The sea is not visible even from the roof of Milan’s towering cathedral, but enthusiasts can now ride waves near the Italian city at one of the world’s biggest surf parks.
Wakeparadise, which opened to the public yesterday, is the first such park in Italy and joins a growing list of artificial lagoons in Australia, Dubai, Malaysia, Spain and the US.
The Snowdonia Surf Park in Wales boasts the world’s longest artificial wave on its 300m lagoon, using a plow and pulley system to create its waves, but Milan boasts “the largest floating surf pool in the world,” park president Ludovico Vanoli said.
Photo: AFP
Set in Peschiera Borromeo, in a picturesque artificial lake surrounded by trees, it offers 10m-wide wave, with a maximum height of 1.6m.
The 1.5 million euro (US$1.71 million) project is also environmentally conscious — the wave machine uses renewable energy, while the park bans plastic.
Purists have criticized the creation of lagoons that commercialize the sport and remove the element of unpredictability oceans bring, which they argue undermines its free spirit, but others appreciate the chance to train all year round.
Vanoli, a keen surfer himself, agrees that the experience “cannot be compared to the ocean.”
“No artificial wave structure can offer the emotion and feeling of the sea,” he said. “[But] we can give novices the opportunity to approach this sport in a simple, immediate and safe way.”
For those already professional at paddling and cresting, the center gives them “the chance to surf in their lunch break or after work ... or when the sea is flat,” he said.
The force and waveform can be adjusted to match a surfer’s abilities.
Once wetsuits are donned and boards waxed, there are three types of waves available: a gentle one for beginners, a slightly more vertical, medium wave for those with some experience, and a powerful breaker.
Fifteen pumps inject 22,000 liters of lake water per second into the pool.
“It’s fantastic, a super wave ... so big. I surfed it a couple of times and I’m still getting my bearings, but it’s really fun,” surfer Andrew Holzner said.
Laura Haustein, a 21-year-old German, said that it was certainly “a good option for beginners and a good way to improve.”
“There’s a constant wave, the pressure is always the same. The wave’s clean, there’s no shock,” she said.
Surfers, who can use their own board or rent one, can pay 45 euros per hour to ride the waves or can book the whole pool for private use for 420 euros per hour.
The site, which is open to anyone older than 12, also offers training courses.
There are about 80,000 surfers in Italy, with 35 percent living in Lombardy — the northern region that includes Milan — and 60 percent are beginners, according to Wakeparadise.
The park also hopes to attract tourists keen for a break from the dusty streets of Italy’s economic and fashion heartland.
Interest is certainly on the rise in the sport, which is to make its debut appearance next summer in the Tokyo Olympics.
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