Enough with dolphinariums and aquariums, and long live the freedom! If dolphins and their pirouettes in the waves make your heart beat faster, if you dream of seeing a whale, if it seems inconceivable that an orca is forced to live in a tank a few meters deep when its instinct would lead it to dozens and tens of meters deep, the best thing is to arm yourself with binoculars and patience and navigate. In Italy we have many protected marine areas that surround our coasts with organized excursions with experts ready to make you live one of the most engaging and exciting experiences that we are given to do: be able to observe a dolphin, a whale or an orca swimming free in the sea. You will find out
a parallel universe and the beauty of freedom.
There are two areas in Italy that are richest and most frequented by cetaceans and therefore particularly suitable for sightings. One is that of Pelagos International Cetacean Sanctuary, in the upper Tyrrhenian Sea, the marine area of 87,500 km² that arises from an agreement between Italy, the Principality of Monaco and France for the protection of marine mammals with a population of about 2000 between fin whales and sperm whales, 30,000 between dolphins, common bottlenose dolphins and dolphins; it’s still grampi, zifi e globicefali as well as occasional minke whales, humpback whales, killer whales and pseudorcas.
The other privileged area for sightings is the Gulf of Taranto: the waters of the Ionian Sea, just off the city that has the dolphin in its coat of arms, are increasingly rich in cetaceans and offer endless emotions: in November 2020 in a single sighting, as many as 14 sperm whales were counted. It is no coincidence that the Taranto Dolphin Sanctuary, the first European sanctuary where dolphins, after a life of suffering in captivity in dolphinariums and aquariums, will be able to savor the taste of life according to nature and, for all those for whom it is possible, return to freedom in the open sea. Project conceived and organized by Jonian Dolphin Conservation, has already started with the creation of a large underwater enclosure near the island of San Paolo in Mar Grande, which will soon become the first shelter area for bottlenose dolphins arriving for rehabilitation.
Here are all the places and excursions in Italy to spot dolphins and cetaceans in freedom
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