The official ceremony awarding the 2026 Blue Flags, the international recognition of the Foundation for Environmental Education, took place at the CNR headquarters in Rome. The overall picture shows growth compared to the previous year: the awarded Municipalities rise to 257 (+11 compared to 2025), while the certified beaches reach 525 stretches of coast, equal to approximately 11.6% of the awarded beaches in the world. Numbers that show how central Italy remains in the international geography of sustainable coastal tourism.
There are 87 tourist ports awarded, with a constant increase in sustainable ports. The 2026 edition also marks a strengthening of environmental planning programs, with an increase in municipalities that respect all the required macro-objectives. The recognition does not only concern the beauty of the coasts, but a complex evaluation system that intertwines environment, services and local governance.
The new Blue Flags and the non-reconfirmed Municipalities
Compared to 2025, the awarded Municipalities increase: there were 246, they become 257. The final balance is positive because 14 new localities join, while 3 Municipalities are not reconfirmed. The 14 new entries for 2026 are one of the most interesting figures of the edition. The most obvious part comes from Calabria, which brings home four new locations with a real boom: Amendolara, Montegiordano, Falerna and Locri. Then enter Rimini in Emilia-Romagna, Andora and Taggia in Liguria, Limone sul Garda in Lombardy, Morciano di Leuca and Tricase in Puglia, Teulada in Sardinia, Ispica and Lipari in Sicily, Monte Argentario in Tuscany. Not all locations, however, remain on the list. THE There are three municipalities not reconfirmed in 2026: San Felice Circeo in Lazio, Patù in Puglia and Castrignano del Capo, also in Puglia.
The map of the awarded locations for each region
Liguria remains in the lead with 35 award-winning locations, strengthened by the entries of Andora and Taggia. Immediately behind are Puglia and Calabria, both at 27. Puglia compensates for the new entries with two exits, while Calabria grows considerably. At 20 there are Campania, Marche and Tuscany, the latter pushed by the entrance of Monte Argentario. Sardinia rises to 17, thanks to Teulada. Sicily reaches 16, with Ispica and Lipari. Abruzzo remains stable at 16, Trentino-Alto Adige confirms its 12 Municipalities, while Emilia-Romagna rises to 11 with Rimini. Lazio drops to 10 after San Felice Circeo’s exit.
What is evaluated
Behind the Blue Flag there are 33 criteria, updated periodically, which look at water quality, of course, but also at purification, sewerage, separate waste collection, beach services, safety, accessibility, sustainable mobility, environmental education and land management. Water quality remains the first filter. To access the evaluation, bathing water must have been excellent in the last four years, according to ARPA analyses. But FEE applies stricter parameters than simply excellent classification. Then comes everything else: functioning purifiers, sewerage network connected to at least 80% of the municipal territory, waste management, equipped beaches, rescue personnel, removal of architectural barriers, public information on water quality, pedestrian areas, cycle paths, urban greenery, environmental education initiatives.
The weight of the Action Plan
For the second consecutive year, the Municipalities involved have presented a Sustainability Action Plan, to be implemented and monitored in the three-year period 2025-2027. Inside there are five macro-objectives: sustainable mobility, sustainable cities and communities, life on land, life under water and the fight against climate change. The strongest data is this: in 2025, 81% of Blue Flag Municipalities had worked on all five objectives. In 2026 it will reach 94%, which shows how the recognition is also becoming a local climate programming tool.
The Blue Flags 2026
Below is the complete list of Blue Flags for 2026:
Piedmont
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Novara
Lombardy
Brescia
Trentino-Alto Adige
Trent
Liguria
Imperia
Savona
Genoa
La Spezia
Tuscany
Massa-Carrara
Lucca
Pisa
Livorno
Grosseto
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Gorizia
Udine
Veneto
Venice
Rovigo
Emilia-Romagna
Ferrara
Ravenna
Forlì-Cesena
Rimini
Marche
Pesaro-Urbino
Ancona
Macerata
Stopped
Ascoli Piceno
Abruzzo
Teramo
Pescara
Chieti
The Eagle
Molise
Campobasso
Lazio
Rome
Latin
Campania
Caserta
Naples
Salerno
Basilicata
Power
Matera
Puglia
Foggia
Barletta-Andria-Trani
Bari
Toasts
Lecce
Taranto
Calabria
Cosenza
Crotone
Catanzaro
Vibo Valentia
Reggio Calabria
Sicily
Messina
Ragusa
Agrigento
Sardinia
Sassari
Oristano
Nuoro
Cagliari
South Sardinia
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