While waiting for the national report from the National System for Environmental Protection, the annual analyzes of the regional ARPA also return an overall very positive picture of the quality of Italian bathing water in 2026. The checks, carried out along all the coasts with uniform and scientific criteria, confirm a stable and largely excellent situation. In fact, the majority of coastal stretches fall into the “excellent” and “good” categories, a sign of an effective and continuous monitoring system.
How bathing water is evaluated
The classification is based on well-defined microbiological and environmental parameters. The main indicators are the presence of Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci, used to detect any recent contamination. Added to these are chemical and physical analyzes which concern the transparency of the water and the presence of polluting substances. From the cross-referencing of the data collected over time, four levels of quality emerge: excellent, good, sufficient and poor, with the first category identifying stable and safe water for bathing. Let’s see in detail how it went in the various regions, with some still missing because the reports have not been updated (such as Tuscany and Emilia Romagna) while Abruzzo and Basilicata confirm their waters passed with flying colours.
The situation in Lazio and Veneto
In Northern Italy, Veneto confirms itself as one of the most virtuous regions as in previous years: out of 174 points analysed, around 163 are excellent. Locations such as Jesolo, Caorle and Chioggia Sottomarina maintain very high standards thanks to constant controls and extremely low microbiological values. In Lazio the percentage of excellent water reaches approximately 93%. In Fiumicino, but also in Civitavecchia, Ladispoli, Nettuno and Santa Marinella, the surveys confirm very high levels of quality along the entire coast.
For the last edition, Puglia was confirmed for the fifth consecutive year (2021-2025) as the Italian region with the best bathing water, with 99.7% of the coast classified as “excellent”, but the updated data for 2026 have not yet been made public.
Calabria and Sardinia towards excellence
Among the regions with the best performance, Calabria and Sardinia stand out. Calabria has around 97% excellent bathing water, with symbolic areas such as the Costa degli Dei, Tropea, Capo Vaticano and Roccella Ionica, all characterized by high environmental quality. The figure for Sardinia is even higher, with over 98% of excellent waters.
The analyzes on 664 points distributed along 68 coastal municipalities confirm very high standards, especially in the province of Sassari. The Costa Smeralda, La Pelosa di Stintino and Porto Faro remain among the most representative locations.
An Italian map of the sea that remains among the best in Europe
The overall picture of the ARPA analyzes shows an Italy with a generally high quality sea, evenly distributed between North and South. The regional differences highlight widespread excellence, with some areas reaching almost constant levels of superior quality. A result that confirms the centrality of the Italian coastal heritage, with numerous excellences that make our sea among the most controlled and appreciated worldwide.
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