For centuries, the Mediterranean waters have offered their wealth to the sea side dwellers.
The fishing of sponges has been practiced since the antiquity, when itmore......
For centuries, the Mediterranean waters have offered their wealth to the sea side dwellers.
The fishing of sponges has
been practiced since the
antiquity, when it was known
as one of the Olympic games.
Even Aristotle said about
sponges that: "they have
feelings". In fact, the
sponge is not an industrial
product, but a NATURAL one
belonging to the group of
"spongus" and called
"zoophyte" from
ancient Greek, meaning both
animal and plant.
The sponges are located all
over the world; we can find
them from tropical to polar
waters and at all depths,
from close to the shores down
to the abysses.
In spite of that, the best ones in terms of quality and commercial use are those fished for in temperate seas, with either rocky or sandy sea bottoms, good water circulation and moderate salinity. Furthermore, waters with no tides or streams and with moderate temperature are the best environments for sponges to grow in; that's the reason why the best quality sponges are fished for in the Mediterranean Sea.
In deep water, the sponge has a blackish massive shape, surrounded by a hard skin, perforated by a multitude of small holes called "inhaling pores". Through those, the sponge inhales water that provides it with oxygen and various nourishing organic particles and bacteria. After the filtration, the water is expelled through bigger holes called "osculs".
In the Mediterranean Sea, it takes two years for a sponge to reach the diameter of 10 cm.
At Spugnificio Bellini we
have always fought for helping
the reproduction of sponges,
protecting the environment and
the oceans' floors. We
struggled to obtain a
regulation in terms of
fishing prohibition for some
months of the year and the
"no fishing rule"
of small sponges, in order to
control and regulate the
fishing procedure.
Our fishermen, who apply
these rules and grant us a
constant supply of raw
materials, use only the
diving method for fishing our
sponges, and never use any
trawls that could ruin the
sea bottom and its
inhabitants.
Once the boats are back at the harbour, Mr Bellini himself checks the raw sponges in order to select the best ones for shipment to our factory in Italy, where the processing takes place.
Before being distributed on the market, our sponges undergo many strict controls through our staff in order to fully guarantee the quality of the product. Thanks to its high quality standard and its strictness in the processing phase, our company has obtained the certification "dermatologically tested" for our Mediterranean Sea sponges.
With our long-time experience - in fact we've been on the market since 1949 – we dare suggest to always use sponges from the Mediterranean Sea because they are true, natural, soft and, if properly maintained, can last real long; we cannot tell the same about the others.
Furthermore, for daily body-care and beauty we can supply a wide range of high quality articles for massage in sisal and loofah, very valued by beauty centers, perfumeries and spas.
All our products are exclusively manufactured at our factory in Italy.
