Nautisub was established in Alghero in 1982. It arose out of the limitless passion of Settimio Cardone, a deep-sea diver who, from the outset, focused the business on the retailing of professional equipment for underwater fishing, rod fishing, sailing and camping. This is what drove the company forward during the 1980s.

1993 saw the business embark on the great adventure of recreational scuba diving. The historic Alghero-registered motorised fishing boat, the Andrea Padre, was transformed into a motorboat to take groups of scuba divers on dives to the wonderful seabed of Capo Caccia, which plays host to beautiful karst caves that are accessible to everyone.

In 2000, Settimio’s children Andrea and Enea joined the business and got to work straight away on expanding the services to encompass professional technical support, opening the Centro Collaudi Bombole (Scuba Tank Testing Centre) – approved by ISPESL (an HSE body) – and the Centro Assistenza Bauer (Bauer Support Centre) for high-pressure breathing-air compressors. Today, the Nautisub retail outlet is located at No. 45/E on Via Garibaldi, and features 90m² of display space and a workshop for servicing scuba equipment and refilling breathing-air tanks up to 300-bar pressure, in accordance with the EN 12021 standard.

In terms of its Diving Centre business, Nautisub now has the 18-metre Andrea Padre motorboat with the capacity to transport 60 passengers, which carries out daily excursions to the fantastic Porto Conte National Park and the Capo Caccia/Isola Piana Marine Protected Area, with lunch (made from the finest local produce) served on board. From the boat, passengers can snorkel their way through delightful inlets overflowing with unusual fish, exploring semi-submerged caves where the flickering sunlight is quite simply breathtaking.

Only those with a licence are permitted to go diving. The dives take place every day throughout the Marine Protected Area, and see divers investigating submerged caves and walls awash with colours, fish, vegetation and coral. The Andrea Padre offers full-day packages with two separate dives and lunch, as well as single excursions with the centre’s own dinghy; all of the necessary equipment is available on board.

The base of operations is at the Banchina Dogana, in the oldest section of the port of Alghero, where the Andrea Padre is moored.