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Guide · Italy

Spearfishing in Italy

Italy's coast is one long Mediterranean shore, but with three characters: the Tyrrhenian and the islands (Sardinia, Sicily, Elba, Ponza) of warm, clear, all-but-tideless water; the Adriatic, largely sandy except for the cliffs of the Gargano, the Conero and the Salento; and the exceptions of the Strait of Messina and the upper Adriatic. Each stretch dives differently — but the calm-sea window rules everywhere.

In Italy spearfishing is breath-hold only (no scuba) and needs no paid licence, but a mandatory free declaration to MASAF. The frame is national (D.P.R. 1639/1968 + the EU control regime), with regions and marine protected areas adding their own bans. This guide explains the rules, the minimum sizes, what the tides do on each coast and where it is banned — and links to the per-city sea forecast, refreshed every day.

Open the flagship — Tropea →

How to read the conditions

The deciding factors are the same everywhere: swell (height and period — a low, long-period swell stirs the bottom more than a high, short one), wind and wind-sea (they ruffle the surface and drop visibility), water turbidity (it shuts a hunt down more than anything) and temperature. spearo.app folds it all into a single go / marginal / no-go verdict per city, with the week ahead — but the golden rule doesn't change: a calm entry can break on the exit, always decide with a margin.

In Italy the tide is usually not a factor: the Mediterranean is all but tideless (a few centimetres), so the solunar calendar and the light windows take over — dawn and dusk, when the fish move. There are two exceptions. The upper Adriatic (Trieste, Duino and the coast north of ~44°N) has the largest tide in Italy, up to about a metre, which must be factored in. And the Strait of Messina (Scilla, Bagnara, the Sicilian shore): the tide is tiny in height, but the currents (the rema) reach ~3 m/s and reverse every ~6 hours — there you plan on the slack (the stanca), not on the range.

The season, too, depends on the stretch. The Mediterranean gives a long, steady season, with warm, clear water from late spring to autumn; the south and the islands (Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria) can be dived almost all year, always working the coast's wind-sheltered side. The central and northern Adriatic is largely sandy and murky: it opens mainly in summer and on the days when the offshore bora cleans the water.

Safety — especially solo

Always dive with the signalling float in view (it is mandatory: a red flag with a white diagonal stripe, visible at ≥300 m, and you must stay within 50 m of the float's vertical), never hyperventilate before a dive (risk of shallow-water blackout) and stay within depths you control. In Italy spearfishing is breath-hold only — no scuba, no compressed air — allowed only from age 16, and the speargun is never kept armed out of the water.

The golden rule of freediving is never dive alone — «one down, one watching». Solo, scout the exit from land before you get in, take long surface intervals, surface before the strong urge to breathe, leave the water with energy to spare, and tell someone your plan. This tool is a planner, not a safety guarantee — the call is yours, on the rock.

Where to dive, by region

Liguria

The Ligurian Riviera of rock and limestone falesie (Capo Noli, Punta Bianca), clear water and a Mediterranean season from late spring to autumn. The enemy is the libeccio from the SW; the headlands always leave a lee side. Spearfishing is banned in the Portofino, Cinque Terre and Bergeggi MPAs — you dive the legal rock to the east and at the fringes.

  • Bordighera — Western Riviera ground near the French border: low capes, slabs and posidonia, with steep points where 51 m is reached 1 km out.
  • Imperia — Two shore marks under Capo Berta: cliff, boulders and patchy posidonia from 3 to 25 m, plus a shingle-and-rock strip of 2–15 m off Galeazza beach.
  • Noli-Varigotti — Limestone coast between Noli and Varigotti: the Capo Noli cliff carries on underwater as walls and boulders, with dentex, white bream and corb.
  • Varazze — The deepest shore ground on this stretch of Liguria: serpentinite slabs and boulder slides at Punta dell'Olmo and Punta della Mola, with about 18–22 m only 400 m out.
  • Arenzano — A shallow coast: low cliff, fallen boulders and stepped slabs at Punta San Martino and Punta Pizzo, still only about 5 m deep 400 m out.
  • Genova Voltri — The last natural rock west of the Port of Genoa: Vesima beach with slabs and patchy posidonia, and Punta Nave, where boulders and vertical clefts drop straight down.
  • Genova Nervi — Urban shore of eastern Genoa: slabs and boulders along the Nervi promenade, a small cave near 15 m, rock heads at Punta Gaiassa and Scoglio Leone.
  • Sestri Levante — Walls, boulders and low reef around Punta Manara, sheltered from the west by the Portofino promontory.
  • Moneglia-Framura — Boulder fields and deeper headlands between Moneglia and Framura, in clear and lightly visited water; Punta Gone drops to 45 m at 1 km.
  • Lerici-Tellaro — The best rock of the La Spezia gulf: the white cliff of Punta Bianca with walls and boulders, spurs and underwater canyons at Punta Corvo, holes among the Fiascherino spurs.

