
5.11 Francesco Cavaliere
From An Open Water Swimmer's Podcast by William Ellis
March 14, 2026 · 54 min · Season 5 · Episode 11
About this episode
Francesco Cavaliere discusses his unique approach to marathon swimming and the environmental and historical significance of his journeys.
(Available to subscribers, episode free to play 14th March) This episode is with Francesco Cavliere, he is an Italian marathon swimmer, who swims totally self supported and his approach to swimming is often referred to as "Swim & Explore”. Francesco likes to emphasise the environmental and historical context of the places he swims, treating swimming as a means of discovery rather than just a sport… he runs swimming excursions throughout the Mediterranean and he has designed his own fibre glass tow boats - called “barquinos” that obviously carry all his gear. He has swam the coastlines of all 44 of the Italian islands in an epic 13 year feat… and needless to say he has endless stories to tell about the beautiful Mediterranean. I am just sad we couldn’t get more into the episode… I hope you enjoy!
People in this episode
Host: William Ellis
Guest: Francesco Cavaliere
Topics covered
- marathon swimming
- self-supported swimming
- environmental awareness
- historical context
- swimming excursions
- Mediterranean exploration
Keywords
- marathon swimmer
- self supported
- Swim & Explore
- swimming excursions
- Mediterranean
- barquinos
- Italian islands
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Italy, Mediterranean, Italian islands
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