We are on the promenade of Lazzaro, in the municipality of Motta San Giovanni, in the province of Reggio Calabria. The dive site, accessible from the shore, is characterized by a steep seabed of sand and debris, which changes, about 40 m depth, into a proper vertical rocky wall; there, at a depth of 54 m, there’s a wide cave, known as “the Castelluccia”.
It’s a challenging cave diving, suitable for expert divers, but that may reserve many interesting meetings both inside and outside the cave.
Along the descent we are accompanied by shoals of damselfishes and, on the sandy bottom, there are often large starfishes (especially Marthasteria glacialis) and flat fishes, like the turbots. During the cave diving a rich biodiversity offers a breathtaking spectacle: there are the species typical of dark habitats, alongside large long-spined sea urchins, starfishes and white sponges decorating the walls, animated by hermit crabs, moray eels and nudibranchs. The cave is also full of small shrimps (Plesionika narval) and large forkbeards (Phycis phycis), that don’t miss the rich banquet…
Rare and exciting the meeting with a small cartilage fish, symbol of the place: the angular roughshark (Oxynothus centrina).
Place | Cave “The Castelluccia” at Lazzaro |
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Dive type | From the shore |
Bottom type | Sandy bottom with debris and rocky wall with large cave |
Depth (min/max) | 35/70 m |
Currents | Weak or absent current, rarely strong |
Dive Path | Round trip parallel to the coast and in circle inside the cave |
Biodiversity | Species typical of the dark habitat, few invertebrates and many bottom fishes well hidden |
Peculiarities | Occasional presence of pelagic fishes (i.e. the angular roughshark). |