Tuscany

The Tuscan coast of rock and granite (the Argentario promontory) and crystalline islands — Elba has the best visibility (over 20 m at Enfola), with Giglio to the west. The west-facing exposures take the libeccio; you look for calm or an offshore wind. Mind the Tuscan Archipelago National Park zones and the Secche della Meloria MPA, where spearfishing is banned.

  • Viareggio — No mark is published here: the Versilia is flat sand from Torre del Lago to Forte dei Marmi, without rock.
  • Livorno Calafuria — Sandstone slabs and low reef along the Calafuria road, with many entries over slippery rock.
  • Castiglioncello — Pine-clad points with slabs running into posidonia, small rocky bays and a very shallow shelf: often only 12 m deep a kilometre out.
  • Piombino-Baratti — Two faces: the Gulf of Baratti looks northwest and hides from sirocco and libeccio, while Punta Falcone and Capo Castello face the Elba channel with current and often crystal water.
  • Punta Ala — Sandy Maremma with a few rocky features: the Sparviero islet with reef and current, Punta Hidalgo sloping into posidonia, cove edges at Cala Violina.
  • Monte Argentario — A granite promontory with real depth: walls, blocks and overhangs at Cala Grande, caves and posidonia at 15–30 m, coralligenous from 30–40 m at Isola Rossa.
  • Isola d'Elba Ovest — Granite slabs, walls and channels on Elba's west side, with visibility over 20 m in calm.
  • Isola d'Elba Sud — Steep southern walls with current: the Remaiolo rock drops toward 70 m, with amberjack, barracuda and gorgonians below 30 m.
  • Isola del Giglio — Island granite and screes with deep water close in: 66–86 m at 1 km and over 100 m within 1.8 km.
  • Marina di Pisa — No natural rock: from Bocca d'Arno to Calambrone it is low sand, and the only stone is the artificial breakwaters and groynes.

Lazio

Northern Lazio is largely sandy and murky: the real rock is the Circeo and Gaeta headlands and the island of Ponza, sandstone and landslides with dentex and grouper. The libeccio from the SW dominates, but a headland always offers a sheltered side. Mind the Secche di Tor Paterno MPA (off Ostia) and the Ventotene islands, which are off-limits.

  • San Felice Circeo — The Circeo promontory: a rocky cape with gravel entry, the lighthouse point on deeper ground and a lee on the northwest side under a libeccio.
  • Gaeta — Jagged rock and walls from 5 to 15 m around Punta Stendardo and Monte Orlando, on a rock, seagrass and sand bottom.
  • Ponza — Volcanic island with deep structure close to shore: white rock at Capo Bianco, screes at Punta del Fieno, and a bottom running from 66 to 111 m between 1 and 1.8 km.
  • Fiumicino — No mark is published here: sand, the Tiber's silt and the airport, with commercial traffic and ferries at the canal mouth.
  • Ladispoli — Dark volcanic sand and rock groynes; the only natural structure is the protected Torre Flavia stretch, which is not hunting ground.
  • Civitavecchia — Rome's cruise and ferry port: the water in front of the town is harbour water and a shipping lane, so no mark is published.
  • Anzio — All the rock is in the cape: tuff shelves and Roman ruins fallen into the water off Nero's villa, 100 m out, and artificial boulders on sand at 3–6 m by the Marinaretti breakwaters.

