Where to find even more of Italy's best beaches in 2021
Italy has added to its top beaches list once again, with more meeting the highest global standards in 2021 compared to last year. Here's where you can find them.
A total of 416 beaches across Italy have been awarded the internationally recognised and coveted bandiera blu (Blue Flag) status for 2021. That's up an extra nine beaches from 407 last year and 234 a decade ago.
Liguria claims the top spot with 32 beaches again, followed by Campania, moving up one place from last year with 19 beaches. In joint third place are Tuscany and Puglia with 17 Blue Flag beaches each.
15 new comuni (municipalities) have been added to the list and nine got cut from last year.
The new additions include the following:
Abruzzo:
Piazza Adriatico
Villa Rosa, Martinsicuro
Riviera Nord, Sud
Calabria:
Diamante Nord (Cirella, Scogliera Cirella)
Chiatta in Ferro - Abatemarco
READ ALSO: What will Italy’s coronavirus rules be for summer 2021?
Campania:
Cala Finocchiara, San Domenico
Lazio:
Levante (Sant’Anastasia - Capratica), Ponente (Torre Canneto – Rio Claro)
Ponente
Marche:
Lungomare Paolo Borsellino
Puglia:
Salata, Salsello
Castello Santo Stefano, Capitolo, Lido Porto Rosso
Porto Selvaggio, Sant’Isidoro, Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno, Torre Squillace
Sardinia:
Vignola Mare
Maganuco, Marina di Modica
Roccalumera
Beaches only get this seal of approval for meeting excellent water quality and environmental standards, assigned by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)
And it's getting tougher to meet those standards. The criteria for achieving the Blue Flag status has increased to 33 areas of environmental, safety and educational specifications, including beach waste management, recycling, the presence of lifeguards and the cleanliness of changing facilities.
READ ALSO: TRAVEL: ‘Our tickets are booked’: the Americans who can’t wait to return to Italy
In monitoring the state of coastlines across the world, the Danish-based environmental organisation provides a guide for those choosing where to spend a day at the beach.
New municipalities that have been added to the list this year include Aglientu in Sardinia, Modica in Sicily and Fondi in Lazio.
To find your nearest blue flag beach, you can search the interactive map here.
The annual awards come ahead of the country's summer season, with Italy planning on opening up tourism to some countries from this month.
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A total of 416 beaches across Italy have been awarded the internationally recognised and coveted bandiera blu (Blue Flag) status for 2021. That's up an extra nine beaches from 407 last year and 234 a decade ago.
Liguria claims the top spot with 32 beaches again, followed by Campania, moving up one place from last year with 19 beaches. In joint third place are Tuscany and Puglia with 17 Blue Flag beaches each.
15 new comuni (municipalities) have been added to the list and nine got cut from last year.
The new additions include the following:
Abruzzo:
Piazza Adriatico
Villa Rosa, Martinsicuro
Riviera Nord, Sud
Calabria:
Diamante Nord (Cirella, Scogliera Cirella)
Chiatta in Ferro - Abatemarco
READ ALSO: What will Italy’s coronavirus rules be for summer 2021?
Campania:
Cala Finocchiara, San Domenico
Lazio:
Levante (Sant’Anastasia - Capratica), Ponente (Torre Canneto – Rio Claro)
Ponente
Marche:
Lungomare Paolo Borsellino
Puglia:
Salata, Salsello
Castello Santo Stefano, Capitolo, Lido Porto Rosso
Porto Selvaggio, Sant’Isidoro, Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno, Torre Squillace
Sardinia:
Vignola Mare
Maganuco, Marina di Modica
Roccalumera
Beaches only get this seal of approval for meeting excellent water quality and environmental standards, assigned by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)
And it's getting tougher to meet those standards. The criteria for achieving the Blue Flag status has increased to 33 areas of environmental, safety and educational specifications, including beach waste management, recycling, the presence of lifeguards and the cleanliness of changing facilities.
READ ALSO: TRAVEL: ‘Our tickets are booked’: the Americans who can’t wait to return to Italy
In monitoring the state of coastlines across the world, the Danish-based environmental organisation provides a guide for those choosing where to spend a day at the beach.
New municipalities that have been added to the list this year include Aglientu in Sardinia, Modica in Sicily and Fondi in Lazio.
To find your nearest blue flag beach, you can search the interactive map here.
The annual awards come ahead of the country's summer season, with Italy planning on opening up tourism to some countries from this month.
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