This little former volcano, located to the north of Sicily, has been somewhat of a diver’s dream for many years. However, for most people, the name generally conjures up the question, “Where’s that?” But surprisingly, Ustica is actually Italy’s oldest marine protected area, which was created in 1986. Immersed in the Tyrrhenian Sea, most European divers have extolled its virtues for many years, but what exactly is all the fuss about? Lawson Wood has the story.
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The tiny, former volcanic island of Ustica, just 67km (34mi) north of Palermo in Sicily, has its roots dating back some 2.58 million years ago (Pleistocene). Included in the Aeolian Islands, which include Stromboli, Vulcano, Filicudi, Alicudi, Salina, Lipari and Panarea, there has been no volcanic activity for at least 130,000 years, but there is plenty of this former volcanism to be seen underwater, including pillow lava mounds, pumice blocks, domes and conglomerate, which have created some of the most incredible underwater scenery that I have had the pleasure to dive.
History
Many islands lay claim to be the “Jewel of the Mediterranean” or “The Pearl of the Mediterranean”, but the island of Ustica is the only island to lay claim to being “The Black Pearl”. It was named “Ustica” (which is Latin for “burnt”) by the Romans, due to its black volcanic shoreline and black sand beaches. In Ancient Greece, the island was referred to as “Osteodes” (The Ossuary) in memory of the thousands of Carthaginian mercenaries and mutineers who were stranded on the island to die of hunger around 2,500 years ago. Inhabitants came and went, but it was not until the 14th century BC that a group of people, thought to be from the Aeolian Islands to the east, inhabited the island.
The foundations of over 300 stone-built houses were uncovered during an archaeological excavation in 1989 at Tramontana. It was clear from the excavations that this island was often attacked over many, many years, as this large, prehistoric village was well fortified with large, thick walls constructed of local volcanic stone.
A Benedictine community tried to stay on the island in the 6th century, but ongoing wars between the Arabs and just about everyone else forced them to flee. It was not until the 18th century that the first permanent residents arrived, from nearby Lipari. They brought with them their patron saint, Bartholomew the Apostle, who is now also the patron saint of Ustica.
Ustica’s other, more notorious fame was earned during WWII, when Benito Mussolini sent hundreds of political prisoners to the island. Whilst they were allowed a certain amount of freedom, the prisoners had to stay within the town’s boundaries and were not allowed to venture to any other part of the island. Four small “police” stations were situated at each of the four corners, and prisoners were not allowed to go beyond these.
Getting around the island
Ustica has that small island feeling. Having lived on a tiny island in the Caribbean for many years, my wife, Lesley, and I quickly felt at home! The locals live by the ferries—fast and slow—which bring most of the supplies, and if the sea is rough, there are many delays. The main municipality is also known as Ustica and is very much built on the former volcano’s slopes, so you will be walking up and down steep roads or many dozens of steps made from the local volcanic rock (even many of the roads are paved with this rock). The local square has all of the services required for après-dive meetings, with a few restaurants and popular bars.
You certainly have to plan a stay on Ustica well in advance, as the tourist season is from April until the end of October, when almost all of the businesses shut down, with only a few hardy tourists and locals enjoying a more peaceful winter. Local European airlines fly direct into Falcone Borsellino Airport, 35km from Sicily’s capital, Palermo. (The airport is named after the two heroic prosecutors who paid the ultimate price by going against the Mafia.)
There is a railway station at the airport, as well as various ground transportation options into the city, but the dive centre will arrange for a taxi to meet you and take you to the ferry port. Preferred transport to Ustica is on the Liberty Lines high-speed hydrofoil, with a journey time of around 90 minutes, and it travels several times each day. There are eight dive centres on Ustica. Our best contact was with Esther and Rino at the Evasioni Blu Diving Centre. The dive shop was located just above the port, and the hotel for our stay was a little further up the hill. It was easy, and organised transport got our gear into the dive shop on our arrival, out of the way and ready for an early 7:45 a.m. start the next morning.
Our hotel was the Sogni nel Blu, with its Di Umberto restaurant just off the main square, where most of the locals, non-diving tourists and divers tended to hang out at Bar Centrale for après-dive cocktails, small cool beers and lovely snacks.
