Diving and Snorkelling
Detail
In Sicily, you can explore a world of unexpected beauty just below the surface of the water. With its wonderfully coloured seabeds it’s a true paradise for those who go diving and snorkelling: white in the pumice quarries of Lipari, infinite shades of cobalt blue in San Vito Lo Capo, and dark colours on the island of Pantelleria. There’s also a rich fauna and ever-changing submarine landscapes, shaped by geological movements and volcanic lava.
One of the most evocative seabeds is that of Ustica, a small island facing Palermo, the first Italian marine reserve and a true paradise for divers, both beginners and experts. At Secca della Colombara you can do one of the most beautiful and fascinating dives in the whole Mediterranean.
On Scoglio del Medico you can dive among schools of grouper and diplodus, amberjack and barracuda, sea bream and dreamfish, garfish and lobsters. In the Grotta dei Gamberi, near Cala Galera, the seabed is covered with tiny, delicious shrimps and ethereal feather duster worm structures.
On Lipari in the Aeolian islands, the contrasting shades of the blue sea and white pumice at Punta Castagna will take your breath away, and there are lively rocky seabeds near the Sciara di Fuoco on Stromboli which have myriads of sponges and soft corals among their black volcanic rocks. You can explore the underwater crater by Pollara on Salina, or another Grotta dei Gamberi on Filicudi. On Panarea you can see some intensive underwater fumarole activity simply by going snorkelling. This phenomenon is due to the escape of the volcanic gas pressing on the earth’s crust. These fascinating fumaroles can be seen in all volcanic areas and in the Aeolian islands.
On the Tyrrhenian coast, Patti, in the province of Messina, is a great place to explore by freediving.
On Pantelleria, you can explore the evocative and particularly deep Punta Spadillo (the seabed is nearly 200 metres deep only a short distance from the coast).
The island of Marettimo, in the Aegadian archipelago, is the ideal place to go cave diving, taking all the necessary precautions; near the Cattedrale you can dive down to visit a majestic cave with stalactites and stalagmites at a depth of 30 metres.
Linosa, an island in the Pelagie archipelago, has numerous dive sites. One of the most beautiful is Secchitella, with two pinnacles at depths of 4 and 12 metres which go down as far as 70 metres!
As well as beautiful beaches, Lampedusa has fantastic diving spots perfect for both experts and those with less experience.
There’s no shortage of wrecks! In addition to the allure of untamed nature, you’ll also find evidence of human activity submersed for decades, if not centuries, on Sicily’s seabeds: the Kent, a motor vessel also known as the Nave dei Corani, near the Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro (Trapani), at a depth of between 45 and 50 metres; the Roman remains of Cala Gadir on Pantelleria, with fragments of a Punic and a Roman ship; and the wreck of the Lisca Bianca on Panarea.
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