Campania

The clearest water is in the Cilento (Agropoli → Palinuro → Camerota) and on the Amalfi coast east of the Punta Campanella MPA; Capo Palinuro, with its caves and walls, is the jewel. The Sorrento peninsula and the islands (Ischia, Procida, Capri) are closed by MPAs. Warm, sheltered rock: you work the lee side between the headlands.

  • Cetara — Amalfi Coast at its eastern end: deep walls at Punta Fuenti and Capo d'Orso, boulders by the harbour and narrow coves that drop from 3 to 18 m.
  • Amalfi / Conca dei Marini — Classic cape coast: walls, caves and steep drops, with about 34 m only 200 m out at Spiaggia della Vite.
  • Agropoli — Rocky capes and coves at the north edge of the Cilento: Punta Tresino with mixed bottom, the castle headland and Trentova bay with posidonia.
  • Acciaroli — Crystal Cilento water: a rocky bay with caves at Ogliastro, a shallow shoal under 6 m and caves to about 15 m by the harbour, and sand with stone ridges at Agnone.
  • Palinuro — A big cape with a lee for almost any wind: cracks and caves from 10–12 m and drops beyond 30 m.
  • Marina di Camerota — Rock and boulders on the town side of Camerota, with lee coves between the capes.
  • Naples — The only real rock in the city is Posillipo: tuff cliffs, fallen boulders and patchy posidonia down to 8–10 m.
  • Bacoli — Campi Flegrei tuff running into the sea: under Capo Miseno, 87 m out, boulders and gravel at 10–14 m; rock, boulders and posidonia at 6–10 m at Punta Pennata.
  • Procida — Procida and Vivara sit inside the Regno di Nettuno marine reserve, and its rules ban spearfishing.
  • Ischia — All of Ischia's water lies inside the Regno di Nettuno marine reserve, so no mark is published.

Calabria

On the Tyrrhenian side, the Costa degli Dei (Tropea, Capo Vaticano) and the Costa Viola (Scilla, Bagnara) are famed for crystal water and steep drop-offs close in; the Ionian side is sandier. At Scilla and Bagnara the tide matters little, but the Strait of Messina currents (rema, up to ~3 m/s) mean you dive on the slack. The Capo Rizzuto MPA, on the Ionian, is off-limits.

  • Scalea — Riviera dei Cedri ground: the Dino island channel at 3–18 m, a rock wall with caves at Arcomagno and the steep Punta Frontone, about 51 m only 400 m out, where the current sets offshore.
  • Diamante — A modest, shallow coast: Cirella island with boulders and posidonia at 2–12 m, reached by a 200 m swim across a channel that clouds up in swell.
  • Belvedere Marittimo — Small headlands on flat ground: shingle and sand with stone ridges, 2–12 m, about 5 m deep even 400 m out at Punta di Bonifati.
  • Cetraro — Rock capes with ridges running out from the shore: Capo Bonifati with posidonia from 6 m, Capo Cetraro at 3–15 m over a shallow bank.
  • Paola — Flat Tyrrhenian ground: sand with stone ridges, about 10–12 m deep 400 m out, and the holes between the Paola breakwater blocks.
  • Amantea — Shallow sand coast with a few rock features: the Coreca rocks a few steps from shore, 2–10 m with holes under the stones, and ridges off the old tonnara, about 13 m 400 m out.
  • Tropea — Clear Costa degli Dei water: the rocky stack by the beach, reefs west of town with sharp drops close to shore, spurs off Parghelia.
  • Capo Vaticano — Granite coves with quick depth and very clear water: the drop reaches about 53 m 400 m out at Coccorino.
  • Scilla — The Costa Viola at the mouth of the Strait of Messina: caves and drops plunging toward the abyss, about 62 m only 200 m out at Punta Pezzo.
  • Bagnara Calabra — Costa Viola drop-offs: about 56 m just 200 m out at Marinella, 106 m at 400 m off the old Palmi tonnara.
  • Soverato — Ionian coast: reefs and posidonia off the town, rocky coves under Stalettì and the Pietragrande rocks with caves at 2–12 m.
  • Crotone — The Capo Rizzuto marine reserve begins south of town.

