In good news for swimmers in Italy, more than 500 stretches of the Italian coastline are hoisting the blue flag awarded as a sign of clean water.
The flag is actually officially given to entire municipalities, not to individual beaches. This year 257 coastal municipalities containing 525 beaches received it.
Most were in Liguria in north-western Italy with 35 municipalities, followed by the southern regions of Apulia and Calabria, each with 27.
The flag, presented by the Foundation for Environmental Excellence (FEE), indicates excellent water quality and effective disposal of effluent and refuse.
With 525 beaches now flying the blue flag, up from 487 last year, Italy has 11.6% of all the beaches with the hallmark around the world.
The FEE has issued the hallmark to countries since the mid-1980s.
