In Sardinia, even shade on the beach is prohibited.

The mayor of Villasimius says he wants to protect the environment. But all he does is harm those who frequent public beaches.

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molentis point

In the name of false sustainability, some mayors gamble, and instead of protecting the environment, they undermine the lives of those with less economic means. This is what Gianluca Dessì, the flamboyant mayor of Villasimius, Sardinia, did. In July 2025, a fire devastated the beach of Punta Molentis, one of the most captivating and pristine places in all of Sardinia. So the mayor decided to crack down, a very harsh one, on beachgoers, with an ordinance that went into effect in June 2026.

A cap of 150 people at a time (and this may even be a reasonable measure), a €10 per person ticket (but why should we once again target the most vulnerable, in this case, those who frequent the few remaining free beaches in Italy?), and a ban on the use of beach umbrellas, deemed "polluting," with the exception of people over 65 and children. This last part of the ban was later relaxed slightly, partly due to protests from environmental groups, and the mayor granted one (small) beach umbrella per family.

The measure is unbalanced for at least two good reasons. Eliminating shade, and therefore the possibility of setting up a beach umbrella, certainly doesn't protect the precarious balance of such a delicate place. Nor does this environmental protection result come from taxing those who can't afford paid beaches (where a beach umbrella costs as much as €50) and frequent the few free areas remaining in Italy. This is simply an abhorrent discrimination against the less well-off.

Cover photo from www.sardegnaturismo.it

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