Ustica Island was described by no less an authority than Jacques Cousteau as the most beautiful island dive site, in the Mediterranean. A tiny volcanic outcrop off the coast of Sicily, its qualities have seen it established as a Marine Nature Reserve.

Small Is Beautiful

Ustica Island may owe its undisturbed ecosystem to the fact that it was a penal colony until 1950. A tiny island—it has a total surface area of 3 sq miles (8 sq km)—it is nonetheless one of the most significant sites in the Mediterranean, to the extent that Italy’s Academy of Underwater Sciences and Techniques is based here. The volcanic origins of the island (seen in the name itself—the Latin usta translates as a burnt red color) mean that the reels around the island are particularly dramatic—with a craggy underwater topography featuring numerous caves, caverns, and overhangs.

Top Dives

One of the best sites is Medico Tumid, off the northwest of the island, which consists of a tall pinnacle with a tunnel passing directly through it. Another site of particular note around the island is the Colombara Bank—well known for its beautiful reefs and aggregations of large fish, such as barracuda and tuna.

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