The Motta at Palmi

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This dive point is close to the beach of the ancient fishing village of “Marinella” at Palmi, on the Tyrrhenian “Costa Viola”, facing a rocky ridge known as “Punta Motta”. The scenery outside is breathtaking, with high vertical rock walls, and the underwater environment doesn’t disappoint the expectations.
From the beach, the dive begins leaving the rocky ridge to the right. The natural walls of the cliff continue underwater with the same verticality that characterizes them externally, leading to very challenging depths. The whole descent on the rocky seabed is full of caves that provide shelter to many species, including groupers, red scorpion fish and moray eels. Looking up into the blue, often we can meet pelagic fishes, such as snappers (Dentex dentex), shoals of barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena) and bonitos (Sarda sarda), in addition to large groupers (Epinephelus marginatus).
At around 30 m depth, there’s an imposing rocky spire, entirely covered with colorful sponges and large purple gorgonian fans (Paramuricea clavata), on whose branches there are dense colonies of transparent sea squirts (Clavelina lepadiformis). There are of course several species of nudibranchs and mollusks in general, in an immersion of high biological interest and of photographic interest, which doesn’t disappoint even the most demanding divers.

Place Palmi, in front of a cliff called “Motta”
Dive type From the shore (or better by boat)
Bottom type Imposing spire of rock with vertical cliffs
Depth (min/max) 20/60 m
Currents Current from weak to moderate
Dive Path In circle around the monolith and surroundings
Biodiversity High, with the presence of many coelenterates. Rocky walls covered with gorgonians fans. Large variety of sponges, tunicates and coastal fishes.
Peculiarities Huge “clusters” of transparent sea squirts. Various environment, with walls, rocky crags, caves. Visibility is generally very good.

Palmi-La-Motta2

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