Meloria is a rocky

skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

, surrounded by a

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

, off the

Tuscan coast Tuscany ( ; ) is a region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its influence on high cu ...

, in the

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera ( Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient Ligures people. Geography The sea borders Italy as far as ...

, north-west of

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Meloria shoal

The Meloria shoal is an attractive archaeological, naturalistic and historical region that makes part, since 2010, of the ''Area Marina Protetta Secche della Meloria'' (Meloria shoal

Marine Protected Area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

) assigned to the ''Parco naturale di Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli'' (Natural Park of Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli) for the management. The shoal is formed by a rocky bank surrounded by shallow water sandy and

mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

dy of the surface of 9,372

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

extending up to 12 km offshore. The

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

varies from 2 meters to 30 meters and the

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is an alternating of rocky areas with characteristic basins seabed with prairies of Posidonia. The sea

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

consists mainly of ''

Posidonia ''Posidonia'' is a genus of flowering plants. It contains nine species of marine plants ("seagrass"), found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia. The APG system (1998) and APG II system (2003) accept this ge ...

'' and ''

Caulerpa racemosa ''Caulerpa racemosa'' is a species of edible Green algae, green alga, a seaweed in the family Caulerpaceae. It is commonly known as sea grapes (along with the related ''Caulerpa lentillifera'') and is found in many areas of shallow sea around the ...

'' while the

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

has a rich variety as: ''

Symphodus roissali The five-spotted wrasse (''Symphodus roissali'') is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to Morocco and through the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. This species inhabits rocky ...

'', ''

Serranus cabrilla The comber (; ''Serranus cabrilla'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish from the family Serranidae, the sea basses. It is widely distributed in the eastern North and South Atlantic Oceans and into the southwestern Indian Ocean. It is caught f ...

'', ''

Scorpaena scrofa ''Scorpaena scrofa'', the red scorpionfish, bigscale scorpionfish, large-scaled scorpion fish, or rascasse is a venomous marine species of ray-finned fish in the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea, in th ...

'', ''

Muraena helena The Mediterranean moray (''Muraena helena'') is a species of fish in the moray eel family. It has a long eel-like body and is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Its bite can be dangerous to humans. Appearance and characte ...

'', '' Coris julis'', '' Aphia minuta'', ''

Pelagia noctiluca ''Pelagia noctiluca'' is a jellyfish in the family Pelagiidae and the only currently recognized species in the genus ''Pelagia''. It is typically known in English as the mauve stinger, but other common names are purple-striped jelly (causing pot ...

'' and others. Geologically the Meloria consists of a calcareous

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

bench corresponding to an active undersea fault called

Rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben ...

of Meloria which caused numerous local earthquakes up to 3,5 in the

Richter magnitude scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

Meloria Tower

In 1157, the Pisans built a lighthouse on a surfacing rock of the Meloria shoal in order to avoid the wrecking of the ships directed to Porto Pisano. It was decided to keep a navigational light, and the task was given to the Augustinian monks of the hermitage of ''San Jacopo in Acquaviva'' by Livorno and a written agreement signed for the work. The tower was destroyed by the Genoese. A second tower was built in 1598 on order of

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I, who presumably died from malaria. Early life Ferdinando was the ...

, but it was since destroyed by the bad weather.La Meloria
/ref> The current tower was built in 1709 by

Cosimo III de' Medici Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder s ...

and has a characteristic form; it is formed by four quadrangular pillars connected by Gothic arches, above which the tower rides 15 meters high. The tower was built on the pillars to allow the flow of the waves, but had no signalling light. On the south side of the tower is the Latin inscription: “''Pro navigntium securitate ad latentes copulo evitandos''” (For the sailors' safety pay attention to the reef). In 1986 the tower underwent to a complete renovation.

Meloria lighthouses

There are active lighthouses at both ends of the Meloria shoal: the Meloria north end Lighthouse (built in 1958) and the Meloria south end Lighthouse (built in 1867).

Meloria Naval battles

First Battle of Meloria

The first Battle of Meloria, on May 3, 1241, was fought between the fleet of the emperor Frederick II, in alliance with

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, against a Genoese squadron and ended with a Pisan and Imperial victory.

Second Battle of Meloria

The second battle, fought on Sunday August 6, 1284, was of higher historical importance. Usually, ''Battle of Meloria'' refers to this battle. It was a typical medieval sea-fight, and accomplished the ruin of Pisa as a naval power, in favour of Genoa.

Meloria air crash

On 9 November 1971, a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Lockheed Hercules C.1 crashed into the sea off the coast of Livorno on the Meloria shoal, killing all 46 passengers and 6 crew. At the time it was described by Italian officials as the worst military air disaster in Italy in peacetime.

References

External links

''Area Marina Protetta Secche della Meloria''
''Official website'' {{authority control

Meloria shoal

Meloria Tower

Meloria lighthouses

Meloria Naval battles

First Battle of Meloria

Second Battle of Meloria

Meloria air crash

See also

References

External links