In Ostia, west of Rome, 80% of the beach is what he calls “the united states of lidos,” with walls, gates, and fences blocking access and views.
Tuscany and Romagna have the most densely privatized beaches. In Forte dei Marmi, 94% of the town beachfront is rented to resorts.
In nearby Pietrasanta and Camaiore, it's 98.8% and 98.4%, respectively.
Gatteo a Mare on the Adriatic coast had no free beach until public outrage forced 1.4% free access—just 10 meters out of 700.
Running a lido is profitable and often cash-in-hand, attracting organized crime. The campaign for free beaches overlaps with anti-mafia efforts.
The issue also feeds into overtourism concerns: how to enjoy the seaside if there's not enough space?
In Bacoli, a town on the Gulf of Naples, Mayor Josi Della Ragione has become nationally famous for liberating beaches from private profiteers.
He says beaches were cluttered with illegal sheds, barbed wire, gates, and intercoms. Access required ringing an intercom and being known.
Della Ragione says many lidos gained licenses through paying fines for unauthorized occupation, a practice he calls “legalized squatting.”
He deployed bulldozers to demolish illegal buildings on public land, facing a man with a chainsaw at one site.
Seventeen years ago, he co-created the social media campaign FreeBacoli.
After an arson attack on his family's delicatessen, he was elected mayor in 2015 at age 28 with nearly 65% of the vote.
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