Can Art Help Protect the Ocean?
Thanks to our community, a unique underwater museum in Italy can now inspire even more people to discover the hidden world beneath the waves—and why protecting it matters.
Imagine walking through a small medieval village overlooking the Mediterranean.
You stop beside a sculpture.
It tells the story of an underwater museum just offshore—a place where giant works of art don’t hang on walls but rest on the seabed, giving a voice to the hidden world beneath the waves.
This isn’t fiction. It’s happening in Talamone, on Italy’s Tuscan coast.
And thanks to the generosity of our supporters during Earth Raise, more people will now have the opportunity to discover this extraordinary place.
Where Your Support Goes
During Earth Raise, our community raised £5,798, thanks to match funding that doubled every eligible donation.
Rather than funding a standalone activity, those donations became part of something much bigger: a £32,000 project led by 71blue in partnership with Casa dei Pesci and local stakeholders.
Together, we helped create a new panoramic trail through the historic village of Talamone, making Italy’s unique Underwater Museum more accessible to visitors and bringing the story of the seabed to the surface.
Through four interpretive panels placed around the village, visitors can discover the museum, the artworks resting beneath the waves and the wider conservation efforts taking place to protect the marine environment.
By helping more people understand what lies beneath the surface, the project aims to build greater appreciation for the ocean—and the importance of protecting it.
An Underwater Museum That Gives the Seabed a Voice
At first glance, the sculptures appear to be works of art placed beneath the sea.
But over time, they become something more. The sea itself transforms them.
Seaweed, sponges and countless marine organisms gradually colonise their surfaces, turning each sculpture into part of the underwater ecosystem and creating new habitats for marine life.
The museum also tells a much bigger story.
While the sculptures are hidden beneath the waves, they invite people to think about something we rarely see: the seabed.
Healthy seabeds are the foundation of thriving marine ecosystems, yet they often remain out of sight and out of mind.
Through art, the museum gives this hidden world a voice, helping visitors discover why protecting life beneath the surface matters.
Why It Matters
Conservation works best when people feel connected to the places they’re protecting.
When people understand what lies beneath the waves, they’re more likely to care about protecting it.
The Underwater Museum of Talamone creates that connection.
By combining art, local knowledge and marine conservation, it helps reveal a hidden world that most of us never have the chance to experience.
Every donation to our Earth Raise campaign contributed to making that story more visible, inspiring more people to appreciate the ocean and the extraordinary ecosystems beneath its surface.
What You Can Do
✓ Visit Talamone and discover the underwater museum!
✓ Share stories that show conservation solutions, not just environmental problems.
✓ Support organisations working alongside local communities to protect marine ecosystems.
✓ Subscribe for more stories about people and projects creating lasting change for our ocean.
Sometimes protecting the ocean begins by helping people discover what has always been there—hidden beneath the surface.
Photo Credit: Santiago Burin Des Roziers
