Sardinia has the most beautiful beaches in Italy

...as certified by the Guida Blu*. That's what I'm saying! This has long been clear to me and my Sardinian guests, which is why they all come back year after year to this pearl in the Mediterranean.

Sardinia is in the lead, but Apulia and Tuscany are also among the regions with the cleanest seas. First place goes to the beach at Domus de Maria, but ‘our’ Posada is also right up there in the Champions League.
Since it is no different from Budoni beach, it could have been mentioned right away. As a Budoni fan and local patriot, I simply cannot resist making this comment.

The Guida Blu is published annually and is to beaches what the Michelin Guide is to fine dining. This year, 19 coastal towns in Italy have been awarded the coveted five flags for beauty, cleanliness and environmental quality. After a short break, the island of Giglio is once again among them. You may remember that this is the island that proved fatal for the Costa Concordia and its love-struck captain Schiettino in 2012.

The assessment is based not only on beauty and cleanliness, but also on how the responsible municipalities treat their environmental heritage. In other words, it evaluates whether ‘slow’ tourism is promoted and the environment takes precedence over commerce. Sardinia has earned top marks in this regard at both the regional and municipal levels for years.
At the regional level, a law was passed years ago that restricts construction activity near beaches. For example, it prevents multi-storey buildings from being erected near the sea. It also specifies minimum distances that must be observed for construction. Both are rigorously monitored. Permits for large hotels are generally not granted. But even those who had built illegally in the past were in for a nasty surprise. Houses built directly on the seafront were rigorously demolished at the owners' expense. There are examples of this on La Caletta beach, now a windsurfer's paradise. Here, many a tourist wonders what the traces of construction activity in the sand are all about. Somewhere around here, there is said to have been a Roman settlement. However, the remains do not date back to ancient Roman times, but are relics of the aforementioned construction activity. Those who did not go quite so far with their illegal activities and maintained a decent distance from the sea got off lightly because the authorities turned a blind eye: permission could be applied for retrospectively at a multiple of the usual price. Entire settlements have been saved from demolition in this way. My Sardinian friends estimate that over 90% of all buildings near the beach had to be retroactively cleared of the stigma of illegality.

Today, no one dares to build without prior official approval. Anyone who did so would not only face administrative proceedings, but even criminal proceedings. This also means that, unlike in Germany, you cannot get away with a fine and keep the disputed property. The ‘corpus delicti’ must be dismantled in every case.

Approval procedures are complicated and expensive: the owner of this holiday home had to pay the authorities €2,000 just to cover his 10 m² terrace.

Strict attention is also paid to ensuring that waste water is disposed of properly. In recent years, all coastal communities have installed sewage systems, which must be connected to. Where these do not yet exist, homeowners are obliged to build collection pits for wastewater. These must then be emptied regularly by authorised companies. Unlike in the UK, septic tanks are not permitted. The aim is to eliminate any risk of faecal matter entering the sea, especially near the beach.

In recent years, waste separation has also been introduced in Sardinia. I am not particularly happy with how it is being handled, because the implementing regulation is so complicated that the goal of environmentally friendly disposal is not being achieved. Waste that is not separated correctly is simply not collected and then litters the streets. It will probably take a while before the local authorities draw the right conclusions here.

But: a lot has been done right, and we can therefore assume that Sardinia will remain the number one model student when it comes to beaches and the environment.

And when you see these photos, my Budoni beach is always the most beautiful for me, because it combines everything: clear turquoise blue water, a wonderful white sandy beach, unspoilt nature, space for long walks on the beach and my favourite tavernetta for a meal right on the beach. Here, you can forget everything around you and start dreaming.

With a Sardinian ‘Adiosu’, I bid you farewell for today.

Joachim Waßmann

* Official assessment of beaches by the Italian environmental protection organisation Legambiente

* Source: Kleine Zeitung and Südtirol Online