Marine protected area
We were here to dive around the fringes of Ustica’s national marine protected area, as there is absolutely no diving permitted within the MPA, except for scientific monitoring.
The Marine Protected Area, Isola di Ustica, was established in 1986 and is regarded as Italy’s oldest marine preserve. It extends over 15,000ha. It is known specifically for its encrusting communities of algae, bryozoans and corals, all on the most amazing volcanic seabed. Due to the island’s distance from the Sicilian mainland, it is fairly isolated, rendering it almost completely undisturbed, and, like all isolated, offshore seamounts, this place is an oasis of marine life.
Diverse marine species
We were diving in late September, but due to the unprecedented warm-water upwelling (around 27°C), the larger schools of fish were below the thermocline at around 30m (100ft). This resulted in fewer large schools of fish in the shallows, but there was a huge variety of juvenile grouper, bream and wrasse, and tons of invertebrates, including nudibranchs, starfish and snails.
There were large Posidonia seagrass beds everywhere, which were used as fish hatcheries, and what was encouraging were the large numbers of dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus)—a vibrant green and ochre coloured fish when young that sports a very brilliant mix of colours when it is around 1m (3.25ft) long, subtly changing to a dull brownish grey when these local big guys reach over 1.5m (5ft). Believe me, this is a big fish, and quite intimidating when it gets close!
Further down, and also offshore, there were a couple of species of barracuda, with the most common being the Mediterranean barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena), often in small to large schools. Once they get over 1.5m (5ft), they tend to be spotted as single individuals or in small groups.
Zones
There are three zones underwater in the waters around Ustica:
• Zone A is a No-Take Zone, where no diving, fishing or any interaction is permitted.
• Zone B is a Buffer Zone, which extends for almost the entire western half of the island, where no commercial fishing is permitted, but scuba diving is allowed.
• Zone C is a Partial Zone, which is the eastern half of the island, where line fishing and scuba diving are allowed.
The dive community has its own zonation details, which comprise three zones: A) Aquatic; B) Benthic; and C) Cave and Cavern.
The A Zone is the Aquatic Zone, or Pelagic Zone, with open waters where barracuda, amberjacks and various tuna species can be found. There are also offshore reefs, such as Scoglio del Medico and the submerged seamount Secca della Colombara, where the volcanic origins plunge into the depths of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The B Zone is the Benthic Zone, or inshore bottom zone, where massive volcanic boulders are covered in an algae fuzz, and various bream and wrasse vie for titbits. Octopus, snails and many different nudibranchs are found amongst the low coral mounds. In deeper waters, on the seaward edge, you will find large purple sea fans, surrounded by Mediterranean goldfish (Anthias anthias). This zone also has huge Posidonia meadows, which should not be overlooked because of the massive biodiversity found here. It is this encrusting habitat that is of most importance.
The C Zone is known as the Cave Zone, and locally as “the dark side” of the submerged volcano. The subterranean geography is incredible, with literally thousands of caves, caverns and underhanging and overhanging blocks of volcanic stone; mounds of pillow lava, which formed underwater during the last eruption; and a few ancient lava tubes, which cut into the island. It is here that the biodiversity comes into its own—with cardinalfish, slate pencil urchins, the rare long-spined sea urchin, golden zoanthids and yellow cup corals—all of which prefer shaded areas, well away from the brilliant Mediterranean blue sky. This region, in particular, has an amazing cavern known as the Grotta dei Gamberi, or Shrimp Cave. The unicorn shrimp (Plesionika narval) can be found here, literally in their thousands.
Dive sites
There are a couple of dozen registered dive sites around Ustica, almost all of which have mooring buoys, and there are a few anchor drops where there is little or no impact on an otherwise uninteresting seabed. However, these sites are perfect for exploring the dark sand beds for flying gurnard, razorfish, Posidonia meadows and offshore volcanic mounds covered in small encrusting corals. These sites are also very popular for night dives.
