the club, the legendary water polo figure Giordano Goggiolithrew him into the River Arno, saying: “Now you have to swim.”