A group of Italian nuns is fighting back against local council plans to take their beach club away from them \u2013 the latest flashpoint in the long-running debate about the monopoly of private concessions along Italy\u2019s coastline.<\/p>\n
The dispute, described as \u201ca holy war\u201d by some local press, unfolded when a 50-metre stretch of sand at Bagni Gino Garrone, a beach resort in the Ligurian coastal town of Spotorno managed by nuns from the Suore di Carit\u00e0 di Santa Maria order, was designated for public bidding by authorities as they seek to comply with EU beach concession laws as well as regional regulations on free beach quotas.<\/p>\n
The nuns have been managing the resort since 1946 after being exempt from standard commercial rules because they were using the proceeds for charitable purposes, including funding an infant school they still run in Spotorno and a summer beach camp.<\/p>\n
For decades they have been renting out loungers and umbrellas, so operating much like thousands of other private beach concessions, the difference being \u2013 they claim \u2013 that the proceeds go to fund their charitable activities.<\/p>\n
However, with the regulation governing beach use for social missions no longer existing, they were told by Spotorno\u2019s mayor, Mattia Fiorini, that the concession would be reclassified as a \u201cfree equipped beach\u201d and if they wanted to continue running it they would have to compete in a public tender.<\/p>\n