Italian Nuns Contest Municipal Bid to Reclassify Their Beach Club

The coastal town of Spotorno in Liguria is preparing a public tender for a 50-metre stretch of sand at the Bagni Gino Garrone resort that has been run by the Suore di Carità di Santa Maria order since 1946. The municipality plans to reclassify the site as a “free equipped beach,” which would require the nuns to compete with other operators for the concession.

The Guardian

The nuns have long been exempt from ordinary commercial rules because the revenue from renting loungers and umbrellas funds an infant school and a summer beach camp in Spotorno. This exemption was tied to a now-defunct regulation that allowed private concessions to serve social missions. With that regulation removed, the town’s mayor, Mattia Fiorini, informed the order that the concession must be treated like any other private beach and placed on the open market.

The Guardian

Mayor Fiorini indicated that the concession will be offered in a public tender scheduled for the autumn. The move aligns Spotorno with the European Union’s Bolkestein directive, which obliges Italy to submit all existing private beach concessions to public tender by the 30 June 2027 deadline. If approved, Spotorno could become one of the first Italian municipalities to meet that deadline.

The Guardian

Sister Miranda, an octogenarian member of the order, argued that losing the concession would jeopardize the school’s operation and the charitable mission of the beach club. The mayor countered that participation in the tender is required “like everyone else,” emphasizing equal treatment under the new regulatory framework.

The Guardian

If the tender proceeds, the nuns could lose control of a site that has financed local social services for eight decades. The case also highlights broader tensions in Italy over the privatization of coastal assets and the implementation of EU beach-concession reforms.

The Guardian