The country risks losing about 20 per cent of its beaches by 2050 and 45 per cent by 2100, according to a recent report.
Italy has more than 8,000 kilometres of coastline, ranging from long sweeps of sandy beach to striking rock formations.
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But erosion of these natural wonders is now a critical environmental emergency.
The country risks losing about 20 per cent of its beaches by 2050 and 45 per cent by 2100, according to a recent report.
Dozens of municipalities are now working on interventions and installing infrastructure in a bid to stall the phenomenon. But as climate-fuelled extreme weather worsens, is Italy facing an unbeatable battle?
The rapid erosion of Italy’s coastline
By 2050, one-fifth of the surface of Italian beaches is likely to be almost completely submerged, according to a 2024 report from the University of Rome La Sapienza.
The regions of Sardinia, Campania, Lazio, and Apulia are predicted to lose more than half of their equipped beaches, the study warns.
“Increasing temperatures, sea level rise, and more frequent extreme weather events are reshaping coastal landscapes, particularly in low-lying areas, and impacting the livelihoods of millions of people,” the researchers write.
“In this context, sandy coastlines and beaches are both particularly vulnerable and extremely precious, since they are highly complex environments of significant environmental, social, and economic importance.”
At the same time, cliffs and rocky coastlines are at the mercy of violent storm surges and landslides.
Earlier this year, after days of bad weather, Puglia’s iconic ‘Lovers’ Arch’ rock formation collapsed into the sea on Valentine’s Day.
Barriers and submerged reefs protect beaches
Damage to coastlines threatens ecosystems, human leisure and economic activities, and coastal settlements and infrastructure.
Municipalities up and down the country are mobilising to protect coastal areas.
Almost a fifth of Italy's coastline is now equipped with rigid defence structures, according to a report by Italy’s Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA). These include groynes - barriers that run perpendicular to shorelines and limit the movement of sediment - and submerged reefs that slow waves and storm surges.
In February, the southern region of Puglia said it had approved the first structural measures to combat coastal erosion, earmarking approximately €16 million for the projects.
“This decision comes as extreme weather events and violent storm surges bring the fragility of Italy's coastlines back to the forefront of national debate,” the council wrote in a press release.
According to the latest ISPRA report on hydrogeological instability, between 2006 and 2020, Puglia lost 31 kilometres of coastline, one of the largest losses in the country.
The new measures include installed submerged barriers to slow waves breaking on the shore and intercepting sediment movement.
In the Emilia Romagna region, the coastline is famed for its long stretches of sandy beach lined with clubs and restaurants.
After storm surges in recent years have escalated coastal erosion, authorities have now allocated €19 million for restoring damaged seawalls, reconstructing dunes and dredging silted-up shores.
The need for a nationwide plan
While defence structures protect specific stretches of coastline, their broader impact on surrounding areas can be harmful.
As ISPRA emphasises in its report, “these solutions limit impacts on specific sites, but at the same time limit natural beach nourishment along entire stretches of coastline, blocking the transport of sediment along the coast.”
Their installation can result in ‘starving’ adjacent beaches of nourishment.
“To avoid these effects on the coastline, artificial nourishments and/or dune development are often preferable over hard structures,” according to the European Union’s Climate ADAPT guidelines.
In the region of Le Marche, for example, ‘soft’ measures are being implemented alongside rigid structures.
In the municipality of Sirolo, about 156,000 m3 of sand and gravel were used for beach nourishment along a 1,200 m shoreline in the San Michele Bay. In the municipality of Numana, a breakwater located to the north of the village was removed, and about 172,000 m3 of sand and gravel were used along 1,500 m of beachfront.
As sea level rise and extreme weather events like Cyclone Harry become the ‘new norm’, experts urge a more comprehensive approach to protecting Italy’s coastline.
“Knowing and integrating existing structures and the stretches of coastline affected by these interventions into future studies is now key to implementing more effective tools, such as coordinated planning and local actions, typically beach nourishment,” ISPRA concludes in its report.
