1,850 kilometers of Italian coast off limits for cleanliness
68% Italian coast safe to swim in
+2.5 “safe” kilometers from last year
10 areas top ‘five sail’ rating
As vacations approach, so do competing beach rankings–we’re banking on environmental group Legambiente’s list, which uses 128 parameters for its yearly quality test. Not all of Italy’s extensive coastline passes the grade, but figures are improving.
The list can be used to decide where to go, but also where to expect crowds — this year’s top beaches are almost identical to the previous years’, with Apulia taking the lead over well-known locales in Liguria and Tuscany.
Beaches are rated in "sails," these 10 spots received a "five-sail" rating: Otranto (Lecce), Ustica (Palermo), Cinque Terre (Liguria), Pantelleria (Trapani), Pollica (Salerno), Tropea (Calabria), Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto), Arbus (Sardinia), Tremiti Islands (Foggia) and Sirolo (Marches).
Ratings also take into account natural beauty, contamination but also tourist structures, noise levels and environment-friendly waste systems. Spots with a "four-sail" rating include: Portovenere (Liguria), Isola del Giglio (Grosseto), Lerici (Liguria) and La Maddalena (Sardinia).
http://www.multimania.com/natur/ita/#en
Map of Italy’s nudist camps & beaches (with terse descriptions in in English, Italian & French) in collaboration with FENAIT, Italy’s largest ‘naturist’ association. Keep in mind these are places where nudity is tolerated — associations are still awaiting a law to make nude bathing legal.