Italy has added 14 more resorts to its Blue Flag roster in 2026. Rimini is among the most notable new entries, while and Liguria retains its position as the country’s cleanest coastline.
Italy now has 257 seaside and lakeside resorts bearing the Blue Flag designation, up from 246 last year, according to the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), the Copenhagen-based body that awards the internationally recognised quality mark for clean, safe and sustainably managed beaches and marinas. Fourteen new municipalities joined the list this year, while three lost their flags, a net gain of 11.
Italian Blue Flag marinas also rose, reaching 87, while the number of lakeside resorts holding the designation increased by one to 23.
Notable new entries and losses
The most prominent new entry is Rimini, the Adriatic city in Emilia-Romagna that draws millions of Italian tourists each summer and has long been synonymous with mass seaside holidays. Its inclusion on the Blue Flag list signals a meaningful improvement in water quality and beach management standards for one of Italy’s busiest and most popular resorts.
Other new entries include Locri in Calabria, Limone sul Garda on the shores of Lake Garda, and Monte Argentario, the dramatic promontory on the Tuscan coast.
Among the three municipalities to lose their designation is San Felice Circeo, a town near Latina south of Rome set within the striking landscape of the Circeo National Park. Its removal from the list will come as a blow to a locality whose natural setting had long been one of its greatest assets.
The full list can be found here.
The regional picture
Liguria leads Italy’s regional rankings for the second consecutive year with 35 Blue Flag resorts. Puglia follows with 27. Calabria, whose coastline has been attracting growing attention from both domestic and international tourists, has climbed to joint second place overall after adding four new entries this year.
The Blue Flag programme, now in its fourth decade, assesses beaches and marinas against 32 criteria covering water quality, environmental management, safety, and the provision of services and facilities. Italy’s total of 257 places it among the top-ranked countries in the world by number of Blue Flag designations.
