The underwater world of Portofino

How it looks

The natural beauty of this place is unique!

The mountain, 620 m high, is full of paths that connect the two municipalities, entirely passable only on foot and with breathtaking views overlooking the sea.

Abbazia di San Fruttuoso

About halfway between Camogli and Portofino, a large bay opens up: the bay of San Fruttuoso, which is home to one of the oldest abbeys in Italy: a Benedictine monastery from the year 1000. Tradition has it that it was a martyr, called Fruttuoso, who chose the bay to build a church that, over the centuries, became the abbey of San Fruttuoso.

This magical place, now a heritage of the FAI, can be visited and reached only by sea with the ferry or private boats or via the mountain paths, (only for expert trekkers).

The bay of San Fruttuoso also hides another special marine secret 300 m from the beach: the Christ of the Abyss.

The Christ of the Abyss

This bronze statue was placed in the bay in 1954 at about 15 m depth. Thanks to its size, it is easily visible from the surface while snorkeling, but it certainly remains one of the most suggestive dives of the promontory.

Christ of the Abyss

Diving in Portofino?

Yes, the Portofino promontory holds a marine protected area established in 1999, of fundamental importance for protecting the marine biodiversity of the Ligurian coast and the Mediterranean Sea.

Like all protected areas, Portofino is also divided into three zones with different protection: zone A, B, C.

Zone A

It is the total protection zone, where it is absolutely forbidden to enter: snorkeling, swimming, diving, pleasure boating, entry from land, no one can have access to the area except for scientific research. Being a crucial place for the repopulation of groupers, only researchers are allowed to enter for scientific purposes. Zone A of Portofino is called Cala dell’Oro and is located in the bay adjacent to the bay of San Fruttuoso, its borders are clearly visible from an imposing tower to the east and delimited by buoys up to the end of the bay to the west.

Zone B

It is the area of ​​greatest interest for underwater activities, the area boasts 22 diving points from Punta Chiappa, (west tip) and Punta Faro (east tip). The dives are very varied, from the breathtaking walls of Dragone and Torretta, to the Isuela and Gonzatti shoal. Towards Punta Faro there is also a wreck that attracts many enthusiasts every year: the Mohawk deer, 120 m long, sunk after a powerful storm in 1967, lies almost entirely, in sailing trim from a depth of 15 meters up to 45 m. The wreck is still preserved in good condition. In zone B we encounter one of the best protected biodiversity in the Mediterranean:

Red coral

The coralligenous, that is, a group of animals and plants capable of producing calcium carbonate that gradually increases even after their death. The coralligenous grows in areas of low light and enriches the Mediterranean reefs with life, from calcareous algae (among the major builders), to corals, sponges and bryozoans that occupy only the most superficial part of the wall. What we must note, however, is the stratified structure and rich in crevices that hosts numerous species allowing the coexistence in a small spatial area of ​​organisms belonging to dozens of different species, including those of greatest underwater interest such as red coral and gorgonian.

Zone C

Partial protection zone we must imagine it as a buffer between the reserve itself and the rest of the sea. Marine protected areas do not live only for themselves but, functioning well, also create a benefit to the surrounding sea. How?

Thanks to animal and plant protection programs, they can reproduce without suffering from fishing pressure and therefore increase in number and size, once adults, leave the reserve and therefore increase the external populations, with advantages also for fishing.

Another important phenomenon is the dispersion of larvae that are produced inside the reserve in safe and calm conditions and then dispersed outside to colonize new places.

Map of diving spots of the Portofino MPA

Marine protected areas are of fundamental importance for the protection of the marine environment worldwide and are slowly starting to be established in many key places in all the oceans. There is still work to be done, however, and with everyone's help, there will be more and more of them!

Can we really contribute to the creation of new MPAs? How?

With citizen science! Science that everyone can do simply by observing, photographing and recording some simple data!

Everyone's contribution will help researchers understand the places of greatest concentration of certain key species, migratory corridors, reproduction and nursery areas. All this information is essential to be able to propose a marine protected area.

Find out more about photo identification, browsing our collaboration for the study of manta rays! Click here!