Over one hundred swim for Europe in Ventotene

28 June 2025 | Ventotene

Once a year, our partners Europa Now (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) organise a swim for Europe (the ‘Natalonga (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)’) between the islands of Santo Stefano and Ventotene.

This year’s event which took place on 28 June was a great success with over 100 swimmers taking part in the crossing from the political prison island of Santo Stefano (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)to the island of Ventotene - a distance of 1,700 metres.

Ventotene (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)was used as an internment camp for political detainees during the Mussolini regime. The island gave its name to the Ventotene Manifesto, the first blueprint for a federal Europe.

The Ventotene Manifesto (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) was drafted by Altiero Spinelli, (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) Ernesto Rossi (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) and Eugenio Colorni (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), and smuggled out of Ventotene by Ursula Hirschmann (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

After the war, the Ventotene Manifesto became highly influential, particularly following the election of Spinelli to the European parliament. The Spinelli group is still the largest group of MEPs in the European Parliament today.

At at time when the idea of a free and democratic Europe is again threatened by right wing populism, xenophobia, disinformation and violent conflict. the Ventotene Manifesto stands as a constant reminder that the road to nationalism is the road to war.

This year’s Natalonga was preceded by a meeting on the main square in Ventotene. Tatiana Bucci, (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) one of the last survivors of Auschwitz was the speaker and said this about the importance of Natalonga:

"I have always felt European. I am a child of Europe that has left behind the horrors of the 20th century. When I saw so many people of all ages diving into the sea in the name of an ideal to be defended today more than ever, I got so excited!"

If you would like to know more about the work of New European People’s Forum (NEPF) and our partner organisations such as Europa Now, please consider supporting our work by joining as friend.

New European People's Forum is an initiative focused on defending democracy and human rights in Europe. We work to promote these values across the continent. Our forum serves as a platform for discussion, collaboration, and advocacy related to these fundamental principles. We have recently launched the programme Westminster Alliance for Ukraine, together with its partner organisations Media Dialogue (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)in Ludwigshafen and Civil (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) in Skopje.