Costa Concordia: stricken cruise ship becomes tourist spectacle

“It’s hard to imagine you could sink a ship like that,” Ms Murray,
42, said.

Some of the tourists who were taking photographs and video of the wreck in the
winter sunshine had come from as far away as Turin – a six hour drive.

Stefano Lagorio, 35, a truck driver from Genoa, said he had seen the Costa
Concordia being built in the city’s shipyards before it was launched in 2006.

“I had a friend who worked on it. We saw the pictures on the TV but we
wanted to see it for real.”

While Giglio is packed with holidaymakers in the summer, during the winter
most hotels and shops are closed and the island is all but deserted.

But the spectacular sight of the Costa Concordia rammed up against one of its
rocky bays has led to a sudden spike in visitors.

On the Saturday before the accident, just 131 tourists disembarked from
ferries. A week on, that figure was more than 1,000.

“The ferries are full. It’s all a bit morbid,” said Elisa Arienti,
from the island’s tiny tourist office.

“People are ringing up asking about hotels but we don’t want to encourage
them, we’re asking them to wait and come to the island in another month
perhaps. Right now it’s the worst time to visit, the island is so busy with
rescue workers. They need to get on with their jobs.”

The search and rescue effort involves hundreds of personnel from a bewildering
array of Italy’s emergency services, including the fire service, the navy,
several police forces, the coast guard, the Civil Protection Authority and
even the Forestry Corps.

Gianlucca Pigini, 27, who runs the Hotel Demo’s on the seafront, said he had
received dozens of requests for rooms by curious tourists.

“It does seem a bit odd, although I wouldn’t condemn people who come here
to look. There’s huge interest.”

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