Dive Sites in Venice – Dive now with Venice Diving in the North East Italy Gulf
Dive sites in Venice, Italy, may vary from Rocky Reef Sites, Shore Dives or Wreck Dives Sites. Our Rocky Reef Site are called TEGNUE.
For Wreck Diving, click here.Why the name “Tegnue” for the Venice Dive Sites?
These rocks have been called the “Tegnue” by the local fishermen, because they used to catch and break their nets. Tegnue, means “caught”, “held” in our italian dialect. They are a group of rocks formed quite recently, in correspondence with the methane gas emissions, thus provoking the cementation of the sea bed and creating a reef, with some that reach over a meter in height.
The environment is super full of life but unfortunately it’s quite common to find an un-transparent waters. This is due to the abundance of plankton, thanks to the nutrients from the rivers.
Moreover the anticlockwise circulation brings the limpid, poor and salty waters from the Mediterranean to go back up to the Albanian coastline and that of the Ex-Yugoslavia, right up until they lap the Istrian coast. Here they start to collect all the nutrients that are emptied into the sea by the population. The plankton start to find enough food and we can see the first algae flower, that from Trieste , coming towards Venice and the south, consent the large breeding grounds for filtering shell fish such as mussels and clams, in water that is very rich in substance yet less limpid in colour.
But we are very very rich in Lobster and other crustaceans like few other place in the diving world. Read and look below all that the Tegnue may offer to you.
SECCA ALBERTO
Secca Alberto is a spot between two other sites we are used to go often but between the three this is our favorite one. Suitable for both experienced and non-experienced divers. Navigation is quite simple, the dive site looks like a tongue that you can just follow on the sides.
Perfect for macro photography, the spot is full of Blennies and other micro organisms. Also perfect for wide angle photography because if you’re lucky enough you can spot Duck Bill Rays and predators like Tunas or Common Dentex.
Be sure to check inside every cavity, Conger Eels, Drums and Lobsters are hiding inside the rocks.
We normally anchor on the sand next to the site and we dive down following the anchor line. Colorful orange sponge, sometimes on Sponge Crab, will welcome you as you descend and start seeing at the bottom of this Venice Dive Sites.
This is also the best place for DSD, since it’s depth is 12-13 meter at the top of the Tegnua. Maximum Depth is 17 meters so is the best place to finish your Open Water Course.
PIRAMYD
One of our best diver friends left us some years ago in a job accident so we decided to build an underwater pyramid in his memory. He was a friendly diver, in love with the Tegnue.
Like the old egyptians, we enclosed inside the building some of his personal things and we handprinted all the walls and some blocks around the area. You may still see some, even though most of them are now covered by sealife.
Hidden in the rocks around the Pyramid it’s easy to see Lobsters that sometimes totally go out for a walk. Black and Red Scorpionfish, Conger Eel and Painted Comber are also a easy sight in the area.
NADIO
One famous Diving Club from Belluno, a city close to Venice, decided to lay a Memory Stone for one of their more active members, died accidentally during a car crash. You may spot his name during this dive and look around it to encounter the huge Conger Eel “Luigi” (you can see him in the picture!) and many different species color and sizes of Scorpion Fish.
The very attraction of this diving site is a 50+ school of Corvina Drum, an elegant fish with a yellow trailing edge. Moving down the slope next to the Nadio Stone it’s the best place to spot them or, alternately, close to “Luigi” home!
SEVERIN
About 10 year ago we tried to create a kind of artificial reef by installing some cement blocks and metal poles at the bottom. This stuff is still there and it became home of mussels, Painted Comber, schools of Mediterranean Damoiselles, Octopus and of course different Nudibranches species. If you’re lucky enough you can even spot Duckbill Ray, our version of an eagleray: finger crossed then!
We normally anchor on the sand next to the site and we dive down following the anchor line. Colorful orange sponge, sometimes on Hermit Crab, will welcome you as you descend and start seeing at the bottom of this Venice Dive Sites.
MADONNINA
Once home of a Madonna Statue, this site is still one of our favourites due to the presence of big Lobsters, Corvina Drums, Scorpionfish and many Seabass. It is less colourful than other places but more chance to see nubibranches and cuttlefish.
If good visibility is with us, this place is one of the richest of the area but, on the other hands, it’s also one of the place where the muddy bottom obstacles the chance to have clear water.
We normally anchor on the sand next to the site and we dive down following the anchor line. A bit deeper than other spots, maximum depth 21m.
PESCA
A small interesting area where we left some of our old home vase in order to give home more sealife and get the dive site bigger and more attractive. The best place for spotting Octopuses and Hermit Crabs. We normally go to this spot when we have experienced divers or small group since of its dimension.
Duckbill Ray have been spotted here too, and Tuna passing by during the safety stop as well.
We normally, as basically all our spots, anchor on the sand next to the site and we dive down following the anchor line.
SECCA GRANDE
Secca is actually another name for Tegnua. Only for advanced divers because this site is a bit deeper than the other ones, reaching a max depth of 26 meters. Keep in mind that the water temperature is therefore colder, going down to 14 degrees Celsius.
Thus this is one of the Best places to get your advanced open water diver licence.
More colourful than other sites is hosting bigger lobsters and other amazing species.
Actually here two are the stars of our diving time: Spotted Dog Fish and John Dory Fish.
SHORE DIVE
This is a perfect dive site for kids! A safe place to dive, especially for the first time, exploring the ocean marvels. In a maximum depth of 4m everyone can enjoy amazing sea creatures like Seahorses, Pipefish, cuttlefish and lobsters.
Normally we do not take adults here since a perfect flawless buoyancy is needed due to the shallow water. A wrong kick might destroy the young diver experience: leave your kids in our hands, they will love it.
The ratio Diving Guide-kid is always one-to-one not only then for safety reason but for the visibility issue that we just explained above.
