In Italy, there is a beautiful stretch of coastline in Calabria between Bagnara and Palmi that offers stunning vistas both above and below the waves, where divers can explore rich, colourful reefs with diverse marine life and underwater caves. Underwater photographer Francesco Turano takes us on a tour of some of the best dive sites in the area.
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Of the more than 800km of Calabrian coastline, one stretch stands out, whether for its geomorphological peculiarities or for the sheer depths of the sea below. To define it as complex, varied, amazing and aesthetically fascinating is really an understatement.
It is a stretch of coastline between Bagnara Calabra and Palmi, where the rock is the undisputed protagonist with a series of striking cliffs overlooking the sea—and what a sea! From a height of 300 or 400 metres, the cliffs plunge into the intense blue of what is called the Costa Viola (Purple Coast). With a coastline that can only be reached by boat, it is devoid of any kind of human artefact, except for a tiny little church built on the rock just a few metres from the water. The only traces of human activity are remnants of hard labour in the past when the rock was skilfully terraced and used to grow vines in extreme conditions to produce a wine of a bygone era.
We are just outside the area of the Strait of Messina, and the currents flowing out of the channel still influence the waters of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, lapping against the walls of the Costa Viola and feeding the seabed below. This is why the underwater life typical of the Mediterranean can only explode here in all its forms. Let’s take a rubber dinghy trip along the stretch of sea that the locals call “la costiera” (the coast) to understand its nature, get to know some of its points of interest and explore the walls, caves and shoals that dot Poseidon’s kingdom.
The diversity of its landscapes, both above and below the surface, makes it the most varied and richest corner of the Calabrian Tyrrhenian Sea. We start from the rocky spur that marks the end of the town of Bagnara, or more precisely, the “Marinella” neighbourhood, which was once a fishing village. (It would still be one today if not for the fact that there are fewer fishermen). It is called Capo Rocchi and is recognisable by the presence of an Aragonese watchtower called Torre di Ruggiero, dating back to the 15th century. Beyond the cape lies the port of Bagnara, which occupies a fair portion of the bay in front of the Gramà promontory.
Gramà Shoal
This area of granite rock marks the beginning of the cliffs. From here on, we proceed by sea to Palmi, a distance of about ten kilometres. But let’s anchor the rubber dinghy and take a dive right in front of the Gramà walls. Not far from the surface, the gravelly slope leads us towards the first deep rocks, opening the doors to what we define as the Gramà Shoal.
Suggestive pinnacles rise from a depth of 35m, with a variety of paths that are good to know so as not to get lost between one spire and another in this submerged cathedral. You can stay within 40 to 45m or go further, up to 55m, depending on your experience but also on the strength of the currents.
In any case, the spectacle offered by the biodiversity that covers the rocky substrate invites you to take your time to admire the wonders of the encrusting fauna and to enjoy the mystical atmosphere created by the morphology of the large rocks whose shapes stand out decisively against the blue. The coral reef is still rich, with the well-known red gorgonians at the base, accompanied by the shapes and colours of different types of sponges and a remarkable variety of bryozoans, whose forms and shades of orange combine beautifully with the intense red of the dominant branches of violescent sea-whips (Paramuricea clavata).
San Sebastiano
We weigh anchor and head a little north to a series of caves and tunnels a few metres below the surface at the foot of the San Sebastiano promontory. It will be fun to move through the labyrinths and the play of light, thanks also to the clarity of the water and the colours that the walls take on in some places due to the encrusting sponges and the orange hues of the madrepores (Astroides calycularis), also known as stony cup corals. The chromatic effects and morphology of the rock create fascinating scenes and captivating routes that can be explored both by diving with light equipment or snorkelling comfortably at the surface. The atmosphere and colours change according to the time of day.
Moving a little away from the walls towards the open sea, we also find the possibility of a deeper dive among colonies of large gorgonians and some gold coral (Savalia savaglia). The large rocks on this seabed offer refuge to many species of sedentary fish, first and foremost large groupers. But they are rather wary fish, as there is still no adequate protection, and fishing is free. Several efforts have been made to create protected areas, and it is hoped that a serious goal will soon be achieved, given the importance of this coastal ecosystem, which is certainly one of the richest in Calabria and Italy.
