Cala Finanza, precautionary seizure

First came the controversy and protests over the projects, then the complaints, and finally the seizure. At Cala Finanza, in the municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo (in north-eastern Sardinia), opposite the island of Tavolara, staff from the Tempio Forestry and Environmental Protection Corps, together with the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit from Cagliari and the Labour Inspectorate Unit from Sassari, carried out a preventive seizure order on the Villa Joy property on the instructions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Tempio Pausania. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the villa was being used in a manner not compliant with current town planning regulations. Furthermore, a number of tracks were reportedly constructed without authorisation and numerous prefabricated modules serving the main structure were installed; these annexes were added in a manner inconsistent with the area’s town planning classification and relevant sectoral regulations. An area of evident historical and archaeological significance has also been seized; officials from the Superintendency of Sassari and Nuoro will be required to carry out more detailed investigations into this site.

Inspections in the area had begun that morning with a series of checks on the land owned by the Italian-Brazilian company Tavolara Bay srl, which is part of the JHSF Group. The company had submitted a proposal to set up a glamping site on the headland of the coastal resort. However, the special economic zone and the government authorisations subsequently ‘fell through’. The Department for the South at Palazzo Chigi ordered the revocation of the authorisation dated 6 February 2026, which had approved the project. This decision followed the revocation adopted by the Town Council. The regional government had also opposed the project, lodging appeals at every level. Environmental organisations, such as the legal action group, also opposed it; as highlighted in a statement welcoming the measure, the group recalls having ‘on several occasions brought the matter to the attention of the judiciary and the judicial police to carry out the necessary investigations’. For environmentalists, this now ‘marks a turning point in the defence of the environment’.

In a statement, Tavolara Bay, emphasising that it ‘has acted in accordance with the law and in good faith’, states that it has ‘taken note of the seizure order and is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities, providing the necessary documentation and technical support. The allegations made are currently being investigated and will be duly clarified through the appropriate channels’. Furthermore: ‘In managing the Villa Joy complex, Tavolara Bay has engaged qualified professionals and has operated in reliance on the administrative authorisations and judicial orders applicable at the time, including Single Authorisation No. 74/2026, issued by the ZES Task Force at the Prime Minister’s Office, and the interim measures adopted by the Sardinian Regional Administrative Court.”

It then goes on to emphasise that it has ‘adopted organisational measures aimed at ensuring compliance with the limits set out in those acts and, in particular, with the rules governing private and by-invitation use recognised by the administrative court, without indiscriminate public access’. As for other works, the company ‘also reiterates that it has complied with the undertaking given in the administrative proceedings not to carry out, during the 2026 season, the works under the ZES project relating to glamping, footpaths, camping pitches and further alterations to the land’. On the issue of archaeological findings, it adds that ‘prior to the investigations currently underway, it had not received any formal notification regarding the presence of archaeological finds in the areas concerned, nor was it aware of any previous discoveries’. It therefore announced that it “will continue to cooperate in good faith with the relevant authorities, whilst reserving the right to take any appropriate action to safeguard its rights and position”.