Felice Balsamello, born in Gangi, is the inventor of the nautical ball, considered the ancestor of the submarine.
He was born in Gangi in 1854 and as a young man he did not have the opportunity to study: he only obtained a primary school diploma and then began working as a labourer.
It is said that he managed to miraculously save himself from death, by invoking the Holy Spirit, during his first experiment inside the nautical ball took place in the port of Civitavecchia. For this reason he remained particularly attached to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Gangi throughout his life: he had an ex-voto made to thank the Holy Spirit which bears an engraving by his hand, still today preserved in the Sanctuary. A mural celebrating this illustrious character of Gangi was taken from this engraving.
