If you’re searching for your dream home in the sun you should ensure Italy is on your bucket list for any possible home purchase by the sea.

With more than 7,500 km of beautiful coastline and friendly people, ‘the boot-shaped’ country is definitely a good choice for getting your second home or making the break at any stage in your life and moving to a country that offers the kind of lifestyle you deserve.

You’ll find vast numbers of Italian beaches and marinas have the Blue Flag award for excellence in a variety of marine and conservation issues.

Top 5 regions of Italy with the most Blue Flag awards

The Blue Flag awards for beaches have been around since 1985 and is an important environmental initiative carried out by the Danish non-Government Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The aim is to promote sustainable developments via education on the environment. Blue Flag beaches are eco-labels given to beaches around the world that fulfill a number of criteria including cleanliness and water quality, recycling and ecological commitments and environmental education programs. It involves 49 countries this year. Here in Italy we’re proud of our 152 beach towns (+5 with respect to 2015) and 66 marinas. A total of 293 Blue Flag beaches (+12 compared to 2015).

Lerici
Lerici – One of the 25 Blue Flag beaches in Liguria

Top region in Italy is Liguria which has 25 awards (+2 compared to 2015).

It is closely followed by:
• Tuscany with 19 flags (+1)
• Marche with 17
• Campania with 14
• Puglia and Sardinia with 11

Castelsardo
Castelsardo (Sardinia) – Blue Flag and one of the most beautiful hamlets of Italy

This ranking also goes hand in hand with the same interest of international buyers looking for a second home in Italy. In fact, according to our report in 2015, Liguria and Tuscany were also the most sought after regions by overseas investors. A popularity which is often related to a more expensive housing market compared to other areas. This is seen in a Ligurian blue flag area, such as Bordighera, where the average property price can be around €2,600/m². However, it is true, following the price drops in recent years and an increase in the number of properties currently on the market, you can find some real bargains, especially if you travel a little way out from popular cities or from the coast.

Anyway, as you go south prices fall even further. For this reason, in a blue flag area such as Castelsardo in Sardinia (considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy), you will find delightful places for roughly €1,170 m². You could even find one for less in Carovigno in Puglia, by far one of the most sought after areas by our users. Here you can find a completely restored trullo with plenty of land, a few kilometres from the crystal clear Adriatic sea, starting at around €25,000. You can find a readily habitable property in this area for around €100,000.

Finding and purchasing your perfect home in Italy that’s close to Blue Flag beaches and gives you the lifestyle you deserve is not difficult if you take time to look at different regions of our beautiful country.