Santa Maria di Leuca · Italy · Coral garden · Reef
Secca del Pisello
Broad rock steps thick with gorgonians on a bank swept by current
Secca del Pisello is a current-swept bank off Santa Maria di Leuca whose bottom steps down in broad ledges thick with gorgonians. It is a demanding dive that calls for deep training, and divers go for the dense gorgonian growth on its lower steps.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Santa Maria di Leuca and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The descent reaches a bottom at about 20 m, which then drops away in wide steps colonised by dense, spreading stands of gorgonians. The first tufts of gorgonian appear from about 30 m, and the fans mark the deeper part of the dive.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Santa Maria di Leuca: Early summer brings sunfish and July and August the warmest sea; February is the coldest month.
Know before you go
- Strong currents sweep the bank, so the dive suits divers at ease in moving water.
Dive videos
Salento Diving ® Santa Maria di Leuca sito di immersione 40/70 tek diving · Salento Diving ® on YouTube
Sources
- Immersioni nel Salento - Salento Diving Leuca — Salento Diving
More dive sites in Santa Maria di Leuca
Cave & cavern
Mushroom-shaped boulders leading into the submerged part of a sea cave
Coral garden
Gardens of large yellow and red gorgonians on sand, and a sunken anchor
Artificial reef
A statue of the Madonna on the seabed below the Leuca lighthouse
Seamount
A forest of red and yellow gorgonians on the flanks of a sunken dome
Wreck
A Turkish freighter sitting upright as if still under way
Similar dives elsewhere
Sponge-studded coral slope from 4 m to 25 m, usually currentless
Morning light on a shallow coral garden off Ko Bangu
Three coral blocks on a garden falling from 3 m to sand at 30 m
Coral garden to 25 m, a quarter of an hour south of the marina