In general, all of the diving is undertaken along the south and east coasts of the island, with occasional excursions further afield and outside the no-take zone, to the likes of Medico and Colombara. The moorings are situated at around 6m (20ft) or so, and are usually at the beginning of an extensive Posidonia seagrass bed.
This usually slopes down amidst huge volcanic boulders, encrusted with algae and small carpet corals. These boulders offer swim-throughs, caves and caverns as you go deeper (most dives will be to around 30m/100ft or beyond, depending on one’s marine life interest). Dive plans usually follow a circuitous route along the outer wall, perhaps to single, massive volcanic boulders, and then back towards the mooring buoy and the rocky shoreline. For the most part, this is deeply cut by caves and caverns, which are always worth exploring at the end of the dive to decompress safely, yet still offer tons of interest to divers.
You will expect to see lots of groupers of all sizes, totally unafraid, making for easy subjects. Your torch’s light will pick up their almost luminous green markings. Two-banded bream are very common, as well as plenty of different species of wrasse, forever foraging amongst the algae. A surprising number of the larger, long-limbed starfish (Ophidiaster ophidianus) can be found, as their brilliant red colouration always makes them very obvious. ■
Sources: wikipedia.org, fishbase.org
Topside Tips for Non-Divers
Text by Lesley Orson Wood
A tiny island 35 miles from Palermo, Ustica is a quiet, peaceful and very safe place, accessed only by ferry or private boat. So, flying into Palermo and transferring to the port is the best way to catch your ferry.
It is true to say that Ustica is mainly a diving and snorkelling destination, although this is still a wonderful destination for non-divers and those seeking rest and tranquillity. Electric bicycles are available to rent, as this island does not offer car rentals, and a wild nightlife is not to be found here!
Due to health reasons, diving was sadly out of the question for me on this trip. However, rejuvenating rest, sitting under an umbrella and enjoying the warmth of the sun were.
Topside excursions
On a more energetic day, the option to visit the historic site of Rocca della Falconiera is worthwhile; this historic fortress stands proud on the headland. The island was used as a political prison during Mussolini’s rule, acting as a mini-Alcatraz, with police gates to keep an eye on political prisoners, who were mainly peaceful protesters against Mussolini’s fascist rule.
The Archaeological Museum of Ustica is said to be worth a visit, although I did not venture there. Hiking is not for the faint-hearted here! This volcanic island zigzags from sea level up to approximately 244m (814ft) at the summit, called Guardia dei Turchi. The island roads have been paved with slabs cut from the volcano’s lava, making them very hard-wearing but not the smoothest.
Island life here is very sedate, tranquil and especially safe! Possibly because the only way to leave the island is by boat. Liberty Lines ferry services the island up to four times a day with hydrofoils, which are faster than the conventional weekly ferries. On our trip, the crossing to the island took 90 minutes, with smooth sailing all the way there, although the return journey was a bit choppy midway. There is a small summer population of approximately 1,300 people, which reduces to around 1,000 after October.
My mornings were very laid back. Not being a breakfast person, I opted out of the buffet-style breakfast served at our hotel, Sogni nel Blu (which roughly translates to “Dreams in the Blue”), where an early breakfast was available for divers from 6:30 to 9:00 a.m.
I ventured out to Bar Centrale, which is open from 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m.! This bar has the friendliest staff, serving superb coffee and pastries. The food generally revolves around the freshest fish, and the menu will reflect what has been caught that day by one of the local fishing boats. Fish is cooked very simply, in oil and grilled, served with delicious pasta dishes and local vegetables.
It is an easy downhill walk to the harbour, but be aware of the climb back up, which involves many steps! The island’s shops cater to almost all everyday needs, with a pharmacy, supermarket, gift shop and even small electrical and hardware stores. We had simple ciabatta rolls with prosciutto and cheese for lunch at the supermarket, and there were snacks and fruit for sale, as well as bottles of water, wine and beer.
Overall, it was a very lovely experience in Ustica, with charming locals and outdoor dining at a number of restaurants. This destination is little known, with great diving, dining and friendly people. The ferries and accommodations are slightly restricting, so book early to experience one of the few unspoilt Mediterranean destinations. ■
