Battle of the beaches; will Italian beaches ever be free?

The decades-long battle of the beaches continues in Italy, as protest groups demand freedom from private concessionaires; as laws remain unclear, both sides urge the government to step in.

“Most Italians don´t know they have the right to go to the beach for free,” said Manuela Salvi from the Mare Libero (Free Sea) organization. “They are used to paying to go to the seaside. And if we don´t make our voices heard, the institutions will think we´re fine with it.” Mare Libero has been flooding Italian beaches since 2019, trying to reclaim free space.

Italy´s generational battle of the beaches

Today, Italy hosts more than 12,000 beach resorts with daily prices for two loungers and an umbrella averaging €30-35 and reaching as high as €700 in exclusive locations. In a country with 7,500 km of coastline, sea access is severely limited; in northern Italy, Liguria, almost 70 per cent of the beaches are private, with several towns reaching 100 per cent privatisation.

Mare Libero member, Stefano Salvetti revealed the Punta dell´Olmo beach to the Press, highlighting the small beach still free to access as the “symbol of our resistance against the privatization of our few remaining beaches.” Margherita Welyam from Mare Libero shared; “I have spent almost every summer of my life in the same beach club and my mother has done the same for 25 years.”

She noted; “My mother used to pay about €3,000 to rent the same cabin, lounger, and umbrella for three months.” In 1992, the Italian government passed a law prioritizing concession-holders and began to automatically renew the family-run operations every six years, making it impossible for new entrants to step in; these families are brought up to think they own the beaches.

Only 5 per cent of the beaches in Italy remain free from private ownership, concessions, or pollution, revealed a study by Mare Libero. The few ones accessible are unfit for public use. Local governments defend the restrictions due to public safety concerns related to overcrowding and environmental protection.

The local coordinator of Mare Libero in Liguria shared that according to a recent report from Italy´s court of auditors, between 2016 and 2020, the state collected an average of €101,7 million a year, while each business generated at least €260,00. He noted; “Municipalities cots on public already the norm. It can be here too.” this is already the norm. It can be here too.” this is already the norm. It can be here too.”

Fight for freedom and future of Italian beaches

In April this year, Italy´s top court ruled automatic renewal of beach concessions invalid and introduced a public tendering process for beach concessions to begin next year.

Head of the association of concessionaires of Serapo, one of the largest beaches in Gaeta, Ricardo Di Luna announced a concessionaires´ strike on August 9, limiting the access time of beaches.”It should be clear to everyone that there is a real and concrete risk of losing jobs and businesses and that help from the government is needed now.” The strike will urge the government to provide legislative clarity and if dismissed, will repeat on August 19 and August 29.