With over 7,4 thousands km of coastline, Italy is the queen of the Mediterranean.
The coastal development of the Italian peninsula and its islands is around 7,900km, some stretches of coast have taken particular names for historical-geographical or tourist reasons. With this post we would like to introduce you more about Italian coastline.
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COASTS OF THE LIGURIAN SEA
In the Ligurian Sea the coasts form, between the Nice (in France) and Piombino, a wide arch in the center of which the port of Genoa is located.
To the west of Genoa the coast takes the name of Riviera di Ponente; to the east, that of the Riviera di Levante.
The Maritime Alps, along the Riviera di Ponente, and the Ligurian Apennines, along the Riviera di Levante, push their offshoots to touch the waves of the sea.
The Ligurian coasts are therefore mostly high and rocky, very often jagged and above all rich in inlets with deep bottoms, characterized by excellent ports.
Notable protrusions are the rounded ones of Capo Noli and Capo Mele on the Riviera di Ponente; the square point of Portofino and that of Portovenere on the Riviera di Levante.
The Ligurian Sea also affects the central-northern coast of Tuscany, mainly low and sandy, which includes the Apuan coast, Versilia, the Pisan coast and the Etruscan coast up to the Gulf of Baratti.
Among the islands, the Elba Island, the island of Capraia and the island of Gorgona belonging to the Tuscan Archipelago, the Palmaria, the Tino and the Tinetto located off the Riviera di Levante are worth mentioning.
Main ports of this sea are the port of Genoa, the port of Livorno, the port of Savona and the port of La Spezia.
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| Veloce carbon road bike rental provided at the dock in Napoli, Italy |
TYRRHENIAN COASTS
The Tyrrhenian coasts, which bathe the peninsula from the promontory of Piombino to the Gulf of Gioia Tauro along the coast of the Maremma, Lazio and Campania up to the mouth of the Calore river, are mainly low and sandy.
They present a series of very open arches which, joining together, represent rocky peninsulas such as the Piombino peninsula (with the promontory that divides the Ligurian sea), in front of the island of Elba, the Uccellina mountains south of Grosseto, Monte Argentario, facing the island of Giglio; Mount Circeo, almost in front of the Ponziane islands.
The coastal arch between Mount Circeo and the Flegrea peninsula forms the wide gulf of Gaeta. Between Capo Miseno and Punta Campanella opens the Gulf of Naples with Capri, Ischia and Procida islands, from where start the Sorrento and the Amalfi coast to the Gulf of Salerno, immediately contiguous, ends up in the sea the squat promontory of Cilento, mostly consisting of high and rocky coast.
To the south of Cilento, up to the Strait of Messina, the Calabrian coasts initially jagged, for the most part high, rocky and steep; after the Gulf of Policastro they are almost straight until the promontory of Monte Poro (Capo Vaticano). In this second stretch there are the golf courses of Policastro, Sant'Eufemia and Gioia Tauro.
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IONIAN COASTS
From Punta Melito to the Gulf of Squillace, the Calabrian coasts, washed by the Ionian Sea, are in all similar to those of the Tyrrhenian stretch: straight, slightly incised and steep where the Apennines come closest to the sea. The coasts of Sila are rough.
Those of Basilicata and Puglia are uniform and once home to thriving Greek colonies (Sibari, Metaponto, Gallipoli). The coasts of the Ionian Sea form the following gulfs: Locri, Squillace, Sibari and the largest, most important and historical one of Taranto.
The main port on the Ionian Sea is that of Taranto.
ADRIATIC COASTS
Proceeding from south to north, from Punta Palascia to Otranto to the mouth of the Po, the Adriatic coasts are uniform and straight, interrupted only by the pronounced spur of Monte Gargano and the promontory of Monte Conero, whose northern slopes protect the port of Ancona.
In the remaining sections, the coast is made up of a wide sandy belt, unsuitable for port installations, but which constitutes the natural environment for bathing establishments.
In Abruzzo the main coastal stretch still virgin is the Costa dei Trabocchi, while accommodation facilities for seaside tourism are located especially in Francavilla al Mare, Pescara and Roseto degli Abruzzi. Another very popular coastal area, and home to a nature reserve, is Punta Aderci in Vasto.
To the north of Ravenna, from the Comacchio Valleys to the Gulf of Trieste, the coasts are very jagged in the first part, largely occupied by valleys and marshes (fresh waters) or lagoons (brackish waters). Then they continue low and muddy, a little more uniform along the whole Euganean Venice, up to the gulfs of Grado and Monfalcone. Instead, they are again high and very jagged in the Istrian Peninsula (divided between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia).
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SICILIAN COASTS
The largest Italian island, Sicily, has mostly mountainous and jagged coasts in the northern and eastern stretch, low in the western and southern ones.
The main inlets that meet on the Tyrrhenian stretch are:
- the Gulf of Patti, between the peninsula of Milazzo and Capo Calavà
- the Gulf of Termini Imerese, between the tip of Cefalù and Capo Zaffarano
- the Gulf of Palermo, of the Conca d'Oro
- the Gulf of Castellamare, between Punta Raisi and Capo San Vito.
On the Sicilian coasts bathed by the Ionian Sea, the Gulf of Catania, the Gulf of Noto, the Gulf of Augusta as well as the Maddalena Peninsula consisting of an extensive limestone promontory of the Miocene and the Magnisi Peninsula consisting of high cliffs and rocky cliffs sloping towards the sea. In this last peninsula we find the remains of the inhabited area of Thapsos.
On the south east coast there is the Gulf of Gela, between Licata and Punta Braccetto, it is the largest on the island.
Main ports of Sicily are Palermo, Messina and Catania.
SARDINIAN COASTS
South-western side
Along the Tyrrhenian side, from Punta Falcone (in the Bocche di Bonifacio) to Capo Carbonara, the Sardinian coasts are high and almost straight except for the northern sector, where they are very indented.
From the Bocche di Bonifacio (which separate Sardinia from Corsica) to the Gulf of Terranova, the coastal development is accompanied by numerous rocks, islets and islands. The main ones are only the island of Maddalena and Caprera (the one chosen by Giuseppe Garibaldi as his home).
The main gulfs on the Tyrrhenian side are those of Olbia and Orosei.
On the southern side, where the vast Gulf of Cagliari opens, the coasts are flat.
On the western side, rocky coasts alternate with low and marshy coasts, such as those of the Gulf of Palmas and the Gulf of Carloforte, limited to the open sea by the island of San Pietro.
From Capo Caccia to Punta Asinara the Nurra coast is largely mountainous.
In the Asinara Gulf, on the other hand, the coast is flat and the port of Porto Torres rises right here.
The main gulfs are those of Palmas, Carloforte, Oristano, Alghero and Asinara.
