Category: Diving

Punta Campanella is the point that separates the gulf of Naples from the gulf of Salerno. The side facing Naples has walls that drop into the blue, while the Salerno side has walls that slope more gently.

Many times it is difficult to dive due to the strong currents found near the tip and it is necessary to shelter inside, where from the first meters we realize the richness of flora and fauna that this dive offers.

It is a small sharp, high and narrow rock that rises on the eastern edge of the bay of Ieranto, it is separated from the coast by a narrow channel that is continuously crossed by boats in summer. Here the dive is very interesting given the position of this rock which being almost at the limit of the two gulfs (Salerno and Naples) is continually subject to strong currents. From the first meters the walls are full of life on every side and at every depth, in particular the external slope that falls over -50mt is covered with splendid paramuricee. During the ascent we notice a hole that passes through the rock at a depth of about -6m, covered with colonies of orange madrepores (Astroides calycularis) and sea daisies (Parazoanthus axinella). This dive is one of the most interesting on the Sorrento coast.

This shoal has its top at about nine meters and is just 300 meters from the coast. The walls go down to a depth of -50mt and even if many times the visibility is not excellent, the Banco di Santa Croce remains one of the most interesting dives of the whole Sorrento coast. In fact, the richness of Mediterranean life forms, both free and sessile, is extraordinary, which are encountered underwater already from the moment you begin the descent. Around -20m of depth you meet the first paramuricee that slightly anticipate the huge and dense fans that continue up to -40mt.

The diver is fascinated by the many gorgonians that when you arrive at a gap that divides the main shoal in two the show that presents itself is truly impressive: large fans that intertwine with each other and not far away not even the Gerardia Savaglia is missing. One is so taken by the environment and by the colors that many times one does not notice the schools of thousands of Antias swimming among the branches of the gorgonians.

The ascent from the bottom, along the wall, gives us vast areas of Parazoanthus and Astroides which are an excellent starting point for photographers who can take the last shots of a dream dive.
During periods of passage, during any safety or decompression stops, it is not uncommon to see amberjacks and longlines darting by.

The dive includes a first descent along the west wall where it is possible to admire a dense expanse of posidonia, to then reach the first wall full of eucinellae and coralligenous which reaches -40mt on terraces. Ascending to an altitude accessible also to OWD we find the entrance of a very suggestive cave inside which we will always find corvine and shrimps.

The Ischitella is a rock located a few hundred meters from the beach of Praiano and can only be reached by sea. Its rocky walls sink more than fifty meters and appear at all altitudes from the most superficial to the deepest, full of biological interest. In fact, from the first meters you can see eucinellae, fins nobilis, sponges, red gorgonians and some branches of gerardia savaglia. Since this rock is beaten by the strong currents of the Gulf of Salerno in the periods of passage very interesting encounters can be made with large-caliber predators. This dive is particularly suitable for advanced divers, because both the east wall and the western wall offer all their spectacularity after -25mt.

The dive involves the exploration of an immense cave which has its immense opening around 15 meters deep. Despite the shallow depths, diving requires a good command of all equipment as well as a good degree of experience in exploring caves.

This shoal is a few hundred meters from Capo Conca and looks like a strip of wall that stretches from the coast for about fifty meters and has many varieties of flora and fauna, in fact already looking on the part next to the surface where the depth oscillates from minus ten to minus twenty you can easily find octopuses and moray eels. Then descending along the eastern ridge you will find two large sponges and several cannabis axinelle along with colonies of bream and very often there is no shortage of lobsters. The dive involves reaching an initial depth of -15 meters where you can make frequent encounters with white breams. The typical flora of these areas enriches the walls that sink into the blue. There is also a cave that attracts attention due to a dense population of shrimps which are the main inhabitants of this area.

The seabed is pebbly and crowded with various types of gobies. In the shade of small isolated boulders, sea anemones of the species Anemonia sulcata are often found. All the boulders immersed in the posidonia are to be carefully probed in order to make unusual encounters such as octopuses, morays and in summer small groupers hidden in the ravines. Continuing towards the tip that looks to the east, the dive is very varied, offering large cracks and ravines full of coralligenous and the wall that goes towards the deep part becomes dotted with yellow gorgonians and various types of sponges.

This dive is suitable for both inexperienced and advanced divers. In fact, you can proceed along the ridge to a bathymetry not exceeding -18mt and admire all the coral that dominates the whole area. You can make encounters with zippers in the warm months that overlook the various cracks in the wall, and in the right periods you can also meet the amberjacks. The dive for expert divers involves reaching an altitude of -40mt where you can see large boulders that usually are a refuge for some lobster sea breams, then continuing along the wall a mixture of yellow gorgonians and cracks full of coralligenous that hide both groupers and white breams. This wall both in the deep part and in the one near the surface is full of nudibranchs and parazoantus and astroides. In fact, this dive is in great demand by photographers and biology enthusiasts.

As soon as we dive we will follow the rock that will take us to a first depth of 20 meters, and immediately we notice the thick presence of white and yellow gorgonians. Suddenly after an overhang of about 10 meters we will find a wall full of yellow gorgonians, sponges and coral, and as we follow the ridge that sinks towards prohibitive queote the yellow gorgonians give way to the red gorgonians. At 40 meters the show is all a fire of colors and on one edge there is a clavata paramucea unique in this area. As we go up towards the tower we encounter a very different backdrop, because hernomic and deep slits appear to our eyes that hide groupers, lobsters and in the months of June and September it is not difficult to come across large amberjacks. This dive is not recommended when current is already on the surface.