The north-eastern coast of Sardinia has become the scene of one of the most heated environmental and institutional clashes of recent years. At the center of the storm is the Tavolara Bay project, an imposing ultra-luxury tourist settlement planned in Cala Finanza, in the municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo.
The project, which directly overlooks the Marine Protected Area of Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo, includes a five-star hotel with 50 rooms, around 30 exclusive villas, restaurants, a tourist port, glamping facilities and an 18-hole golf course. The latter has come under criticism for the enormous water consumption it would entail in a region historically plagued by drought.
The building blitz and the birth of SOS Cala Finanza
The popular mobilization began on 19 April 2026. During a walk, a group of citizens discovered bulldozers in action, centuries-old junipers cut down, wide paths traced in the Mediterranean scrub and concrete structures ready for burial, all in the total absence of construction site signs. From this shock the SOS Cala Finanza committee was born.
The affected area is not only an uncontaminated natural paradise among mastic trees and myrtles, but also preserves an excellent historical heritage, including a Byzantine tower and modern age settlements. The Legal Intervention Group (GrIG) immediately reported alleged irregularities, highlighting the lack of suitable authorizations for areas subject to landscape restrictions and the presence of negative technical opinions from superintendents and the Forestry Corps.
The political clash and the appeal to the TAR
The affair quickly took on national political significance. On 4 June 2026, the Council of Ministers confirmed the green light for the work by taking advantage of the preferential lanes of the Single ZES for the South, a bureaucratic simplification tool created to attract investments. This decision triggered the immediate reaction of the Sardinia Region.
President Alessandra Todde announced a formal appeal to the administrative court, denouncing the overriding of the island’s urban planning powers. The institutional tensions also caused local repercussions, culminating in the resignation of Riccardo Biancu from the position of councilor of the municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo. WWF Italy also intervened harshly, comparing the operation to the Trump family’s controversial investments in protected areas of Albania.
The popular petition accelerates towards 100 thousand
To understand how heartfelt the issue is, just think that in less than three weeks the online petition launched on the Change.org platform by the SOS Cala Finanza committee has surpassed the extraordinary milestone of 96,000 signatures. A success of signatures which demonstrates how the fate of this coastal paradise, located in the municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo, has become a national case symbol of the defense of common goods. The wave of popular indignation has already caused strong political shocks at a local level, leading to the immediate resignation of Riccardo Biancu from the position of municipal councilor.
A summer of mobilization and legal battles
The fate of this strip of Gallura will be decided in the coming months at several tables. The calendar of protests and judicial deadlines is already busy: a large peaceful protest will be held in Cala Finanza on 1 July, while the first ruling from the TAR on the regional appeal is expected on 8 July. A subsequent hearing on the legitimacy of the works has already been scheduled for 11 November.
Activists fear a progressive privatization of the coast and propose an alternative model: a development based on nature trails, archaeological valorisation and light services managed by local cooperatives. In the meantime, popular mobilization through the collection of signatures continues to grow and the quota of 100 thousand signatures is one step away, demonstrating the fact that civil society has decided to stand en masse to protect the Marine Protected Area of Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo.
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