ROME -- On the Ligurian Riviera, nestled between Genoa and the French border, the commune of Spotorno is one of Italy’s tourist hotspots. This was once a historic municipality, with the ruins of the 16^th Century castle on green hillside overlooking the crystal-clear waters. Given Spotorno's natural beauty, it is easy to see why such a picture-perfect destination would be popular. And yet, almost the entire coastline is privatised.

 In Liguria, almost 70 per cent of the region’s beaches are private, with the average price for two sun loungers and an umbrella reaching 35 euros. Renting the beaches is low-cost for owners, with licenses automatically renewed and often passed down within families, reaping lucrative rewards. But as EU legislation looks set to plunge businesses into choppy waters, Italy’s concessionaires have taken a stand.

 On Friday morning, beach resort workers went on strike between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. over EU plans for their resorts. Concessionaires closed beach umbrellas and sun loungers but other services remained open, including beach bars, toilets and showers.

 In 2006, EU legislation was approved to mean Italy’s beaches would be put up for public tender in January 2025 and reallocated in a fairer bidding process. The symbolic strike from concessionaires on Friday protested against the imminent shake-up which threatens the futures of their businesses and the lack of action from the Italian government.

 Around 30,000 concessionaires argue that the EU legislation will cause job losses and will threaten livelihoods, demanding a national policy implemented by the Italian government to guarantee at least two years’ worth of turnover in compensation.

 “It should be clear to everyone that there is a real and concrete risk of losing jobs and businesses, and that help from the government is needed now or it will be useless,” the Italian Beach Concessionaires’ Union said.

 “If no response is received, the strike will be repeated on August 19 and August 29, with possibly more drastic closures.”

 Not all beach resorts, however, decided to follow suit by going on strike. Fabrizio Licordari and Bettina Bolla, presidents of Assobalneari, which represents workers of tourist beach resorts, did not believe it was fair to punish tourists through the strike disruption.

 “It isn’t fair to penalise thousands of tourists that have chosen Italian resorts for their holidays, recognising their quality and functionality.”

 Private ownership of Italian beaches has been a long-standing and contentious issue. The Italian environmental association Legambiente estimated approximately 50% of Italy’s sandy coastline is privately owned. The remaining free beaches often have limited space and, in extreme cases, are polluted and off limits for swimming.

 In June, 12 activists were charged after participating in an unauthorised protest against a beach club on the Adriatic coast. The organisation Mare Libero has also been advocating for change on Italy’s coasts, demanding a fairer reallocation of resorts or free access.

 bq