Local communities and the environment lose out. Operators control such long stretches of coastline that people are often blocked from crossing them to reach the sea, even though the law guarantees this right. Beach facilities have also grown expensive. Those who can’t afford them, or who simply don’t want to spend the day packed between endless rows of sunbeds and umbrellas, are pushed to the leftover stretches near river mouths or hard-to-reach spots. Frustration has grown, particularly as Italians compare their coast with neighbouring France and Spain, where most beaches remain free to use.

But the damage goes beyond access. Mass tourism has reshaped the coastline through intensive construction. Today, over 23 per cent of the land within 300 metres of the shore has been built over, three times the rate inland, as car parks, holiday homes, hotels, luxury resorts and sports facilities have replaced natural habitats. This has left beaches increasingly exposed to erosion and climate change. Recent studies estimate that one in five Italian beaches could disappear by 2050, rising to almost half by the end of the century. The stakes now reach beyond EU compliance. What’s at stake is whether Italy can manage its beaches sustainably. Our beach concession system is no longer compatible with community rights and environmental protection.

Mare Libero is fighting the current concession system and pushing for a different approach, built on free public access and protection of the coast. We have drawn up an alternative model that moves away from commercial exploitation and treats beaches as shared spaces for inclusion, social life and sport, for the benefit of the whole community.

In this model, beach services would still exist where needed, and could also be run by civil society organisations and social cooperatives. This would cut costs for users and spread the economic benefits beyond a single group of private operators. Environmental protection is central. Concrete structures would be gradually removed and natural habitats restored, in line with EU directives. Above all, this approach would restore a direct relationship between people and the sea, rather than one filtered through the market.

We have advanced our goals through legal action, policy advocacy and public mobilisation. Since 2019, we have worked with local activist groups to challenge illegal practices, winning important cases in regional administrative courts with the backing of the Italian Competition Authority. In one recent case, the Naples Administrative Court ordered the reopening of two gates that were blocking access to public beaches and confirmed our legal standing to act on beach access and environmental protection. We have also helped municipalities such as the coastal town of Spotorno expand public beaches, pushed for legislative change through parliamentary hearings and petitioned the European Parliament to press Italy to end automatic concession renewals.

This work matters because Italy has no national guidelines on tender criteria, so municipalities have acted haphazardly. Under pressure from local operator lobbies, some have left things unchanged, while others have designed tenders with criteria that heavily favour existing concession holders.

Alongside this institutional work, we have mobilised the public. We stage peaceful occupations of beaches held under expired or illegitimate concessions and hold an annual ‘taking of the shoreline’ demonstration. These actions have drawn wide media attention, built public support and made Mare Libero a nationally recognised voice for free beach access and coastal protection.

This work has provoked strong resistance. Operator lobbies wield significant influence over politics, even getting their representatives elected to parliament, while concession holders have run hostile, sometimes threatening campaigns against us on social media.

2027 will be a turning point, because that’s when the final extension of beach concessions expires. But even after tenders are held, there’s a real risk that little will change in practice, with one set of concessionaires replacing another.

To prevent this, municipalities must approve beach usage plans before opening any tenders. Mare Libero is working with environmental organisations, including Legambiente and the World Wide Fund for Nature, to make sure these plans are drawn up through a participatory process open to civil society, so that community needs, workable solutions and available resources are identified before concessions are awarded.

Ultimately, real change requires dismantling a system that denies people the fundamental right to enjoy the sea and shore.