Enzo Maiorca
Enzo Maiorca (21 June 1931 – 13 November 2016) was an Italian free diver who held several world freediving records. Born Vincenzo Maiorca on 21 June 1931 in Syracuse, Sicily, he died on 13 November 2016 in the same city.
Also recorded as Enzo Majorca · Vincenzo Maiorca
Enzo Maiorca

ANSA. The original uploader was Danyele at Italian Wikipedia. · Public domain
- Nationality
- Italian
- Born
- 21 June 1931
- Birthplace
- Syracuse, Kingdom of Italy
- Died
- 13 November 2016
- Place of death
- Syracuse, Italy
- Occupation
- freediver, politician, writer and competitive diver.
- Fields
- Senate of the Republic.
- Honours
- Star to sports merit and gold medal for athletic prowess.
- Languages
- Italian.
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Documentary summary
Enzo Maiorca (21 June 1931 – 13 November 2016) was an Italian free diver who held several world freediving records. Born Vincenzo Maiorca on 21 June 1931 in Syracuse, Sicily, he died on 13 November 2016 in the same city.
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Note VALÉORINE
Enzo Maiorca (1931–2016) was an Italian and Italian competitive diver, freediver and politician, among other activities. The competitive diver was born and died in Syracuse.
Enzo Maiorca was a member of freemasonry and held the position of member of the Senate of the Italian Republic. The competitive diver was active in Senate of the Republic.
Languages used include Italian. Enzo Maiorca received gold medal for athletic prowess and Star to sports merit.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q736414 · wikipedia · Enzo Maiorca
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is Italian. The field of work recorded is Senate of the Republic. Positions recorded include member of the Senate of the Italian Republic. Distinctions recorded are Star to sports merit and gold medal for athletic prowess.