Cala Janculla
We continue our exploration in the rubber dinghy and arrive at Cala Janculla, the only real beach among the rocks of this stretch of coast.
Grotta delle Rondini. The seabed here is sandy and clear, but once you leave the cove, you will find yourself in front of a new steep cliff that plunges decisively into the blue, enriched by the presence of perhaps the most famous cave in the whole area: the Grotta delle Rondini (Swallows’ Cave). A peek inside the cave, which continues even underwater on a shallow seabed, allows you to savour the beauty of these walls, which appear to be true sculptures of nature.
Piscina di Venere. But we get back into the rubber dinghy and proceed further, as we want to discover something else. In a few minutes, we reach Punta San Leo and then, immediately after, Piscina di Venere (Pool of Venus) and the fishermen’s church. Near the reef of San Leo, there is a splendid natural pool with crystal clear water thanks to the channels that connect it to the sea. The bay of the Pool of Venus is a must-see for snorkellers and freedivers to enjoy the unique shades of blue and green typical of the best of the Mediterranean.
Grotta della Chiesetta. In the area facing the small rocky bay where the little church stands, at a depth of about 30 to 35m, we find a beautiful submerged arch called Grotta della Chiesetta. It is a large and easily explored cavern full of colourful life, and the entrance to the deep walls opposite it is covered with thick gorgonians that quickly drop to 60m and beyond—a real wonder for the eyes. But there are many dives of this type, with deep walls and reefs, and each is unique with its own peculiarities.
Colonies of transparent light-bulb sea squirts (Clavelina lepadiformis) cling like clusters of grapes to the largest gorgonians. In short, you will find vertical walls (festooned with sponges and madrepores) that drop straight down to 10 to 15m, tunnels and mazes in the wall and gravelly slopes that plunge into the deep blue just a few metres from the shore, where pinnacles and ridges are covered with colourful life, in a succession of submerged landscapes that are geomorphologically varied and biologically stratospheric. What more could you ask of the deep, clear sea of the Costa Viola?
Marinella di Palmi
We conclude our coastal navigation at Marinella di Palmi. The protagonists here are Capo Barbi and Punta Motta at the foot of Mount Sant’Elia. The rocky spurs of these two promontories, with their distinctly Mediterranean flavour, enclose a small cove and a vertical wall, known respectively as Cala and Parete delle Sirene. The fascination of this mythological place does not end with the water. In fact, under the surface, there is a submerged cave called the Grotta delle Sirene (Cave of the Sirens), which can be explored during a guided dive.
Punta Motta marks the geographical boundary of Marinella di Palmi, a pleasant inlet where the beach is made up of large rounded stones and where the last fishermen still remember what this picturesque shore was like in the past. Marinella is the only bay that can also be reached by car through a series of hairpin turns that allow one to quickly climb the steep cliffs.
Grotta delle Sirene. The dive in the cave starts at the base of the rocky vault, where a cavity opens up, which is the entrance to the Grotta delle Sirene. A wide and easily accessible channel leads to a cave that is immediately dark and continues up to the water’s surface inside the mountain. The entire route is no more than 70 to 80m long and is not particularly difficult.
There are few fish in the cave. In the partly dark section, there are only small triggerfish and a few wrasses. However, the concentration of crustaceans is different, with a large number of shrimps, such as the golden coral shrimp (Stenopus spinosus) and a few common prawns (Palaemon serratus). Along the walls of the Cave of the Sirens, it is not difficult to come across large Mediterranean slipper lobsters.
Proceeding inwards from the outside, we quickly lose contact with the little light that is present and enter the realm of darkness, and after having explored a large chamber with a gravelly bottom and cracked rock walls, home to some brown meagre and the occasional grouper, we begin to climb a corridor that leads us upwards until we reach a narrow passage and a man-sized tunnel that allows us to emerge. Here, we have enough space to take off our tanks and kneel down to look into a small dry chamber with a low ceiling covered in stalactites and a smooth floor strewn with irregularities that look like eroded and moulded stalagmites.
As we make our way towards the exit, our eyes accustomed to the darkness, we have the odd sensation—having switched off our torches at the right moment—of being struck by a magical blue glow. It is the small light that invites us back into the open, a faint light that will illuminate us intensely for a few moments, as often happens at the exit of a cave dive. ■