Apulia

The Gargano (Vieste, Mattinata) and the Salento (Otranto, Castro, Leuca) offer white limestone cliffs and often crystal-clear turquoise water, with sudden drop-offs close in. The Adriatic Salento takes the whole eastern arc, the Ionian one the western arc: there is almost always a sheltered side. Banned in the Tremiti Islands and Porto Cesareo MPAs — you dive south of the boundary toward Gallipoli.

  • Vieste — Gargano limestone: town stacks dropping into depth, sheer rock at Testa del Gargano, broad flat platforms and reefs under the old trabucchi.
  • Mattinata — White Gargano cliffs in clear water: stacks at the Baia delle Zagare, fallen blocks under Vignanotica, a big sea cave with grouper and moray.
  • Otranto — Salento's east coast: banks and drops at Punta Palascia, Italy's easternmost point, sea caves with grouper, moray and lobster, and the narrow rocky inlet of Porto Badisco.
  • Torre Sant'Andrea — Carved limestone stacks and channels along the Melendugno coast, low reef at the Grotta della Poesia and broken blocks under Roca Vecchia.
  • Castro Marina — Sheer walls into depth with sponges, gorgonians and exceptional visibility near the Zinzulusa cave.
  • Santa Maria di Leuca — The tip of Italy's heel, with two seas: Punta Meliso on the Adriatic side is in the lee with a westerly, Punta Ristola on the Ionian side with an easterly.
  • Gallipoli — Low, continuous Ionian rock: plates alternating with posidonia and sand, shallow and easy.
  • Manfredonia — The gulf is sand and shallow water: harbour, fishing fleet and murk off Siponto, with typical visibility around 5 m.
  • Barletta — A commercial port and a long sandy beach, with the Ofanto mouth clouding the water to the west.
  • Trani — The harbour under the cathedral is dock water, with boats and a narrow mouth.
  • Molfetta — A working fishing port: do not enter the basin or the mouth where trawlers pass.
  • Bari — Low limestone coast around the city: slabs, boulders and posidonia below 4–5 m at Torre a Mare, flat reef at Santo Spirito, coves at Cozze.
  • Polignano a Mare — Cliff coast: sheer walls, caves and fallen boulders, with a bottom that gets serious a few metres from shore.
  • Monopoli — The harbour is live, with trawlers and a narrow mouth, so the hunting starts outside it.
  • Brindisi — No verified entry is published here: a mayoral ordinance restricts use of the coast near the town, and the rest is port and industrial water.
  • Taranto — Two inner seas, and almost neither is open to you: the Mar Piccolo is mussel farms and closed water, the Mar Grande a naval base and port.
  • Porto Cesareo — The town lies inside a marine reserve that covers the coast and the islands from La Strea to Torre Lapillo.
  • Leporano — The coast that Taranto cannot give you: open water southeast of the city, outside the Mar Grande and the military zones.

Sicily

First-rate clear water: on the Tyrrhenian side San Vito lo Capo, Cefalù and Milazzo, on the Ionian and south Taormina, Siracusa and Portopalo. The coast is dense with MPAs where spearfishing is banned — Egadi, Ustica, Plemmirio, the Ciclopi Islands, Capo Gallo — while at Capo Milazzo you dive only in Zone C with a buoy. You pick the headland with the day's lee side.

