Diving in Veneto, Italy

[Graveyarddiver]

Any experience and information in diving in the Veneto region of Italy would be greatly appreciated, I’ll be moving there from the states in a few months and would like to know where to start.

About me, I am a technical diver that has spent most of my time on the East Coast of the US diving from Rhode Island down to Florida, I’ve had the opportunity to dive in California a bit as well. I generally prefer warmer water, but have no issues with cold water diving. I’m more interested in wrecks and exploring places not many people go.

some questions I have:

1) Gear. I understand steel tanks are standard in Europe, and aluminum tanks cannot be hydro’ed. However if my aluminum tanks have a current hydro from the states can I get them filled in Italy? When I lived in NL in the early 2000s I had no issues, and am wondering if there is any change.

2) Locations. What are popular wrecks and sites to dive, during various times of year.

3) Boats. What are my options for charter boats and how do they typically run? Can an individual sign onto a charter or do you need to be part of a group?

4) Clubs. I understand outside of the US diving is very club oriented and you train and go on dive trips as part of your local club. Is this the case in Italy, and are there any local clubs in the area suggested, and friendly to English speakers? (I’m still working on learning Italian)

5) Instructors. Are there any TDI instructors recommended, or is there another standard certifying agency, I really would like to continue to train with instructors from time to time and add more skills and capabilities to my toolkit.

Thanks y’all

 

[Sbiriguda]

As an Italian, I will try to answer to your questions though I am not from Veneto region but from Lombardy

1) Gear: Yes, you can get the aluminum tanks filled in Italy. They are less common than steel but used here too
2) Locations: Veneto has several possible diving destinations: sea, lake Garda, alpine lakes for ice diving in the Dolomites mountains (Belluno province and the neighboring Trentino region) and the Y-40 that used to be the deepest pool in the world until some some months ago. AFAIK the most important dives in Veneto are the "tegnue" close to Chioggia (not far from Venice) and the Evdokia, the Stella Maris and the Quintino Sella wrecks. The problem there is visibility that tends to be low (Venice is a lagoon), except some specific days when the conditions of tide and muddy waters brought by the rivers are more favorable. There are wrecks also in the lake Garda though probably less interesting. Garda is colder than the sea and the visibility is best in winter when the water is very cold but I know many people do tech diving there. From Veneto many locals dive in other places that are relatively close, for example Trieste and the neighboring Croatia. Many excellent dives there including wrecks
3) Boats: an individual can signo onto a charter, being part of a group is not necessary though it helps
4) Clubs: people in Italy tend to enroll to a club, but it's not strictly necessary. In recreational diving you can also just call or show up in any diving and they will find a buddy for you, mostly it's possible. Not sure about tech diving but I think it should be similar. Anyway, if you become part of a club you have good chances to find at least some people who speak an acceptable English, and many who speak a broken English that should be enough to communicate
5) Agencies: in Italy there are most of the American agencies you are familiar with. In addition to those you can find also other agencies, especially the "FIPSAS" which is the Italian version of the French CMAS (they are kind of twin organizations). Its level is comparable to the American agencies. In Italy instructors are well trained similarly to other countries of Europe. I guess the standard is similar to the US and based on the same procedures and certification agencies

 

[ginti]

There are groups of GUE and UTD divers active in the big lakes (Lombardy), and if I am not mistaken, even on the seaside (Friuli and Veneto). You may want to contact them if their approach to dive does not bother you.

Have fun

 

[ginti]

"FIPSAS" which is the Italian version of the French CMAS (they are kind of twin organizations)

CMAS is not French, is international; although the name is French, the headquarter is in Rome. The first president of CMAS was Cousteau, and Luigi Ferraro was the first vice-president. Ferraro, usually accredited as one of the founders of CMAS (together with Cousteau, obviously), was a former decima-mas raider and founder of TechniSub. I think there were many other founders. Yes, I like history

The twin of FIPSAS in France is FFESSM, and both of them are part of CMAS (other Italian agencies are part of CMAS as well, but no other French organizations).

CMAS club approach to diving is actually quite different from the typical PADI/SSI/etc (the differences are worth another post, so don't ask me too much here ). american one. However, PADI, SSI, and technical agencies such as TDI and IANTD have a good coverage all over Europe, and in Italy as well. GUE is particularly strong in Italy.

 

[Angelo Farina]

All that said, here in Italy I do not recommend Veneto as the best region for diving. I live in Parma, which is still in the north, in the large flat area called Pianura Padana, where also Lombardy and Veneto are.
From here, most divers prefer to move to better places such as Liguria, which has very nice spots in the Portofino-Camogli area, and in the Cinque Terre area (that is, form Levanto down to Portovenere-La Spezia). Then there is Tuscany, with many nice islands (Elba, Pianosa, Capraia, Gorgona, Montecristo, Giglio, Giannutri) and the Argentario area. Going south it becomes even better! The best for me are those small islands around Sicily: Eolie, Egadi, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, Linosa, Ustica, etc...
You need to take an aircarcat and a boat for going to most of them.
But during summer there are some direct flights, for example from the small Parma's airport we have a weekly flight direct to Lampedusa, which makes it a very convenient destination for diving.
Another popular destination is Sardinia, particularly the North area, and Corsica. There are direct flights to Olbia and Alghero. I love particularly the area north of Alghero, called Capo Caccia, where there are very nice diving sites, and incredible underwater caverns and caves.
Veneto instead is on the Adriatic sea, which I do not like particularly: You need to go very south to the Tremiti islands, for finding nice diving sites. Or cross the sea and go to Croatia.