An underwater dive in Ustica like no other. Huge boulders lie on an immense stretch of sand at a depth of 20 metres, giving Cala Giacone a varied ecosystem full of surprises.
Less than five minutes from the port of Ustica, Cala Giacone is located immediately after the Punta dell'Omomorto lighthouse. On arrival, a magnificent bay opens up, dominated by a high cliff to the east and a small beach of large pebbles to the south. It is precisely the large pebbles, called 'ciacuna' in Sicilian, that give this beautiful bay its name.
Starting from the centre of the bay, the seabed consists of a multitude of pebbles and posidonia, an ideal environment for young groupers and fascinating pipefish. To the north of the bay, from a depth of about 15 metres, a huge patch of white sand begins, extending to a depth of 22 metres for hundreds of metres in all directions. Being the only dive site with a sandy bottom at medium depth, Cala Giacone is the place in Ustica where you can find species typical of this environment, such as the cute comb fish, the shy tracine, the huge comb stars and the curious turbot. Swimming eastwards, there are numerous huge boulders lying on the sand, around which can be found brown groupers, sharps and large octopuses. The rock formations create an environment full of canyons and passages, offering the possibility of following a variety of paths populated by a great diversity of crustaceans and nudibranches, all between 22 and 4 metres deep.
Due to its configuration, Cala Giacone is extremely interesting for night diving. At night, the sandy area is populated by thousands of small dauphins, interesting small fish with frenetic movements, and the very rare chanterelles (Ophidion barbatum), snake-shaped fish that can only be observed during their nocturnal movements. In the area of the boulders and canyons, on the other hand, numerous molluscs such as Aplysia punctata (small sea hares), Umbraculum and octopus, and crustaceans such as spider crabs, shrimps and slipper lobsters appear.
Finally, Cala Giacone is very suitable for beginners' diving courses, such as the PADI Discover Scuba Diving (try dive) and the PADI Open Water Diver course, thanks to the comfortable shallow bay and simple low-depth passages where the trainees can practice their diving skills.
Completely different from any other scuba dive in Ustica, Cala Giacone is the ideal site to showcase the incredible variety offered by Italy's first Marine Protected Area.