Portofino Marine Reserve

Diving here is boat-only and short-range: centres in Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli run out to fixed moorings on the promontory, with crossings measured in minutes rather than hours. Sites are chosen on the day according to which side of the headland the wind is hitting, so the same operator may run the exposed southern walls one morning and sheltered eastern rock such as Colombara the next. Everything is guided and booked through operators authorised by the reserve.

The underwater ground is the cliff itself, carrying on below the waterline as vertical rock broken by ledges, overhangs and short swim-throughs. The upper 20 m is bright and algae-covered; below that the light drops, the water turns noticeably colder, and the red gorgonian fans start at around 25 m, thickest on the deep wall at Punta del Faro and on the flanks of the Secca dell'Isuela, a pinnacle that tops out at 12 m and drops away on every side. The overhangs at Testa del Leone carry dense yellow cup coral between 20 and 35 m.

The set-piece is the Cristo degli Abissi in San Fruttuoso bay, a bronze figure set on the seabed at 17 m and so within Open Water limits, usually lit with a torch to lift it out of the green light. Beyond it the reserve is Advanced ground: the best rock starts at 25 m, the profiles are deep, and the cold at depth argues for a proper suit. It suits divers who read a wall slowly and photograph invertebrates rather than those hoping for big animals. Night dives run in the sheltered bays.