  • San Vito lo Capo — Limestone capes at the northwest tip of Sicily: open, deep water by the lighthouse, walls under Monte Cofano and boulders with drops to about 34 m 200 m out.
  • Cefalù — Tyrrhenian Sicily: slabs and boulders on long capes east of Cefalù, offshore rocks for grouper in calm, and a low cape at Capo Plaia, the only relief on a sandy shore.
  • Capo Milazzo — The marks sit at the base of the Milazzo isthmus and in the Gulf of Patti, outside the cape reserve: sand and low rock in town, a boulder slope under the Tindari cliff at 3–6 m, pebbles with stone ridges at Oliveri.
  • Taormina — Steep capes on the Ionian side: Capo Sant'Andrea and Capo Taormina, the lava cape of Naxos with about 62 m 200 m out, and Capo d'Alì, where the Strait current runs over the point.
  • Aci Castello — Black lava coast of Catania: basalt reefs, steps and submerged arches, drops that come close to shore.
  • Siracusa — Limestone capes around Syracuse: slabs, channels and steps with 9–15 m about 200 m out.
  • Avola — Low limestone coast: stepped slabs, sand gullies and posidonia, mostly 2–12 m.
  • Portopalo-Marzamemi — The southeast corner of Sicily, where the Ionian meets the Mediterranean: Capo Passero island always has a lee side, but currents are strong around it.
  • Marsala — Two waters: the Stagnone is a shallow, murky lagoon inside a reserve, and the open sea is the Capo Boeo side.
  • Trapani — A working port: the water in front of the town is the ferry and trawler approach, and no entry point is published there.
  • Mazara del Vallo — Home of Italy's biggest fishing fleet: trawlers use the Mazaro river mouth and the harbour water is closed to hunting.
  • Sciacca — The town sits on a rock step, but the harbour is working water.
  • San Leone (Agrigento) — Agrigento's beach: sand and river mouths, with no verified entry published.
  • Licata — Two rock marks west of town: the boulders and cuts of the Mollarella rock, and the white cliff of Rocca San Nicola, seven kilometres out, with rock terraces, gravel and patchy posidonia.
  • Gela — No mark is published here: the gulf is sand from Capo Soprano to Manfria, with no reef to hold fish.
  • Palermo (Mondello) — Palermo's beach is sand, but rock starts where the shore turns east: low reef and fallen blocks at Punta di Priola, the Addaura rock shelf below the road.

Sardinia

Crystal water on every side: when the mistral (NW) lashes the west coast, you switch to the east side (Arbatax, Orosei); the south takes scirocco and libeccio. Rock, granite and cliffs with dentex and amberjack. Banned in the many MPAs — Capo Carbonara, Sinis-Mal di Ventre, Tavolara, Capo Caccia, Asinara — and in Sardinia the grouper is protected beyond the national size.

  • Alghero — Trachyte capes south of Alghero: slabs and drops at Punta Poglina, 3–18 m, a narrow rock cove at Burantino and deep clean rock at Capo Galera with dentex.
  • Bosa — Wild basalt and wall coast: Capo Marargiu with walls to 27 m, big dentex and amberjack, a natural pool with a drop at Cane Malu, boulders under a waterfall at Capo Nieddu.
  • Stintino — Two sides: Capo Falcone takes the full mistral, while the Gulf of Asinara side stays calm on westerlies with shallow sand and stone ridges, 1–5 m.
  • Golfo Aranci — Granite of northeast Sardinia: reef off Capo Figari, the Figarolo islet with walls and channel currents, Capo Ferro with about 33 m 200 m out.
  • Arbatax — Red porphyry and limestone of Ogliastra: a drop at Capo Bellavista, a monolith wall at Pedralonga, porphyry boulders at Cea with about 13 m 300 m out.
  • Cala Gonone — Limestone cliffs of the Gulf of Orosei: sheer walls outside the beach and deep drops off the famous coves, with amberjack and dentex.
  • Villasimius — Granite coves outside the Capo Carbonara reserve: boulders and posidonia at 2–11 m, and Capo Ferrato with the bottom at about 50 m 300 m out.
  • Chia — Southern Sardinia: granite capes with drops at Spartivento and Malfatano, coves with towers and rocky sides at 2–11 m, red rock at Isola Rossa to about 20 m.
  • Masua — Iglesiente limestone and granite: the Pan di Zucchero stack with walls, a canyon-fjord at Canal Grande with walls straight from the waterline, boulders under Capo Pecora.
  • Carloforte — San Pietro and Sant'Antioco islands: the west cliff of Capo Sandalo in the mistral's firing line, trachyte coves with walls at 2–12 m, rock columns at La Punta for westerly days.
  • Cagliari — Eight kilometres of sand at the Poetto and one rock headland, Sant'Elia.

