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Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean

  • Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean
  • Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean
  • Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean
  • Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean
  • Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean
  • Italy: The most diverse marine life in the Mediterranean
The mainland of Italy provides a vast amount of beautiful Mediterranean coastline. Diving in Italy is an extremely popular sport thanks to the numerous excellent dive sites on offer. From the north of Italy, where the Riviera on the west stretches along to the borders with France and works its way down the Italian west coast - to the south, where locations such as the Naples Bay area and the Amalfi Peninsula can be found just a two hour drive from the capital of Rome. As well as the mainland, Sicily and Sardinia also bring a lot to the table for the Italian diving scene, two of the largest Italian islands that attract many thousands of tourists every year.

Sardinia
This large Italian island is home to many unspoilt coastal villages, which not only provide you with convenient accommodation for the duration of a spectacular dive trip, but will also allow you to soak up a wealth of traditional local culture when you are done with diving for the day. Sardinia offers some of the very best diving in all of Italy, with its endless sea life, corals and untouched natural caves, there is truly something for divers of all levels to enjoy here. Located just south of Corsica and about twice its size, this island has countless sites of natural beauty which can be explored on your days off from diving.

Sicily
The largest of the Mediterranean islands, this Italian province had much of its coastal waters emptied of large fish as a result of over fishing. However, some 40 miles to the north of Sicily you will find Ustica, a small island that offers the best local diving opportunities. Sicily does possess a number of fascinating wreck dive sites, including a Junker 52 German bomber from WWII some 46 meters down and the Wreck of Columns – a wreck from ancient roman times that sank over 2000 years ago on a return voyage from North Africa. This island is also home to an active Volcano, Mt Etna, which regularly lights up the night sky.

Portofino Marine Park
One of the most spectacular and unique dive site areas of the Mediterranean, the Portofino Marine Park really does have diving for people of absolutely any ability. With swim throughs, caves, walls, multi-level diving and an endless supply of marine life, you can’t go wrong. This dive site is home to the most well-renowned dive site of the Mediterranean, ‘The Christ of the Abyss’, which is a giant submerged bronze statue. In terms of marine life, one can expect to find enormous moray eels, lobster, octopus, scorpion fish, and the giant moon fish. Large species include tuna, groupers, snapper and barracuda, as well as regular whale and dolphin sightings.

To find out more information about all that diving in Italy has to offer, contact us or check our dive center directory.