La Maddalena Archipelago

The Park

The Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena (La Maddalena Archipelago National Park), the first national park in Sardinia, was established by Law no. 10 of 1994 and includes the islands and islets of the municipality of La Maddalena with the surrounding waters, to a distance of at least one kilometre from the coast. The park authority has been operating since 1997. The main islands are La Maddalena, Caprera and Santo Stefano in the south-east, and Spargi, Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria in the north-west.

Protection

The safeguard measures divide the sea into two zones: Ma, of significant natural interest with limited human presence, and Mb, where activities are authorised under defined conditions. Pleasure boating, fishing and diving are permitted but require authorisation. The area largely coincides with the SAC/SPA ITB010008 (Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area of the Natura 2000 network), lies within the Pelagos Sanctuary and is linked to the Bocche di Bonifacio nature reserve in Corsica through cross-border cooperation.

Pressures

The most urgent issue is summer boat traffic: in 2026 the Sardinia Region reported to the Ministry peaks of about 6,000 boats a day and asked for more enforcement. The Park has cut boat-hire permits in the Mb zones to 450. Anchoring on Posidonia, noise and the concentration of visitors in the best-known coves are the pressures that monitoring can document.

Why it is the pilot site

Area 11 Diving Center operates here every day. La Maddalena makes it possible to test the protocol, training and platform before extending them to the other locations, and to compare stations in Ma and Mb zones within the same park. The proposed stations are on the map; positions and protection levels are a proposal to be validated with the Park Authority.

Local partners

• Ente Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena (the Park Authority), the management body.
• Area 11 Diving Center, promoting partner and the location's partner diving centre.
• Sardinian universities with marine biology courses.
• The Park's environmental education centres at Caprera.

Authorisations

A preliminary survey, not a legal opinion: each body has its own regulations, updated periodically.

• Clearance (nulla osta) from the Park Authority for research activity.
• Dives in the Mb zones through authorised operators.
• Access to the Ma zones only with specific authorisation.
• Everywhere: no collecting or handling of protected species.