Ponza & the Pontine Islands · Italy · Wall · Reef
Parata di Punta Madonna
A sheltered 17 m wall behind Punta Madonna used as a natural pool for courses
Area photo: Seba Sofariu from Dublin, Ireland · CC BY 2.0
The Parata is the wall behind Punta Madonna, a sheltered stretch of stacks and rock faces with a maximum depth of 17 m that the dive centre uses as a natural swimming pool for courses, discovery dives and easy dives. Slipper lobsters, moray eels and groupers live on the wall, and amberjack come in to hunt anchovies.
Where it is and how deep
40.8936° N, 12.9735° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The wall behind Punta Madonna is where the centres run courses, and it dives like it: sheltered, clear and never deeper than 17 m. You go in beside the stacks and settle at whatever depth the exercise or the mood calls for, then follow the rock. The walls and stacks give the dive its shape, with small faces to follow and gaps to look into, and because the maximum depth is modest there is time to do it slowly.
The life is better than a training site has any right to be. Slipper lobsters press themselves into the cracks, moray eels look out from the holes, groupers hang in the shade of the stacks, and now and then an amberjack comes in fast to hunt the anchovies that gather here. Finish along the shallow rock and surface by the stacks; there is no long ascent to manage.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Trevally & jacks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Ponza & the Pontine Islands: Diving runs April to early November and all but stops December–February; water peaks around 26–27 °C in August and is down to 14–15°C in March–April. Naples ferries are summer-only.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Parata di Punta Madonna?+
The site has a maximum depth of 17 m. It is the sheltered wall behind Punta Madonna that the dive centre uses for courses, discovery dives and relaxed dives.
Sources
- Parata di Punta Madonna — Scubago
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