Area naturale marina protetta Capo Gallo - Isola delle Femmine, Marine protected area in Gulf of Palermo, Italy.

Area naturale marina protetta Capo Gallo - Isola delle Femmine spreads across thousands of hectares of Mediterranean waters with underwater caves and extensive seagrass meadows. The zone divides into three protection areas with different rules for swimming and anchoring.

The reserve was created by ministerial decree of 24 July 2002, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 285 of 5 December 2002. Management was provisionally given to the Palermo Port Authority in March 2003, then definitively assigned to a management consortium by decree of 24 April 2012. Its stated aims include protecting biological and geomorphological resources and funding marine research.

The reserve's rules reserve guided tours and tourist-flow management preferably for residents and firms based in Palermo and Isola delle Femmine. Its 2012 decree also lists public education and scientific research among its aims, alongside protecting biological and geomorphological resources.

Visitors should know that the area divides into three zones with different access rules for each. It is important to check which zone you are entering before swimming or anchoring.

The seabed drops in steps: a gentle slope to about 18 metres, then a vertical break of 2-3 metres, then another descent to 25-30 metres before a sharp drop to 40 metres and a sandy plain. These steps are old shorelines, recording eras when sea level was lower than today.