Tremiti, Apulia, Italy

Architiello di San Domino

Architiello di San Domino is one of the signature dives of the Tremiti Islands, a small archipelago in the Adriatic Sea off the Gargano coast in Apulia. The site is centred on a natural limestone arch rising above and continuing under the surface along the western cliffs of San Domino, the largest island of the group. The dive follows the wall and the swim-through under the arch, descending from a shallow rocky platform near 8 metres to about 30 metres on a rocky and sandy base. The walls are covered with yellow Eunicella cavolini fans, orange Astroides calycularis on shaded faces, yellow Parazoanthus axinellae, encrusting red sponges and the characteristic Adriatic colonies of red and orange encrusting fauna. Resident wildlife includes dusky groupers, brown meagre, octopus, conger eels, moray eels, scorpionfish, salema and damselfish schools, with amberjack and barracuda occasionally passing through. Visibility is typically 15–25 metres. Currents are usually weak inside the protected zone. The Tremiti MPA covers the entire archipelago.