The Cinque Terre’s protected sea area, makes part of the list of the UNESCO’s world, environment and culture fortune.
Its aim is to protect the natural characteristics, the valences and the particularities of the territory outside the sea as well as under the sea.
The Cinque Terre’s area is characterized by a reduced depth of water. As a consequence the habitat
is divided among numerous species, some of them are very rare in other Mediterranean locations, and one of the most various and richest sea fauna
of the region Liguria.
The morphology is various outside the sea as well as under the sea. Sometimes the cliffs go on for more than ten meters of depth,
as e.g. at Punta Mesco, or in smaller dimensions at Capo Montenero. In other cases the rock finishes after a few meters of depth,
and large sand zones start.
The environment under the sea is still conserved quite well, with numerous species and biocenosis of hard or mobile ground.
The most superficial part of the cliffs under the sea represents the for the eastern Mediterranean Sea typical fotofile associations,
followed by the emifotofile and the sciafile ones. The most interesting zones are the ones of Punta Mesco and Capo Montenero,
because of the opulence of biologic formations like e.g. Carolligena, the Semi dark Grottoes, the Coast’s sediments.
The facies of Paramuricea clavata e and Lophogorgia ceratophyta are widespread, and also Parazoanthus axinellae,
Leptosammia pruvoti and others. In front of the beach of Corniglia there is a special sand.
Moreover, there are some small fields and dots of oceanic Posidonia.
denomination and classification: protected natural sea area of the Cinque Terre
introductory ordinance: decree 12th December 1997 of the Department of the Environment based on the laws nr. 979/1982 and 394/1991.
General information:Total surface: 2.800 hectares
Coast's development: circa 16 km
interesting municipalities: Vernazza, Riomaggiore, Monterosso al Mare, Levanto (Sp)
particularly protected areas and their surface and coast’s development:Zone A of complete reserve: 100 ha - 2 Km
other areas:Zone B of general reserve: 200 ha - 3 Km
Zone C of partial reserve: 2500 ha - 11 Km
municipalities with coast’s development completely included in the protected area Monterosso (circa 4 km), Vernazza (circa 5 Km)
management object: Institution National Park of the Cinque Terre (constitution still opened; provisory Superintendent Central Office Sea Defense).
