The complex hydrodynamic phenomena caused by the currents of the Strait of Messina and the great variety of life forms make the seabed of Scilla a true natural paradise of flora and fauna, a unique underwater ecosystem.
Beneath the sea surface lies one of the most fascinating seabeds of the Mediterranean, a destination every year for numerous divers and researchers from all over the world.
The succession of ecosystems alongside one another creates an environment of spectacular life and colours, a unique natural heritage of extraordinary biodiversity where different species coexist in relationship with each other and with the environment.

Only in this area, thanks to factors such as its geographical position, the pulsating currents of the Strait, and the morphology of the seabed, do some plant species exist that create true underwater forests. One, legendary in nature, is located at Secca dei Francesi, a place that owes its name to the team of Commander Jacques Cousteau, who in the 1970s aboard the Calypso was the first to explore it.
Here, starting from a depth of 60 metres, extends the so-called Black Coral (Antipathella subpinnata), which forms one of the largest forests documented so far in the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite its name, derived from its dark exoskeleton, the environment it creates resembles an expanse of snow-covered shrubs, thanks to the pure white colour of its polyps.
Another precious forest is the one formed by Laminaria ochroleuca, the “kites of the sea”: a giant algae, recently explored and rediscovered in the depths of the sea of Scilla. In the entire Mediterranean it survives only here and in the Alboran Sea (Strait of Gibraltar), places where it has found the ideal conditions to endure.
It is no coincidence that these are two straits: places where many particular factors such as currents, depth, and light availability combine in a unique way, allowing this ancestral species to pass through time and continue even today to populate this submerged area from a depth of 50 metres.
Fundamental is the current that lifts its blades like green and golden veils arranged parallel to the seabed and, like solar panels, capture the light necessary for photosynthesis.
In return, Laminaria releases oxygen, traps carbon dioxide, slows coastal erosion, and becomes shelter and nourishment for countless creatures.

Thus, in addition to offering an almost otherworldly landscape to those who explore it, this underwater forest reveals itself as the silent guardian of the balance of the sea and the destiny of the coastal community. A historic uniqueness of the seabed of Scilla is represented by the famous bicoloured gorgonians of Scilla, Paramuricea clavata, the soft coral of the Mediterranean, a true symbol of these seabeds.
An animal that normally displays an intense red colour, but which in these waters takes on an extraordinary yellow-red hue that makes these immense expanses a colourful and endless spectacle.
Just like terrestrial forests, the underwater forests of Scilla are the perfect habitat to attract and host many other species, creating that oasis of biodiversity long renowned among scholars and enthusiasts. A precious and fundamental element of the marine ecosystem of Scilla is represented by the meadows of Posidonia oceanica, not an algae but a true marine plant that begins to appear on rocky and sandy seabeds just a few dozen metres from the shore, forming one of the most extensive and dense meadows in the Mediterranean, a tangible promise for the future.
These meadows are crucial for biodiversity, acting as a fundamental habitat for reproduction, shelter, and nourishment for numerous marine species. From an ecological point of view they help protect coastlines from erosion, stabilize the seabed thanks to their roots, oxygenate the water, and absorb CO2.
A fragile yet precious species, as ancient as the Mediterranean itself, which continues to sway to the endless rhythm of the current. Another historic protagonist of these seabeds is Cerianthus membranaceus.
Several specimens inhabit the area, starting from a depth of 32 metres.
Their age remains a mystery; the first divers who explored these waters already observed them in the same places and with unchanged dimensions.
Always anchored to the seabed with their tube, they open their tentacles to capture prey and, at the same time, have attracted for generations the gaze of those who encounter them.

This is part of what the benthic world of our seabeds offers, namely what lives anchored to the substrate and which in this area proliferates in an incredible way thanks to the numerous nutrients transported by the currents known as Montante and Scendente: masses of water moving northward or southward that alternate every six hours and deliver directly everything these “immobile” animals need to feed, reproduce, and survive. The seabeds of Scilla are characterized by the widespread presence of shoals and crevices, known as the Secche di Scilla, which constitute true biological oases. From the shoal of the “Cento Cipolle”, with its gorgonians and cave inhabited by large moray eels, to the “Mpaddata”, the favourite gathering place of large amberjacks, but above all stands out “La Montagna” of Scilla, a twenty-metre-high rock monolith resting on an expanse of sand at a depth of about 40 metres in front of the Rock of Scilla, entirely covered with bicoloured gorgonians and offering shelter in its crevices to countless organisms: enormous Cerianthus, Anthias, Tritons, clusters of Clavelina, and Nudibranchs.
For divers, close encounters with Dentex, Octopuses, and Starfish are commonplace, and in less illuminated areas red fish, orange Astroides, Madrepores, the yellow Leptosamnia, or schools of trumpetfish.
During dives it is not uncommon to come face to face with John Dory, Groupers, Moray Eels, and Anglerfish emerging curiously from their dens, or with large schools of barracudas and amberjacks approaching to inspect you, while parrotfish at every depth swim in numerous groups.
Also constant is the presence of large cetaceans and pelagic species that have in Scilla a compulsory passage point during their migrations.
And then there are the many species of rays that can be encountered, especially during the warmer months and at shallow depths; the large Mediterranean manta rays (Mobula mobular), known as “devil fish” because of their horn-like cephalic fins, elegantly glide through the surface waters offshore, in the deepest blue.
It has now become common to sight in these waters: dolphins, now resident for a long time, often enlivening the sea in front of the Rock of Scilla with their acrobatics; to see the spouts of passing whales and sperm whales; or to admire loggerhead and leatherback turtles as they rise to the surface to breathe, as well as tuna and the legendary swordfish.
And also countless colourful sponges, various types of sea anemones, algae, and nudibranchs that change according to the season, reminding us that even underwater everything changes with the passing of the seasons.

Cristina Condemi