politics
Holy water: nuns fight Italian town’s plans to take away their beach club
Sisters argue they should retain concession in Ligurian town of Spotorno because it funds charitable activities
TL;DR
- Italian nuns are in dispute with the local council of Spotorno over their beach club concession.
- The council plans to reclassify the concession as a 'free equipped beach' and put it out to public tender.
- The nuns have managed the beach club since 1946, using its proceeds for charitable purposes, including funding a school and a beach camp.
- They argue that operating as a 'free equipped beach' would be significantly less profitable.
- The council states the nuns must participate in the tender like everyone else.
- Spotorno aims to be among the first Italian municipalities to comply with the EU's Bolkestein directive deadline of June 30, 2027, for tendering beach concessions.