Hotel Ilio: the only boutique hotel on Elba

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Capo Sant’Andrea – An underwater paradise

For those who enjoy scuba diving, these seabeds are very interesting to explore. Here in Sant’Andrea, marine biologists have observed that the posidonia, a marine plant with long and thin green leaves, sexually reproduces, which is a rare event in this part of the Tyrrhenian and is testimony to the cleanness of these waters. Its fruit, similar to small olives (they are actually called “sea olives”) are visible in the spring. The carpets of posidonia on the seabed are the ideal habitat for numerous species of fish living here in abundance. Shoals of small Mediterranean chromis, which are electric blue in colour, swim among the brilliant green of the posidonia, together with wrasses, needle fish, bream and porgies.
There are also starfish and noble pen shells on the seabed.

For more experienced divers, there are some very interesting dives near the rocks known as the “Formiche della Zanca”, to the west of Sant’Andrea. Descending down the seaward side, at depths of 40 metres and more, there are intensely coloured gorgonians to be found, and it is easy to come across lobsters, moray eels, large fishing frogs and dentex. Moon fish can also be seen during the summer, with a bit of luck.

As already mentioned, two wrecks of cargo boats from Roman times were also found just off Sant’Andrea. The first is right next to the coastline at a depth of only 10 metres, the second 193 metres from the coastline at a depth of 45-47 metres. The former transported sacks of grain and the latter amphorae of wine from Campania. Many of the findings from the two ships are exhibited in the archaeological museum in Marciana and that in Portoferraio. However, the seabed is still a natural museum safeguarding the two ships and their cargoes, despite numerous expeditions by “predators” intent on stealing these treasures from the past.

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