Italy’s waters are even safer to swim in

The water quality at the country's beaches, lakes and rivers has improved by 4.8 percent since last year, the report found.

However, while 96.6 percent of swimming waters complied with standards, 1.3 percent were closed off to bathers due to health and safety concerns.

Northern Veneto and Emilia-Romagna are the regions with the best water quality, while the worst was found along the Abruzzo coast and in lakes in Lazio.

The report places Italy, which has 5,500 swimming areas,  above-average within the European Union for the quality of its waters.