Italy

Italy's story of coastal law and regulation reflects the country's challenges of governance and the differences across regions (sub-national authorities) in capacity to meet these challenges. The country's sunny coastal land is a magnet not only for second homes and tourists but also for illegal development. Italy also faces significant issues of institutional coordination. The high fragmentation of laws and regulations seems to be the main issue that needs to be somehow tackled if better practice for protection and management of coastal areas is to be achieved. Given the large differences between regions, this chapter tells two stories: In addition to the national level, this chapter also focuses on a selected region – Puglia, in the south-east. This region faces major challenges in coastal preservation yet in recent years has developed ambitious regulations and statutory plans to improve the management of its coasts. The national law defines a 300 m setback zone, but regional and local plans can override restrictions. Enforcement against illegalities is fragmented among many municipalities and differs from one region to another. In some areas, the Mafia has undue influence. Although there has been some progress, regional and urban planning regulations have not yet been able to stop the illegal construction.