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Capo Testa
Along with Corsica and Elba, Sardinia is among the most beautiful of the Mediterrranean islands and many believe - correctly to my mind - that the north of SSardinia is the best place to spend your holiday. Sparkling, white sand in bays of turquoise water (hence the name: Costa Smeralda) make it easy to believe you are in the Carribean. These sandy bays are interspersed with rocky granite outcrops, in places hewn out by the ancient Romans, for instance on the "Capo Testa" peninsula in the north of the island.

T oday's visitors don't come for the granite but for the clear water around Sardinia's shores. In diving circles, Sardinia is famous for its red stony coral, but at depths of 120 feet, it is too deep for scuba divers, although it is still collected by licensed coral divers and used to make jewellery, which fetches very high prices.

P ast Santa Teresa di Gallura, the main coral-diving centre in Sardinia, is the Capo Testa, an almost circular peninsula in the north of the island, which I used as my diving base.

I t was here that I met Joschi Kiesel, a Bavarian diving instructor with his own center. Formerly a high flyer in business in German industry, Joschi gave up his affluent life in Germany to move with his wife to Sardinia and become a diving instructor. Joschi usually reaches diving sites, such as the coral caves of Monte Regalo, in his big rubber boat ("Gommoni") but for longer trips e.g. to the Lavezzi islands or to the wreck of Santa Teresa di Gallura, he uses a large fishing boat, which he has adapted for scuba diving.

Scuba diving center Capo Testa
Joschi Kiesel
Loc. Capo Testa
I-07028 Santa Teresa di Gallura(SS)
tel. 0039/(0)789/751519, 0039/(0)360/256320
 
 
 

German Scuba diving centers at Sardinia: (valid in 1997) Diving Center Torre delle Stelle Manfred Schwarz Casella Postale 31 I-09049 Villasimius(CA) tel. 0039/(0)70/786718, fax. 750809       Diving Center Capo Galera Hans-Peter Klein Hans Schwimmbeck fermo posta I-07040 Fertilia (SS) tel. 0039/79942110       Diving Center Anna Maria Email: K.Guenther@t-online.de Regione Aresono 27 I-07040 Fertilia tel.: 0049/(0)6724/6943      Diving Club Cala Sapone Fritz Klemmschitz c/o Hotel Residence "l Ciclopi" zona Mercuri I-09017 S. Antioco (CA) tel. 0039/(0)781/800087 c/o Tonnara Camping Loc. Cala Sapone I-09017 S. Antioco (CA) tel. 0039/(0)781/809058 more information about: 60 Italian Scuba Diving Centers at Sardinia

 
 

A Dusky Grouper called "Cernia" in Italy
(taken on the "LAVEZZI-Islands")

Violet Sea Fan
(with a gorgonian skeleton)

T he wreck of St. Teresa di Gallura only sunk around 15 years ago and has now broken up into several parts. The wreck is of great interest to scuba divers, because it lies at a depth of between 15 - 50 feet and it is possible to get inside it and explore it thoroughly.

The Wreck of St. Teresa