Marine Area of Portofino Promontory - Italy

The Marine area of Portofino Promontory stretches into the Ligurian Sea for more than 3 kilometers, extending along the coast for about 13 kilometers. The submerged cliffs of the Portofino Promontory house a particularly rich and diversified fauna and flora. The rock forming the southern slope of the promontory, rich in ravines and fissures, has favoured the settlement of a typical Mediterranean environment, the coralligenous community, developing in a manner which can be rarely observed in other areas. From 30 to more than 50 meters of depth, thanks to the continuous building action of the coral algae and of calcareous skeleton animals, a very complex ecosystem, dominated by big gorgonians, red corals, sponges, stony corals, and bryozoans, has been formed. On the sandy seabed, along the western and eastern slopes of the promontory, there are Posidonia beds, housing a very rich fauna. Station sampling Portofino: Ca' dell'Oro 9.16276° E , 44.31389° N, Punta faro 9.21971° E , 44.29530° N.