Mare, in Genoa only three out of ten beaches with free access
The free sea, in Genoa, remains a mirage. In fact, there are just three out of ten beaches with free access among the bathing ones. And while the fall of the Draghi government makes the solution to the issue of bathing concessions even more uncertain, the reality is that in expensive Liguria – and in Genoa – a day at the beach is a luxury that few can afford. Of the 30.8 kilometers of coastline that winds between Vesima and Capolungo, only 20 are suitable for bathing: but of these, just 10 percent are not occupied by establishments. Not even three kilometers.
The data was disclosed by the municipal councilor for the maritime property Mario Mascia, at the request of the opposition councilor Donatella Alfonso (Pd-ArticoloUno). The photograph is that of a sea for the few: where the beaches of Vesima, Voltri, Pegli, San Giuliano, Vernazzola and Sturla are equipped with a lifeguard, showers, toilets and access for the disabled. While in Nervi, out of four free areas, only the small beach of Capolungo has at least a shower: the others, nothing. “In a time of economic difficulty, it is even more important to have accessible spaces – underlines the councilor Donatella Alfonso – in the face of the ongoing discussion on the applicability of the Bolkenstein directive, which in Genoa has already led to the disputed affair of the bathrooms, not because the Municipality cannot take over the free beach system, through the subsidiary Bagni marina srl, or by involving social cooperatives. To guarantee a service of equipped free beaches, perhaps introducing a small access fee under five euros to help keep them clean: because for a low-income family, going to the beach has become a really excessive investment, in this August in which many they will not be able to afford the holidays ”.
In the answer to the question presented by the councilor, the Municipality emphasizes that the councilor Mascia met the head of the Disability Council Fabio Pienovi on the subject of architectural barriers that prevent access to the beaches, carrying out an inspection of the beaches of Voltri and Vesima, to which have been presented possible solutions. “Well, but the problem is not only the sacrosanct question of accessibility for all – replies Alfonso – it is a question of use, and then of cleanliness and services that must be guaranteed to bathers”.
On 14 July, in Genoa as in other Italian cities, the national coordination Mare Libero, with Adiconsum, put in place the demonstration of the Presa della Battigia, a symbolic occupation of the beaches to reaffirm that the maritime state property is a good for all. Yet, according to the latest Legambiente report presented a few days ago, in Liguria there are 114 kilometers of beaches and 9,707 state-owned concessions, 1,198 concessions for bathing establishments and 325 for campsites, sports clubs and tourist complexes that involve land occupation 69.9 percent off. “We ask the mayors and regional politicians to undertake a survey – confirmed Santo Grammatico, president of Legambiente Liguria – and to start planning state-owned spaces, so as not to be late for the deadlines set by the European Union. The Region should insert in the Ligurian law of 2008, which provides for 40% of free beaches, economic sanctions for those municipalities that do not respect ”. Even in Liguria, in fact, there are record cases at European level: in Laigueglia and Diano Marina, for example, the percentage of beach occupied by bathing establishments exceeds 90 percent.