Blue Flags 2024, in Italy rise to 236: here are the 485 top beaches

The number of coastal resorts that will be able to boast the 2024 Blue Flag award rises to 236, ten more than last year. This year, for the 38th edition, the flag will fly on 485 beaches with excellent sea for four consecutive years (27 more than in 2023), which corresponds to about 11.5% of those awarded worldwide. On the other hand, the number of marinas awarded international recognition by the Fee (Foundation for Environmental Education) on the basis of 32 criteria of the Programme fell from 84 to 81.

Elenco Spiagge Bandiere Blu 2024

Always first on the podium is Liguria, which marks two new entries but loses two Flags, thus confirming 34 locations; Puglia rises to 24 with three new Municipalities and one exit, while Campania and Calabria follow at par with 20 Flags, with one more award each. With one new entry, the Marches receives 19 Blue Flags, while Tuscany drops to 18, losing a municipality. Sardinia confirms its 15 locations, Abruzzo also rises to 15 with a new entry, Sicily reaches 14 Flags with three new entries, Trentino Alto Adige rises to 12 with two more municipalities, and Lazio remains at 10. In Emilia Romagna 9 localities were awarded and Veneto's 9 Flags reconfirmed. Basilicata confirms its 5 localities, and there are also 5 municipalities in Piedmont that have been awarded Flags. Lombardy confirms 3 municipalities, Friuli Venezia Giulia maintains its 2, as does Molise. On the lakes, there are 23 Blue Flags this year, with 2 new entries. There are a total of 14 new entries: Ortona (Abruzzo), Parghelia (Calabria), Cellole (Campania), Borgio Verezzi (Liguria), Recco (Liguria), Porto Sant'Elpidio (Marche), Lecce (Puglia), Manduria (Puglia), Patù (Puglia), Letojanni (Sicilia), Scicli (Sicilia), Taormina (Sicilia), Tenno (Trentino Alto Adige), Vallelaghi (Trentino Alto Adige). Four municipalities were not reconfirmed: Ameglia (Liguria), Taggia (Liguria), Margherita di Savoia (Puglia) and Marciana Marina (Tuscany).

At the Blue Flag award ceremony held today, 14 May, at the CNR headquarters in Rome, in the presence of the mayors and the Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies, Nello Musumeci, Fee Italia Foundation President Claudio Mazza stressed that the number of flags is increasing, "but what is growing is above all the sensitivity and awareness of the citizens, to whom the credit for this recognition goes. Every Blue Flag Administration knows that virtuous management of the territory also necessarily passes through training and the involvement of individuals, schools, associations, local activities, and all operators". And indeed, great importance is given to the management of the territory implemented by municipal administrations that also aim for the Blue Flag to promote their territory in terms of tourism.

The Programme's 32 criteria, explains Fee Italy, are periodically updated in order to encourage participating local administrations to commit themselves to solving, and improving over time, problems related to land management for careful environmental protection. In the evaluation phase carried out by the Commission according to a strict procedural scheme, several institutional bodies contributed, including the Ministries of Tourism, Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Environment and Energy Security; the Istituto Superiore di Sanità; the Orders of Chemists and Physicists; the National Research Council; the University of Tuscia and the University for Foreigners of Perugia; and private bodies such as the beach trade unions (Sib-Confcommercio and Fiba Confesercenti). The subsequent approval by the International Jury led to the final result. The 81 award-winning berths, explains Fee Italia, demonstrate that the tourist port sector has consolidated the sustainability choices made, meeting the requirements for international awarding, guaranteeing the quality and quantity of services provided in full environmental compatibility.