Catania & the Cyclops Islands · Italy · Reef · Sand slope
Casa del Principe
Resident groupers, morays and large octopus below a prince's old residence
Area photo: Castielli · CC BY-SA 3.0
At the gates of Acicastello, below the old residence of a prince, mixed sand and rock runs from 10 down to 34 m in light current. Brown meagre, seabream, large octopus, morays and groupers are resident, and in summer big schools of seabream and salps move through.
Where it is and how deep
37.5540° N, 15.1500° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site sits at the gates of Acicastello, under the old residence of a prince, and the bottom is mixed sand and rock sliding from 10 m down to 34 m. Current is light and the reserve rates the route easy, so the shape of the dive is yours to set: drop to the depth you have planned on the rock, then work gradually back up the slope.
This is the area's residents' dive. Brown meagre, seabream, large octopus, moray eels and groupers all live here habitually, spread through the rock from the deeper section to the shallows. In summer the water column joins in, with big schools of seabream and enormous salps passing over the site — worth pausing mid-slope to watch before finishing the ascent.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Catania & the Cyclops Islands: Dived year-round; late summer and autumn add pelagics at Capo Molini, and winter water drops to about 14°C.
Sources
- Gli itinerari subacquei — Area Marina Protetta Isole Ciclopi
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Large cerianthids in four colours on night explorations of the sand
Eight ancient anchors on a fixed line, 1st century BC to admiralty types
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Shoal complex and summer drift on the reserve's southern boundary
Wreck
Capsized 50 m wreck at the foot of an underwater cliff, 38–42 m
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