Christ of the Abyss - This is the original. Installed in August 1954 in the small bay at San Fruttuoso, it commemorates diver Dario Gonzatti who died while diving an early rebreather. The famous sculpture lies at 16 meters/53 feet and is kept company by schools of damselfish, perch and wrasse. This is a fairly easy dive in sheltered waters and there are options for more challenging wreck and wall dives in the area. Copies of the statue are located at St. George’s, Grenada and Key Largo, Florida, USA.
Colossus - This steam-powered tug measures 33 meters/110 feet long with a beam of 8 metres/26 feet went to the bottom in 1945 during World War Two. An advanced or technical dive, she lies intact at about 40 metres/130 feet on a sandy bottom. Now well colonized by marine life, the massive bronze propelle and well-preserved galley and crew’s quarters make for an exciting dive.
Isuela - This underwater pinnacle reaches up from 60 meters/200 feet to within 13 meters/40 feets of the surface. Nutrient rich currents bathe the site and feed a profusion of marine life. Look for moray and conger eels in the many cracks and crevices. Gorgonians filter feeding in the current carpet the steep walls and big schools of snapper prowl the area. This is often hailed as one of the best dives in the Med, testament to the protections afforded by marine reserves.
Shrimp Cave - A vertical wall starting at about 20 metres/66 feet drops steeply into the abyss here. At about 35 meters/115 feet, Shrimp Cave is home to vast numbers pale red pandalid shrimp, which shy from divers’ lights. Healthy colonies of red coral and yellow sponges cover the walls and grouper colonize the rocky shallows of this high voltage dive site.
Mohawk Deer - This Canadian steam powered cargo ship was on tow from Genoa to the salvage yard at La Spezia in 1974, when she struck a rock and broke into two massive chunks. It’s now one of the best know and loved dive sites in the area. A great spot for a multilevel dive, the stern and boilers lie deeper than 40 metres/130 feet and the bow section is just over 20 metres/66 feet from the surface. Scorpion fish, moray and conger eels and grouper call the wreck home.
Punta Secca Carega - Also known as Dry Gonzatti, (after Dario Gonzatti, the diver commemorated by Christ of the Abyss) this dive site lies not far offshore the Portofino peninsula. A 20-metre/66-foot deep saddle separates the pinnacle from shore and then rises to within 5 metres/15 feet of the surface before plunging steeply to more than 50 metres/165 feet. Schools of anthias, snapper and bream populate the site and gorgonians reach from the reef for current-born goodies.
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