Secca di Zi Costante (Shoal of Zi Costante)

Costante was the last owner of the ancient restaurant “La Taverna del Granduca” in Giannutri Island; he often went fishing on a shoal about which he spoke to us at lot.

So one day, curious to see this phantom shoal, four of us organized a dive to discover what we later named the “Zi Costante Shoal”, because, ironically, we dived there on the very day in which we received the sad news of his death.

As we reach the shoal we aim towards the deepest part and find a dream wall, full of life as only the deep Mediterranean of thirty years ago can offer, and 5 motionless sunfishes at their cleaning station, with seabreams and other small fishes around them to clean up the leftovers of their meal. 

The cap is located on the borders of Zone 1 of the Giannutri Island Marine Park, about 55 meters deep and has a crescent shape, with walls that descend steeply to over 90 meters.

The shallower part at 55 meters of depth is a rocky area about ten meters high. The seabed is irregular, alternating pinnacles with rocky ridges completely covered with yellow and red gorgonian fans, sponges of all shapes and alcyonaria such as can only be seen here in this stretch of sea.

The shoal is a true treasure chest full of jewels of sessile Mediterranean marine life, some quite rare. Paralcyonum spinulosum is a coelenterate very similar to a tropical alcyonaria, smaller in size and with a semi-transparent pink colour. It does not form extensive walls but is distributed in small groups of various specimens.

Even the characteristic tunicate Diazona violacea is present above 50 meters of depth. It is very similar to the common clavelina, but the individuals are placed next to each other creating compact and globular shapes.

The coelenterate Parerythropodium coralloides is present with an unusual lilac color. Alcyonum palmatum is also frequent. Almost all of the gorgonaceae of the Mediterranean are distributed in this shoal at the ideal depth. In fact, above 65 meters we find the inique shape of the Antipatella subpinnata – black coral (reminiscent of snow-covered trees), which colonizes everything between 70 and 80 meters.

If this area is still so full of life it is thanks to the Natural Park of the Tuscan Archipelago, which has protected this important heritage since 1996, the year of its establishment