Living on the Pearl of the Red Sea

Nestled on an inlet in the Red Sea lies Massawa, a bustling port city of Eritrea, Africa, and the largest deep water port on the Red Sea. Shaped by tumultuous world events and home to the oldest Mosque in Africa, this was the backdrop to the early life of Eufrasia Gagliardo, an Italian born in Eritrea in the late 1940s.

Living on the Pearl of the Red Sea, as Massawa is commonly known, gives you a glimpse of life in this iconic part of the world through the eyes of Eufrasia, who pays homage to the cultural melting pot that saw Eritreans, Italians, Greeks, French, English, Sudanese, Arabs, Dankalis, British Indians, Abyssinians and other Red Sea peoples all living together in harmony. Featuring an impressive mish-mash of Egyptian, Ottoman, Turkish, Arabic and Italian buildings, giving Massawa a distinctly Mediterranean feel.

Enter The Unique People of Massawa, such as The Oyster Man, The Lady Who Was Cursed and the Mother Teresa of Eritrea, Mother Pia, who all played a part in Eufrasia's life and shaped her world.