A Blue Life Hub Original Series: F. BEYOND THE SHORE – Female. Future. Fearless: Anna Rita Chiuri, scuba diving instructor from Italy – It was a wonderful and deeply meaningful experience to speak with Anna Rita about her personal journey. We approached her story with great respect and began by asking her where it all started.
The sea became my profession when I met my husband in the 1970s, but it had always been my element. Ever since I was very little, people used to call me “nziddru d’acqua” – a drop of water – because I simply couldn’t stay away from it.
Salvatore, her husband and a deep-sea diver, has played an important role in Anna Rita’s personal and professional journey. Their shared passion for the sea became the foundation of a life and career built together.
We wanted to understand what it meant to be a woman working at sea at a time when maritime traditions often left little room for women, and how Anna Rita found the determination to overcome those barriers.
Being a woman in this field isn’t easy today, let alone back then. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my love for Salvatore and my love for the sea became intertwined. After all, love is what makes the world go round.
I’ve always been a strong-willed person, and that helped me never give up, even when everything seemed to be against me, down to the simplest things.
There was an old maritime superstition, deeply rooted in the local culture of Salento in southern Italy, that having a woman on board brought bad luck. The idea of a woman working on board was almost unthinkable.
The only person who always believed in me was my husband. Of course, he needed someone to accompany him on board for work, but from the very beginning, he also understood what the sea meant to me and recognised my potential. we trusted each other to work in the sea and diving.
I had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. Then I realised I could combine that dream with my love for the sea, and so I decided to become a scuba diving instructor.
A Dream Come True
After years of working at sea, Anna Rita founded Deep Water Divers in Diso, Southern Italy, a peripheral location along a stunning stretch of the Adriatic coast, known for its cliffs, coastal caves, crystal-clear waters, and coral-rich seabeds. Here, she transformed her passion into a profession dedicated to teaching and inspiring new generations of divers.
As Deep Water Divers grew, we wanted to know what values Anna Rita hopes to pass on to her students, beyond learning how to dive.
Above all, respect for the sea. Because to know something is to respect it.
Scuba diving also teaches how to recognise our own limits and develop self-control, allowing us to fully appreciate the underwater world, a unique environment that unfolds before your eyes like a series of silent theatrical performances.
A Sea of Opportunities
The sea offers extraordinary opportunities for those who choose to explore it, understand it, and protect it. Scuba diving can open the door to exciting careers in marine research, conservation, underwater photography, professional diving, and aquaculture.
We also asked Anna Rita whether she had ever met students who reminded her of her own passion and determination.
Yes. I had the pleasure of training and certifying two marine biologists who, like us, shared not only a love for each other but also a deep passion for the sea.
Today, they are in New Zealand, working in marine biology research.
Finally, we asked what advice she would give to a young woman who dreams of making scuba diving her career.
What truly matters in this profession isn’t just the qualifications or diving certifications you hold, but the experience you have gained and are willing to share with others.
It is a profession that comes with great responsibility, where good judgement must always come first. For me, that responsibility cannot be driven by personal ambition or financial gain.
Equally important is the person and people you choose to have by your side, someone with whom you can share this wonderful profession and make it, as we have, the most beautiful job in the world.
And perhaps this is one of the most important lessons the sea teaches us: underwater, we never dive alone. Building a life and a career at sea requires dedication, sacrifice, trust, and mutual support. Above all, it means sharing not only the extraordinary experiences the sea offers, but also the responsibilities and challenges that come with them.
A Blue Life Hub Original Series: F. BEYOND THE SHORE – Female. Future. Fearless: Anna Rita Chiuri, scuba diving instructor from Italy
