Ostia faces patchy season start
- Ostia will open the 2026 beach season on May 1, but Rome is still finalizing concessions and large stretches of the waterfront remain shut. - La Repubblica reported 10 new concessions are due to be signed, seven already cleared, while about 20 lidos stay closed. - The disorder follows court fights and anti-abuse checks that have slowed openings. (comune.roma.it)
Ostia is heading into the May 1 beach opener with only part of its seafront ready, after court rulings, concession delays and enforcement checks left many lidos shut. (roma.repubblica.it) (comune.roma.it) Rome Capitale said the Council of State, in an order deposited on April 21, 2026, accepted the city’s appeal and lifted the earlier stop imposed by the Lazio regional administrative court. That let the concession process restart days before the season opening. (comune.roma.it) (rainews.it) La Repubblica reported on April 27 that 10 concessions were expected to be signed in the next few days and seven had already received clearance. The same report said about 20 lidos were still closed as the season approached. (roma.repubblica.it) (www.roma-o-matic.com) Rai Tgr Lazio had described the bottleneck earlier this month: operators were told to remove illegal structures or lose the right to open. On a coastline with 55 bathing establishments, most complied, but authorizations were still lagging. (rainews.it) The city also began signing the first new concessions last week, including the Village and the Lido Ristorante, which Rome described as symbolic sites being returned to public use. RomaToday reported that roughly 30% of the awarded lots had gone to new operators. (comune.roma.it) (romatoday.it) At the same time, prosecutors and local police kept closing sites that failed checks. Rai and RomaToday reported seizures involving La Caletta, Oasi and Arcobaleno Beach over alleged building abuses and missing concessions. (rainews.it) (romatoday.it) Corriere Roma said the disruption is already hitting demand. Assoturismo told the paper tourist flows fell 50% between 2025 and 2026, and the uncertainty was pushing Romans toward other seaside destinations. (roma.corriere.it 1) (roma.corriere.it 2) So Ostia’s season is starting on the calendar, but not evenly on the sand: some operators have papers, some have keys, and a sizable share of the waterfront is still behind gates. (roma.repubblica.it) (roma.corriere.it)
