Wreck of the Italian Battleship Regina Margherita Located

August 17, 2005

VALONA: HOSPITAL SHIP OF EDDA CIANO ALSO FOUND ON SEABED (AGI) - Tirana, Aug 17 - IANTD submarine experts Cesare Balzi and Fabio Ruperti, as well as locating the relict of the Regina Margherita, the Italian battleship which sank on December 11, 1916, in the bay of Valona, also found the relict of the hospital ship 'Po' which was hit by an English plane on March 14, 1941, while it was awaiting to leave Port Valona to head towards Bari with hundreds of injured on it. The ship's sinking was shocking because it was a regularly signaled hospital ship, and this was an open breach of international agreements, but also because Edda Ciano Mussolini, the daughter of the Italian leader, was working on the ship. Edda Ciano, after she did all she could for the injured people on board, saved herself jumping into the sea and swimming the coast. Benito Mussolini's daughter had enrolled in the red cross and alternated service periods on earth with working on board hospital ships, especially the 'Po'. Edda, after the terrible experience anyway decided to continue her service, in Albania. The sunk ship is, according to reports, about 35m deep and close to the shore.