LA RISERVA MARINA E TERRESTRE ISOLE DI VENTOTENE E S. STEFANO – COMUNE DI VENTOTENE
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The Protected Marine Area, established (first in Latium ) through a Decree from the Ministry of the Environment on 12.12.1997, covers a surface area of 2799 hectares of sea and sea-beds. Various degrees of protection have been attributed to the area: Zone A, Entire Reserve, which shows the best preserved marine biological features to be on the East, South and West sides of S. Stefano. Tourist access is not allowed and diving, by authorisation and accompanied by specialised personnel, is only allowed for reasons of study and research. Zone B, General Reserve, includes the stretch of sea from Northwest to South and East (moving counter-clockwise around the island), from Punta Eolo to the Scoglio del Mago (Sorcerer’s Rock), near Cala Battaglia, arriving on the north side of Santo Stefano. It extends outward at an average distance of a couple of kilometres from the coast. Tourists are allowed to visit here, but professional and sport fishing as well as deep-sea diving with gas tanks must be authorised. Sailing is free for residents of the Municipality, but other sea-craft must stay 500 meters from the coast. Finally, Zone C, Partial Reserve, extends from Northwest (Punta Eolo) to Cala Battaglia and includes the two ports, the Roman one and new one. Human activities are obviously predominant here, hence all activities compatible with the appearance and well-being of the place are allowed; navigation is free and professional fishing is allowed, also for non-residents. The shoals around the two islands quickly become quite deep: from about a hundred meters, the depth reaches over 900 meters a few kilometres from the coast. The water quality is clearly better than good: between Ventotene and Santo Stefano, the remarkable transparency favours a vast bed of Posidonia; the “sea forest” is the habitat of numerous species of fish, molluscs and shellfish and guarantees them shelter, food and the chance to reproduce and for their “newborns” to develop. Posidonia is not an algae, but it is similar to a plant found on the mainland, except that it has adapted to underwater life, on sea beds where the light required for photosynthesis arrives: it produces oxygen and fruit (which is sometimes washed up onto the beaches and looks like olives). When the underwater “forests” are extensive and the conditions good, they carry out a very significant role in defending the sandy coasts from erosion because they cushion the intensity of wind-driven waves. In addition, between the two islands, but at a greater depth, where the light is weaker, yellow sea-fan, sponges, “sea roses” and bryozoae, which form colonies similar to lace, flourish. Offshore, the water is inhabited not only by deep-sea fish, such as amberjack, tuna and corvine, but also by sea tortoises and dolphins and other cetaceans, even whales and sperm whales. Further along the coast, along the cliffs, one finds octopus, white sea bream, Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, dentex, sea bass and a multitude of other “little fish”. There are also molluscs and animals that attach themselves to rocks, such as sponges and rare orange madrepore. The State-run Natural Reserve of the Islands of Ventotene and Santo Stefano was established through the Environment D.M. dated 11.05.1999, for the purpose of protecting the ecology, flora vegetation, fauna, geomorphology and naturalistic environment. Of particularly great naturalistic importance is the phenomenon involving millions of birds that choose the two islands during their migratory route between Europe and Africa as well as the presence of spontaneous flora of anthropic derivation that constitutes an important habitat for the feeding and temporary sheltering of avifauna.
Information:
Municipality of Ventotene, Piazza Castello 1, Ventotene - tel. 0771854226, 077185014 fax 0771854061 - www.comune.ventotene.it - www.bibliotecaventotene.it – riservaventotene@tiscali.it
(Bruno Maragoni - maragoni@latinaturismo.it)
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