The sea in front of Manarola and the other villages of the Cinque Terre is a Marine Protected Area (MPA) for one distance from land of approximately two nautical miles.
The areas of the Marine Protected Area
The protected marine area is divided into several zones, with various levels of protection both for bathing, navigation, fishing and other activities that take place on the sea.
Zone A on the Montenero promontory.
It is the integral reserve area towards the East, near the town of Riomaggiore.
Zone A of the Mesco promontory
It is the integral reserve area in front of the town of Monterosso.
Two partial reserve B zones
These are the two intermediate protection zones around the Montenero area (Riomaggiore) and Punta Mesco (in Monterosso).
The C zone
It is the remaining part of the Marine Area, mainly in front of the towns.
You can see the Marine Protected Area both from land and sea, with a tour on board an authorized local chauffeur, embarking easily at the dock at the Manarola marina, with a charterer from our town who will give you authentic and interesting information.
Find here the references for the rental boats that embark at the Manarola marina.
I now propose two initiatives that guests of Casa Capellini can undertake in the summer season, in order to see the incredible biodiversity of the fauna and flora of our sea.
Snorkeling in Palaedo
By walking a few minutes you can easily reach the Manarola marina, the one in the famous photograph all over the world.
You must continue on the road carved into the rocks overlooking the sea, on your left, until you reach a small ravine rocky slope of Palaedo, an old slide used until the end of the 70s for wooden boats that went fishing for anchovies.
The airport was recently restored by the country’s volunteers, also with the help of the National Park and the Municipality of Riomaggiore; and it is suitable for bathing, the water is generally clean and it is not too crowded, it has a splendid view towards Corniglia and Monterosso.
In summer the AMP staff places a swimming path, approximately 450 meters long, in the direction of the beaches of Corniglia, near which you can swim peacefully, passing by the marine environment with large stones.
to a sandy area with banks of Posidonia Oceanica, to a rocky cliff, to a large isolated rock that they call it “Gripposo”, or a little further offshore, in a sandy seabed sculpted into small waves by the current.
The limited depth of this entire area allows everyone to easily admire the seabed, the marine flora and the large quantity of fish and other marine creatures that inhabit it.
Snorkeling on the Montenero
Snorkeling on the tip of MonteneroThis proposal is more challenging than the first but not particularly difficult, so evaluate your options first Take the train from Manarola and go to the town of Riomaggiore, where you will arrive after about a minute’s journey.
When you exit the station go to your right, towards the town; when you get to the end of the pedestrian tunnel no go up but take the staircase down, the one towards the sea, and then again on the right. after five minutes, you will find it small beach in Riomaggiore (La Fossola beach).
From Riomaggiore beach, put on your swimsuit, mask and fins and head to the right, where
you can swim alongside the swimming lane positioned by the AMP staff (marked by a red rope with floats).
Continue in that direction, towards the right of Riomaggiore, and you find yourself in area B of the marine reserve, with depths ranging from a few meters to 15 and more metres, mainly rocky, very beautiful and very interesting to see, the biodiversity is notable, also thanks to the nearby “A” integral reserve area, where fish live undisturbed.
But be careful! it is not possible to enter zone “A” of the marine reserve, which you will find a little further on.
It is also possible to visit the AMP and dive with an authorized diving service which you can easily find in town of Riomaggiore:
Associazione Diving 5 Terre
via San Giacomo
Riomaggiore
Tel: 0187/920011
Cell: 339/8342798
www.5terrediving.it
You can find useful information on the itineraries of the Marine Protected Area at these links:
Swimming itineraries
Kayak itineraries
Underwater itineraries
Boat rental at the Manarola marina
Furthermore, the waters of the AMP are included in the cetacean sanctuary, between Italy, France, Corsica and Sardinia.
You can find interesting information on the AMP Cinque Terre website.