Enzo Maiorca
Corriere

Faro Plemmirio
Kevin Saragozza
Key facts
Key facts
• Nationality — Italian • Sport — Freediving • Born — 21 June 1931 • Birthplace — Syracuse, Kingdom of Italy • Died — 13 November 2016 • Place of death — Syracuse, Italy
Biography
Biography
Maiorca was born in Syracuse, Sicily, where he also died in 2016. Maiorca was a vegetarian. In 1977, Maiorca was initiated into Scottish Rite Freemasonry at the "Archimede di Siracusa" Lodge in Italy. With the agreement of the Grand Orient of Italy lodge, this element of his biography was publicly revealed in 2017. Maiorca was fundemental is establishing the Plemmirio Marine Sanctuary, a 2500 hectare reserve southwest of Siracusa.
Freediving
Freediving
Maiorca learned to swim at age 4 and soon began to dive, although expressing a great fear of the sea. In 1956 a friend showed him an article about a new depth record of 41 meters set by spearfishing champions Ennio Falco and Alberto Novelli. Maiorca was led by the article to begin competing in order to achieve the title of the "man who reaches the deepest." He achieved this in 1960, when he reached 45 metres to beat Brazilian Américo Santarelli. That same year, however, Santarelli reclaimed the title by reaching 46 metres, which Maiorca soon surpassed at 49 metres. In 1967 Maiorca ceased spearfishing, while still competing in freediving. He explained in an interview why he abandoned spearfishing: • "It all happened suddenly. I was diving in the shallows not far from the cape that reaches out to the open sea south of the bay of Syracuse. That morning I happened to spear a grouper. A strong and combative grouper. On the bottom a real titanic struggle broke out, between me who wanted to take its life and the grouper who tried to save itself. The grouper was caught in a cavity between two rocks; trying to understand its position, I ran my right hand down the fish's belly. Its heart was pounding in terror, mad with fear. And with that pulsing of blood I realized that I was killing a living being. Since then my speargun lies like a derelict, an archaeological item, in the dusty basement of my house. That was in 1967." On 22 September 1974, in the Bay of Ieranto (or 'Jeranto') at the western end of the Gulf of Salerno, Maiorca attempted to establish a new world record for freediving, aiming for 90 metres. The event was televised live, for the first time in the history of RAI (the Italian national broadcaster). Less than 20 metres into his dive, Maiorca bumped into Enzo Bottesini, an expert scuba instructor, and upon resurfacing he let out a string of strong expletives, many of which were clearly audible to the television audience. His outburst led to a television ban for many years, and led to his retirement from competition for more than a decade. In 1988, Maiorca returned to free diving and set his final record of 101 metres. Maiorca's main rivals were the Brazilian Amerigo Santarelli (who retired from the sport in 1963), Teteke Williams, Robert Croft, and Jacques Mayol.
Post-diving
Post-diving
From 1994 to 1996, Maiorca was elected to the Senate for the right-wing Alleanza Nazionale party. Maiorca also appeared on Lineablu, a RAI broadcast news series, from 2000 to 2002. The character Enzo Molinari, portrayed by Jean Reno, in the 1988 Luc Besson film The Big Blue is based on Maiorca.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Enzo Majorca and Vincenzo Maiorca. His recorded language was Italian. One child is recorded: Rossana Maiorca.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Enzo Maiorca born at Syracuse.
2016
Enzo Maiorca died at Syracuse.
Film and music
• Maiorca co-starred as himself in the film Challenge on the Bottom (1975), directed by Melchiade Coletti. • The rivalry between Maiorca and Jacques Mayol inspired the 1988 film The Big Blue by Luc Besson. The movie was not shown in Italy until 2002 due to Maiorca's objections. Recognizing his own caricature in the character of Enzo Molinari, Maiorca considered the portrayal detrimental to his image. After the death of Jacques Mayol in 2001 and Maiorca's retirement from competitions, he relented, and the film was shown. • Maiorca is quoted by the protagonist of the film I Am Self Sufficient (1976) by Nanni Moretti. • Maiorca is mentioned in the song "The Ballad of Cimino" by Davide Van de Sfroos. • Maiorca is cited by the plaintiff Guido Nickel in the film Monte Carlo Grand Casino.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Enzo Maiorca”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q736414: Enzo Maiorca
Unverified · Wikidata
Awards
• Gold Medal of the President of the Republic (1964) for athletic prowess • Ustica Golden Trident • CONI's Literary Award for his book Headlong into the Blue (1976) • Sport merits Gold Star from CONI • Gold Medal of Merit Marina (not only for sports but also for the defence of the environment, 2006) • His 80th birthday was celebrated in La Spezia with the conferring of the Award of the Maritime Festival.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.È morto l'apneista Enzo Maiorca. ilpost.it. 14 November 2016.
- 2.Addio Enzo Maiorca – "Quella cernia mi fece sentire un barbaro" / intervista audio. restiamoanimali.it. 15 November 2018.
- 3."Enzo Maiorca obituary". theguardian.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- 4.Massoneria, Gran Loggia 2017: il Gran Maestro omaggia Arnoldo Foà e Enzo Maiorca. blitzquotidiano.it. 31 March 2017.
- 5.Gran Loggia 2017. Massoneria e i suoi trecento anni di modernità, una mostra ricorda i massoni protagonisti del Novecento. Grand Orient of Italy. Apr 4, 2017.
- 6.È morto Enzo Maiorca, "il signore degli abissi". lastampa.it. 14 November 2016.
- 7.Mulder, Peter De. RETRO 1967 DIVE – ABOVE AND UNDERWATER.
- 8.La storia di Enzo Maiorca. saivivere.it. 10 November 2020.
- 9.Addio a Enzo Maiorca, il "re degli abissi". rainews.it. 13 November 2016.
- 10.Enzo Maiorca morto, addio al Signore degli abissi. Recordman di immersione in apnea, arrivò a -101 metri. Il Fatto Quotidiano. 2016-11-13.
- 11.Big Blue freediver Enzo Maiorca dies in Sicily.
- 12.Rivali: Maiorca vs Mayol, l'arte dell'apnea tra irruenza e meditazione. calcioweb.eu. 8 April 2015.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 4
- Headlong into the Blue: The Life and Business of a World Record. Milan, ed. Murcia, 1977.
- School Apnea. Rome, ed. Cuba, 1982.
- The Sea with a Capital S. Lights, 2001.
- Under the Sign of Tanit. Milan, Murcia, 2011
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
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