Discovering Calabria's submerged treasures

Our underwater archaeology itinerary in Calabria starts from the upper Tyrrhenian Sea of Cosenza, specifically from the Riviera dei Cedri Regional Marine Park, with a dive around the Island of Cirella in the municipality of Diamante (CS). Here, off the coast of the islet, lies an important shipwreck: as evidenced by the 2011 survey conducted by the Superintendency, it is a small-medium coastal vessel carrying a cargo of wine amphorae from Campania dating back to between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. At that time, the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Cosenza was a busy route between Campania and Sicily.

Today, the same stretch of sea offers diving enthusiasts a visit to the “Atlantide” Underwater Museum, whose name evokes myths and legends of the sea. The sculptures, set in the sand at the bottom of the sea, are works by artist Francesco Minuti, creator of the museum, designed to blend in with the local flora and fauna (Posidonia Oceanica meadows and Caretta Caretta turtles) and become timeless creatures resting among the waves.

An unmissable stop for lovers of underwater archaeology in Calabria is the Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area, in the province of Crotone. Here, the intervention of the Superintendency and the University of Tuscia has created a veritable underwater archaeological trail, accessible both with scuba gear and snorkelling: the legendary Roman wreck of Punta Scifo. The underwater site known as “Punta Scifo D” is one of the largest Roman stone shipwrecks discovered to date, as well as one of the most important underwater archaeological sites in Calabria and the Mediterranean. Discovered in 1986 by Luigi Cantafora, a diver from Crotone, the Calabrian underwater site features 54 large blocks and slabs of white marble that make up the cargo of a large “navis lapidaria” (40 x 14 metres) that sank in the 3rd century AD.

We are a short distance from the “Capo Colonna” National Archaeological Park and the National Archaeological Museum of Crotone, where you can admire some of the recovered artefacts. But that's not all! The latest research has brought to light the history of the steamship “Bengala”, part of the “Navigazione Generale Italiana” fleet, one of the largest European companies of the time, which sank off the coast of Isola Capo Rizzuto in 1889 with nine cast iron cannons, two enormous anchors and a beautiful bronze bell on board.

Underwater archaeology in Calabria passes through the submerged archaeological site of Ancient Kaulon. The first sightings of archaeological material emerged in the stretch of sea in front of the great Doric Temple, in the National Archaeological Park of Ancient Kaulonìa. We are in the municipal area of Monasterace, along the Costa dei Gelsomini in the province of Reggio Calabria. It was the archaeologist Kapitän who, in 1967, first discovered the column drums of the temple and other worked materials, mistakenly attributing them to a shipwreck. It was only in the 1990s that diver Stefano Mariottini, who had already discovered the Riace Bronzes off the coast of the town of the same name (1972), in collaboration with the Superintendency, managed to map about 200 blocks belonging to the building material of the sacred area of Kaulon.

This is a vast area at a depth of 5-6 metres, characterised by the presence of numerous worked and semi-worked architectural elements (columns and bases of fluted columns, mooring bollards, etc.) belonging to a working area dating back to 480-70 BC. Some of the recovered finds are on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Monasterace, in the Underwater Archaeology Section, but most are still underwater, visible not only to certified divers but also to snorkellers and freedivers, thanks to the shallow depth of the site, which is rich in amazing flora and fauna.

Not just antiquities! Lovers of industrial archaeology combined with underwater archaeology in Calabria will be blown away by the sunken wrecks from the First and Second World Wars. Among these, two impressive examples lie on the crystal-clear seabed off Roccella Ionica, along the Costa dei Gelsomini in Reggio Calabria. These are the wreck of the Pasubio, one of the most fascinating of its kind, sunk by a British submarine in 1943, and the Fort Missanabie, a British cargo ship torpedoed the following year. The cargo ship Pasubio lies on the sandy seabed at a depth of 44 metres, but its superstructure can already be seen at a depth of 34 metres. In addition to being surrounded by dense clouds of Anthias, the structure is completely covered with sponges, tunicates and algae. A short distance away, the 137-metre-long Fort Missanabie lies at a depth of about 80 metres, broken into two sections, with its bow upside down, now an ideal habitat for blue fish.