Portofino Marine Reserve · Italy · Wall · Cave & cavern
Scoglio del Raviolo
Two caves, the deeper at 36 m with lobster and conger
Area photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich · CC BY-SA 4.0
A rock that breaks the surface and drops as a wall into the sea, running down to about 15 metres, with white and yellow gorgonians on the upper part and red gorgonians below. Two caves define the dive: one of them holds orange madrepore, sponges and tube worms, and the wider of the pair, at 36 metres, often holds lobster and conger eel.
Also known as Scoglio Ghisotti.
Where it is and how deep
44.3014° N, 9.1690° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The rock breaks the surface, so the descent starts against something solid: a wall running down to about 15 metres, covered in white and yellow gorgonians near the top and red gorgonians as the light drops away. That change of colour is the simplest way to read your depth here, and it is worth taking the first part of the dive slowly rather than heading straight down for the caves.
Two caves give the site its shape. One of them holds orange madrepore alongside sponges and tube worms, growing where the light does not reach. The other, at 36 metres, is the wider of the pair and often has lobster and conger eel in it. That is the deep point of the dive and the natural turn: from there you come back up the same wall and end on the shallow gorgonians near the surface.
The rock now carries a second name as well, Scoglio Ghisotti, given in memory of a photographer diver, so it is worth knowing both: the reserve's numbered site map lists the rock as Scoglio del Raviolo, and the two names refer to the same wall and the same two caves. Which one you hear on the boat does not change the dive or the depths it runs to.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
| 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 Portofino Marine Reserve: May–Oct is the settled season; visibility is often best in late autumn, and winter storms close the exposed southern walls.
Know before you go
- The second cave is at 36 metres: bottom time there is short, and lingering in it builds a decompression obligation quickly.
Sources
- Area naturale marina protetta Portofino — Wikivoyage (IT)
- Scoglio del Raviolo dive site — Scubago
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