Ustica · Italy · Wall
Punta San Paolo
Lava wall to 40 m cut by the Spaccazza canyon
Area photo: I viaggi della Van · CC BY-SA 4.0
Punta San Paolo is a lava wall on Ustica's south side that runs from the surface down to 40 metres, cut by a named canyon — the Spaccazza di San Paolo — which creeps several metres into the mountain. It is a few minutes out of the harbour, and the dive is shaped by the depth you choose on the face rather than by the route you take.
Where it is and how deep
38.6971° N, 13.1864° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The run out is short — a few minutes from the port on a south-south-west heading — so almost the whole trip is spent in the water rather than on the crossing. The lava rock falls away in one continuous face from the surface to 40 metres, which makes the profile the main decision rather than the navigation: settle on a maximum depth before you go in, follow the face in one direction, and work the shallower rock on the way back.
The feature the site is named for is the Spaccazza di San Paolo, a canyon that creeps several metres into the mountain. Ustica's rock is volcanic rather than limestone, so the wall is dark and sharply cut, and a torch brings the colour back out of the shaded cracks even in bright midday water. Nothing is published about the marine life on this particular stretch, so plan the dive around the rock itself: the canyon, the face, and whatever the wall is holding on the day.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Ustica: May–Oct brings the warmest water, around 18–26°C, and the best visibility; many dive centers close over winter.
Know before you go
- The face reaches 40 m with no ledge to break the descent, so set a hard maximum depth before you enter and watch gas and no-stop time on the way along.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Punta San Paolo?+
The lava wall runs from the surface down to 40 metres, so there is no single depth: the profile is whatever maximum you set before entering. Anything worked near the foot of the wall is an Advanced-level dive with a short no-stop time.
Sources
- Punta San Paolo dive site — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
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Barracuda over a 2.5 m summit, gorgonians and a 2005 wreck below
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Seamount off 50 m sand, summit at 26 m
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