There had to be umbrellas, towels and bathers. Instead, grass is growing on the new beach in Salerno. And it’s not a metaphor: on the beach of the Marconi seafront, between the districts of Torrione and Pastena, tufts of spontaneous vegetation have appeared which, little by little, are transforming an expanse of greyish material into a sort of lawn overlooking the sea.
A rather surreal scene, especially considering that that beach was created precisely to return a stretch of coast to the citizens through a nourishment intervention.
However, we are not faced with a virtuous example of nature reconquering its spaces. The story of Universo Beach, this is the name by which the beach is known, rather tells what can happen when a coastal redevelopment project gets stuck between non-compliant materials, protests and work that needs to be redone.
A new beach, but with the wrong material
Everything revolves around the material used for nourishment, the intervention with which sediments are added to a beach to widen it or counteract coastal erosion.
In the case of Salerno, something did not go as expected. Already in November 2025, the Municipality had complained to the contractor that the materials used did not comply with the characteristics established by the specifications.
The issue became official with the suspension of the works on May 4, 2026 and with a note from the Municipality published on June 15, in which the administration explained that it had started a dispute with the company and an action for the termination of the contract.
The conclusion was clear: the material placed on the beach had to be replaced. In the meantime, however, summer had arrived, a period during which it was not possible to carry out the interventions for safety reasons in the bathing areas. The result was a suspended construction site and a beach that remained closed to the public.
Arpac’s investigations have also arrived to further complicate the matter. As reported by the newspaper The City of Salernothe sampling would have highlighted a high bacterial load and permeability problems of the deposited material.
But why does grass grow on the beach?
It is perhaps the most curious aspect of the whole story. On the surface intended to host bathers, spontaneous grasses and grasses are sprouting, particularly visible near the seafront wall, but also present in other parts of the beach.
How is this possible?
Plant seeds can be transported by the wind and find favorable conditions for germination even on apparently inhospitable surfaces. The absence of attendance and maintenance interventions can also encourage the growth of vegetation.
But be careful: seeing grass on a beach does not automatically mean witnessing the rebirth of a natural ecosystem.
The plants that appeared at Universo Beach, according to local news, are not the characteristic sea lilies of dune environments, but common spontaneous herbaceous species. And their presence is not enough, in itself, to demonstrate that the material used is unsuitable for nourishment: that non-compliance emerges from the checks and technical complaints of the Municipality.
However, the paradox remains evident: where there should have been a sandy beach, citizens now observe an expanse of vegetation growing on material destined to be removed.
Now we have to remove everything, and we risk losing the summer of 2027 too
On 28 September 2026, during a meeting called by the mayor Vincenzo De Luca, the successful company expressed its willingness to remove the disputed material.
In the statement released after the meeting, the Municipality explained that the company’s economic requests were also addressed and that there appear to be no insurmountable obstacles to an agreement.
To start the interventions, however, authorization from the Environment office of the Campania Region is required. And the times could be anything but short.
According to what was declared by the municipal councilor Dario Loffredo and reported by the local press at the end of September, the completion of the works could only arrive in October 2027. If this forecast were confirmed, next summer would also risk passing without citizens being able to regularly use that stretch of coast again.
Meanwhile, second The City of Salernothe removal of the material alone could require an expense in the order of one million euros, an estimate still subject to technical investigations.
The paradox of a coast waiting to be returned to the citizens
The Salerno affair raises an issue that goes far beyond the single beach. In a country where coastal erosion represents an increasingly important challenge, nourishment interventions can contribute to the protection and conservation of beaches. But they must be designed and executed using suitable materials and respecting the environmental characteristics of the places.
Otherwise there is a risk of obtaining the opposite effect to the desired one: instead of returning a space to the community, it is rendered unusable, with further work, costs and delays.
In Salerno the situation has almost become a photograph of the absurd. To create a new beach, material was deposited which now needs to be removed. While authorizations and interventions are awaited, the beach remains closed and the grass continues to grow.
