Until now in Italy, the allocation of private beach concessions to bathing establishments was very opaque. But by the end of 2023, the government will require these establishments to respond to a call for tenders.
It is a reform that Europe has been asking Italy for more than fifteen years: to put its bathing establishments in competition. No one had tackled it until now so as not to jeopardize tourism and the more than 8,000 kilometers of Italian coastline. Without forgetting that this preserve was not really managed transparently. But by the end of 2023, to obtain a concession on a beach, it will be necessary to go through a call for tenders. It’s a real revolution in Italy.
On the beach of Rome in Ostia, a backhoe digs in the sand and tries to push it back to enlarge the beach, to the chagrin of Agostino Biondo who is an activist in the association Mare Libero (“free sea”). SAccording to him, the managers of bathing establishments do absolutely what they want : “This property has a concession of 4,000 square meters but during the season it occupies about 12,000 square meters of beach… with sand paid for by public money to fight against erosion!he complains. And of course, he does not pay rent for 12,000 square meters while he occupies them in full view and without anyone saying anything. The worst thing is that in this place, right in the center, we could have a large free beach for everyone!” Practices adopted to the detriment of free beaches that can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And right in the center in Ostia, there are almost 4 km of wall where the bathing establishments follow one another without the possibility of free access to the beach.
In the kitchen of the Belsito, the chef prepares lasagna. Here there is an indoor and outdoor restaurant, hundreds of deckchairs for rent. Everything is chargeable but theThe manager of the establishment, Edoardo Moscara, considers that the rent he pays to the State is quite sufficient compared to others. “Those who pay less than 5,000 euros per year do not have a permanent structurehe explains. Out of 30,000 establishments in Italy, it’s true that many only pay that. But I can prove to you that I pay 45,000 euros in rent, plus taxes, that’s 18,000 and the waste is 34,000.”
Edoardo shows us his beach cabins. He has 200 and rents them out for 2,800 euros a year, or more than 500,000 euros. What worries him is not knowing how the government will regulate the now mandatory tenders. “We are two associates, my friend and I, each with two children and my wife. My two sons never took a summer vacation. When they had their baccalaureate, they did not continue their studies because they wanted to work here. It’s an investment for my family and the government wants to take it away from me and put out a tender. But what we’ve done so far has value. Will it to be recognized? It seems not. It’s madness!”
However, amendments to the law are multiplying and some parliamentarians are seeking to modify the criteria to benefit outgoing candidates. LNew entrepreneurs would then have less luck.
Marco Possanzini welcomes us to the Municipality of Rome Ostia. The chosen one of Civic Left Ecologist is very satisfied with the decision that has just been taken: the calls for tenders will be organized by the city of Rome and not the district of Ostia, which still has 240,000 inhabitants, but where some make the law . “It is essential that this be managed in a neutral place, a kind of free zonehe says. Because here the mafia is present, it has infested the bathing establishments. It is deeply rooted and it is very influential through corruption. When she can’t, she has other means of coercion…and you know what I’m referring to of course!” In Ostia, the Mafia has been condemned for drug trafficking and human trafficking in particular.