List of Marine Protected Areas of Italy

This list is of the Marine Protected Areas (Italian: aree marine protette) of Italy. As of the most recent Official list of natural protected areas [it], decreed on 27 April 2010 and published in the official gazette on 31 May 2010 by the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection, there were twenty-seven such marine protected areas, and a further two "Submerged Archaeological Parks" (Italian: parchi sommersi); in 2018, two new marine protected areas were created. Typically subdivided into Zones A, B, and C, each affording a different level of protection, these areas help safeguard in total some 228000 ha of the seas around Italy as well as some 700 km of its coastline. The Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary is not included in these figures. While some stakeholders have opposed such measures, fearing the impact on short-term economic exploitation, a study of the alternatives at Portofino suggested that steps at protection might offer not only environmental benefits but also the concomitant potential of enhanced long-term usufruct.