Palmi, Calabria, Italy

Tonnara di Palmi

Tonnara di Palmi sits along the Costa Viola, the dramatic cliff-lined Tyrrhenian coast between Bagnara Calabra and Palmi in southern Calabria. The area is part of the Costa Viola Marine Protected Area and the dive site combines a sheltered cove with rocky walls and offshore boulder fields descending to about 30 metres on a sandy and rocky base. The shallower terraces between 8 and 18 metres are well-lit and rich in macro life, with Posidonia oceanica patches; below 18 metres yellow Eunicella cavolini fans appear, with encrusting orange Astroides calycularis on shaded sections, yellow Parazoanthus axinellae and red and yellow sponges. Resident species include dusky groupers, brown meagre, octopus, moray eels, scorpionfish, painted comber, ornate wrasses, salema and damselfish schools. The exposed Tyrrhenian position can deliver moderate currents, especially around the headland of Punta delle Pietre Nere. Visibility is typically 15–25 metres in summer.