Central Adriatic

The central Adriatic (Marche, Abruzzo, Molise) is largely sandy and murky: the only real rock is the Conero promontory (Sirolo–Numana), with walls, boulders and reefs in relatively clear water. The scirocco (SE) kills visibility at once, while the offshore bora (NE) often cleans it. In summer the 500 m bathing ban pushes you to dive at dawn and dusk.

  • Sirolo-Numana — The only true rock of the central Adriatic: screes under the Conero cliff, the Trave reef with walls of 9–10 m and banks off Numana.
  • Senigallia — No mark is published here: the velvet beach is thirteen kilometres of very fine sand, and that sand clouds the water at the first breath of wind.
  • Gabicce Monte — Rock below Monte San Bartolo: reef at Vallugola, boulder scree under the cliffs, the Pesaro breakwater.

Abruzzo

Two coasts in one. North of Ortona (Giulianova, Roseto, Pescara) it is sand, flat bottom and river plumes — little to look for. From Ortona to Vasto the Costa dei Trabocchi begins: cliffs, boulder scree and a row of points — Acquabella, Turchino, Lupone, Cavalluccio, Aderci — with the trabocchi, the old fishing machines, marking the hard ground. You work 3–8 m on sea bream, striped bream, saddled bream and sea bass; the scirocco murks it, an offshore wind cleans it. Inside the Torre del Cerrano MPA (Pineto–Silvi) spearfishing is banned.

  • Giulianova — A sand coast where the only structure is man-made: the big rubble blocks of the outer harbour breakwater and offshore barrier lines.
  • Roseto degli Abruzzi — No natural rock: offshore rubble barriers, about 160 m from the beach at Cologna, act as an artificial reef in shallow water.
  • Pescara — City beaches with rubble barriers offshore, the only hard ground in the water, 80–130 m out at Francavilla.
  • Ortona — The start of the rocky Abruzzo coast: boulders under Torre Mucchia, a cliff with scree at Punta Acquabella, a pebble cove at Ripari di Giobbe sheltered from the south.
  • San Vito Chietino — Costa dei Trabocchi: low points with slabs and pebbles, boulders and thin posidonia at 4–8 m under the trabocchi, coralline outcrops at Vallevo up to about 12 m.
  • Fossacesia — Shallow rock off Fossacesia: boulders and gravel dropping to 6–8 m at Punta Cavalluccio, slabs at 3–6 m near the beach, a natural shoal off the Sangro mouth at 2–6 m.
  • Vasto — Some of the best water in Abruzzo: pebbles, boulders and gravel over clean ground at Punta Aderci, a high cliff with fallen boulders at Punta Vignola.

Emilia-Romagna

For shore spearfishing the Romagna is the emptiest coast in Italy, and the honest guide says so: from the Po delta to Rimini it is fine sand, a bottom that gains a metre every hundred, and river water that stays green most of the year. Cervia and Milano Marittima are here for the forecast, not for a mark — we ship none. Offshore there are gas platforms with their safety zones; ashore the Cervia saltworks and the Po Delta park. The first real rock is the Monte San Bartolo cliff at Gabicce Monte, forty-seven kilometres south-east.

  • Cervia — No mark is published here: the Romagna riviera is fine sand with a bottom that drops very slowly, and typical visibility is around 3 m.

Northern Adriatic

For shore spearfishing the north Adriatic is all but irrelevant — Veneto and Emilia are only sand and murk. The only real rock in the whole north is the karst cliffs of Friuli: Duino–Sistiana, with the clearest water of the Gulf of Trieste, and the more modest Trieste. Here the tide is the largest in Italy (north-Adriatic regime, up to ~1 m), and in between sits the Miramare MPA (total ban), to be skirted.

