Procida Island

Procida is the smallest and least developed of the Neapolitan islands, and its volcanic seabed — a patchwork of lava flows, sea caves, and posidonia meadows sweeping from the surface to 30 metres — rewards divers who make the 40-minute ferry crossing from Pozzuoli. The northern coast's sea caves shelter large moray eels, octopus families, and schools of two-banded sea bream in their naturally lit chambers, while the southern tip offers wall diving on a basalt escarpment draped in sea fans where occasional cuttlefish hover in mid-water. Procida's relative obscurity means diving pressure is low and animal behaviour is correspondingly relaxed.