03 Mar Sea protected areas in Italy: what they are and where they are located

Do you know how many sea protected areas there are in Italy? There are 27 from Liguria to Sicily. To these we must also add the area of the Cetacean Sanctuary and two underwater parks.

A real treasure made up of sea, beaches, pieces of coastline and, above all, species to be protected. It is precisely for this reason that marine protected areas are important. But what are we talking about? Here are some figures that allow us to understand how important the protection of the marine environment is in Italy.

The sea protected areas in Italy: the numbers

Sea protected areas in Italy were created by a decree of the Ministry of the Environment. The decree in question, which clearly indicates the boundaries and all the purposes of protection, aims to identify the different degrees of protection within the areas themselves. Area A is the integral reserve zone, where fishing, boating, bathing and anything else that may disturb or damage the environment are forbidden. Then there is area B, which is defined as a general reserve, and area C, which is a partial reserve. There is less protection, but there are still active constraints that are mandatory.

Italy’s marine protected areas cover 700 kilometres of coastline and 228,000 hectares of sea. Here is kept a real naturalistic treasure on the one hand but also a historical one. Coastal flora and fauna and the inhabitants of the sea are protected. The protection afforded to these areas allows many species to live in peace, finding everything they need for their lives.

The wild coastline and the distance from the most popular tourist routes allows birds and turtles to continue to live in peace and to reproduce. An advantage for the entire ecosystem.

However, there are not only turtles, fish and birds, but also archaeological remains. The underwater parks are of immense historical value and, in fact, guided dives are often organised to discover the treasures hidden under the sea level, a living memory of a past that always deserves attention.

The list of italian marine areas

What, specifically, are these Italian protected areas? The first thing to point out is that Italy has some of the most important Special Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) in the Mediterranean. There are 11 of them in all, here are which ones:

• Portofino Protected Area (Liguria)
• Miramare Protected Area (Friuli Venezia Giulia)
• Plemmirio (Sicily)
• Porto Cesareo (Apulia)
• Torre Guaceto (Apulia)
• Punta Capannella (Campania)
• Tavolara (Sardinia)
• Punta Coda Cavallo (Sardinia)
• Capo Carbonara (Sardinia)
• Peninsula of Sinis – Island of Mal di Ventre (Sardinia)
• Capo Caccia – Piana Island (Sardinia)
• Cetacean Sanctuary (Tuscany)

The other marine protected areas in Italy are:

• Asinara Island Marine Protected Area (Sardinia)
• Tremiti Islands Marine Nature Reserve (Puglia)
• Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area (Sicily)
• Marine Protected Area of Ustica Island (Sicily)
• Ciclopi Islands marine protected area (Sicily)
• Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (Sicily)
• Capo Gallo-Isola delle Femmine Marine Protected Area (Sicily)
• Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area (Calabria)
• Torre del Cerrano Marine Protected Area (Abruzzo)