Are you ready to dive into ancient history?
Sicily has always been a tourist destination famous for its sea and its history. In fact, the island boasts a multi-thousand-year history with different cultures, but is above all, known for belonging to Magna Graecia. Its Greco-Roman past is therefore very important and this is visible in the numerous archaeological sites scattered around the island.
But these testimonies of our past and our history are not only found on land but also in the sea where the past can be seen by diving, thus gathering discoveries on fauna, flora and culture!
In Sicily, there are 23 dive sites where you can observe wrecks but also archaeological finds. The history of a country is not limited to its land borders, sea and culture being in fact two inseparable concepts. These so-called underwater cultural routes represent this strong bond and contribute to making known the underwater cultural heritage, to enhance it and to protect it.
One of these finds is found in the Bay of Taormina, in the natural reserve of Isola Bella. We are very lucky that we get to experience this mixture of history and the underwater world. Understanding where they originated, where they were headed and whom for will always be up for debate.
At a depth of 22 metres lies a load of 37 white marble columns dating back to the 3rd century AD. At that time, eastern Sicily played an important role in commercial trade. The analysis of the marble of the columns allows us to roughly retrace the ship’s route. With a departure from Greece, she was certainly headed to Rome where during her journey, due to a storm, she sank in the waters of Capo Taormina.
Don’t waist time and come and discover a piece of ancient history by diving with us in the Isola Bella Marine Park, Taormina. For more details on this dive site and others we have in the area, click here: Diving Map • Sea Spirit Diving
Lara Romagnolo
PADI Instructor