  • Chioggia–Sottomarina — No mark is published here: Sottomarina is nine kilometres of fine sand next to the lagoon mouths.
  • Jesolo — No mark is published here: fifteen kilometres of sand in a straight line, and typical visibility of about 3 m.
  • Caorle — No mark is published here: sand on both sides of the town, with only a short stone frontage in the middle.
  • Bibione — No mark is published here: eight kilometres of sand facing almost due south, between river mouths that cloud the water.
  • Lignano Sabbiadoro — No mark is published here: a sand peninsula between the Tagliamento mouth and a lagoon inlet.
  • Grado — No mark is published here: an island between the sea and the lagoon, with soft sand bottom and shallow water.
  • Duino-Sistiana — The only real rocky coast of the upper Adriatic: limestone cliffs in the clear Gulf of Trieste water, the White Lady rock and a sunken barge about 60 m off the beach in roughly 9.5 m.
  • Trieste — Urban rocky shore: slabs and breakwaters at Barcola, cliffs and boulders under Santa Croce, low rock on the Muggia peninsula at 3–10 m.
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Frequently asked questions

Rules current as of 2026 — always confirm with the national norm (Reg. CE 1967/2006, D.P.R. 1639/68) and your region/MPA rules before you go. Sardinia and the MPAs have their own rules.

Do I need a licence to spearfish in Italy?

You don't need a paid licence, but a free declaration to MASAF is mandatory (the «recreational sea-fishing communication»), renewed each year, done online on the Ministry portal with SPID/CIE/CNS. Spearfishing is always breath-hold (scuba is banned) and the catch may not be sold — it is for personal consumption only.

Official source ↗
Can I use scuba or spearfish at night?

No to both. Spearfishing is allowed only in breath-hold: using a rebreather / compressed air is banned (art. 128-bis of D.P.R. 1639/1968). And it is banned at night, from sunset to sunrise (art. 129) — it is practised only in daylight. You also may not keep the speargun armed out of the water (art. 131).

Official source ↗
Is a buoy mandatory? What distances must I keep?

Yes, a signalling float is mandatory: a float flying a red flag with a white diagonal stripe, visible at ≥300 m, and you must stay within 50 m of its vertical (art. 130). The distances to keep: at least 500 m from beaches used by bathers and 100 m from fixed fishing installations, set nets and ships anchored outside ports (art. 129).

Official source ↗
What minimum sizes and catch limits are there?

There are per-species minimum sizes (for example sea bass 25 cm, gilthead bream 20 cm, white seabream 23 cm, dentex 15 cm) under Reg. CE 1967/2006 and the national tables — undersized fish go back. The grouper has a 45 cm size and you may take at most one per day (in Sardinia and inside MPAs it is banned). The recreational daily limit is around 5 kg per person, the catch may not be sold, and date mussels (datteri di mare) are totally banned (fishing, possession and sale).

Official source ↗
Can I collect lobster, crabs or urchins by hand?

No. The apnea spearfisher may not collect crustaceans or bivalve/gastropod molluscs (lobster, spiny lobster, spider crab, date mussels and urchins are all off-limits). The one exception is cephalopods: the octopus (minimum size 450 g gutted), and in part cuttlefish and squid. In practice, the only «by-hand» target for a spearo in Italy is the octopus.

Where is spearfishing banned?

In the Marine Protected Areas (AMP) spearfishing is banned in all zones (A, B and C) — not only in the integral Zone A. Italy has about thirty: for example Portofino and Cinque Terre (Liguria), Plemmirio, Egadi and Ustica (Sicily), Capo Carbonara and Tavolara (Sardinia), Torre Guaceto and Tremiti (Puglia), Punta Campanella (Campania). It is also banned in ports and on beaches used by bathers. Always check the no-take zones on the map and the individual AMP's regulation before you go.

Official source ↗
When is the best season, and how do the tides matter?

The best season runs from late spring to autumn, peaking in summer when the sea is calmest and warmest; in the south and the islands you dive almost all year, working the wind-sheltered side. In the Mediterranean the tides barely count (a few centimetres): the solunar and the light windows rule. The only exceptions are the upper Adriatic (Trieste/Duino, up to ~1 m of tide) and the Strait of Messina, where currents (rema) up to ~3 m/s mean you dive on the slack.