ABSTRACT:The aim of this paper is to present ten years of underwater archaeology investigations in the Marine Protected Area "Gaiola Underwater Park" in Naples, Southern Italy since its institution in 2002. These results are at the basis of a development plan that is now the starting point for new research aimed to create a model of enhancement for the underwater archaeological heritage in the Mediterranean context. The project is developed by an interdisciplinary group of young researchers so that all the issues correlated with the marine environment can be taken into account.

The Gulf of Naples is an important centre of endemism, well known from the floristic point of view, but much less from the phytosociological one. In this paper we investigated the non-forest vegetation focusing on communities rich in endemics. We described two communities as new: Eryngio amethystini-Santolinetum neapolitanae for the garrigues on limestone, Globulario neapolitanae-Loniceretum stabianae for the vegetation on dolomitic rocks, both from the Lattari mountains, and we extend the area of Crithmo maritimi-Limonietum cumani for the vegetation on volcanic rocks and rarely on limestones along the coast, which was known for a few localities. The syntaxonomical position and the phytogeographical context of these communities are discussed. A few taxonomic notes are added on rare or interesting species retrieved in the course of the enquiry.

The Marine Protected Area Gaiola Underwater Park was instituted in 2002 for the preservation of natural and archaeological aspects. Due to the urban context, the anthropic pressure has always been high and it has always undermined the preservation of the cultural and environmental heritage. The public beach in the General Reserve has always been impacted by great problems of overcrowding. The safety problems highlighted by the pandemic drove the Manager Authority to apply a new model of accessibility. This work aims to show and discuss the results obtained with this new fruition model.

The Gaiola Underwater Park is a small Marine Protected Area located in Naples (Italy), funded in 2002 to preserve the biological and archaeological heritage. In fact, because of the metropolitan context in which it is integrated, the area is subject to constant anthropic pressure, which often results in illegal activities, especially in the fishing sector. In this work, the results of 5 years of monitoring and control of illegal fishing inside the MPA are presented. This research had an important impulse in 2015, thanks to the collected data and to the methodology developed within the Gaiola MedPAN Project. The experience acquired in these years resulted in the funding of the StAMM Project, a permanent station for the monitoring, control and prevention of environmental offences in the MPA.