“It was promoted by Atas, the Environmental Protection Association of Lido del Sole, and by Adiconsum, the consumer protection association of Foggia, on behalf of all the members as well as the main tourist operators and merchants of Lido del Sole, formal warning pursuant to and within the terms established by Law 241/1990, signed by the lawyer Salvatore Basso, towards all competent bodies”. This was reported in a press note issued by the two associations.
“Lido del Sole, the second marina of Rodi Garganico, is a seaside resort on the Gargano coast which is located on the northern coast of the Gargano, on a stretch of coast approximately 5 kilometers long, between Rodi Garganico to the east and Foce Varano, a hamlet of Ischitella , West. The town is located in a predominantly sandy area, once made up entirely of dunes, a few kilometers east of Lake Varano. The coast, which turns north, is characterized by long sandy beaches with shallow water. The sand that makes up the beaches is clear and characterized by particularly fine grain size.
Tourism is a fundamental sector, in fact the only one, in the economy of Lido del Sole, as, despite having seasonal characteristics, the tourist influx reaches peaks of several tens of thousands of presences in the summer season.
Lido del Sole, therefore, has a reason to exist as a bathing place: activities and places exist only insofar as they offer holidaymakers the opportunity to take advantage of what was, notoriously, one of the cleanest and most uncontaminated stretches of sea in the entire Gargano.
However, as is well known to the bodies in question, for several years and, even more seriously since last summer, there has been a emergency of the Varano lagoon ecosystem caused by the presence of Cyanobacteria beyond the legal limit, which caused the waters of the lake and the stretch of sea between Canale Capoiale, Foce Varano and Lido del Sole to be greenish or muddy brown in colour, with a massive presence of algae, long trails of foam, to the point of determining (August 2023) a ban on bathing, with evident serious consequences on the economic activities located there as well as danger to public health. But already prior to the said ban, what was described above made entry and even more so staying in the water impossible.”
And they continue: “To date, however, despite the interventions promised following last year’s emergency, nothing decisive seems to have been done, as unfortunately confirmed by the fact that the problem has already recurred for a few weeks, given that the waters are once again muddy and dark greenish in color. Furthermore, this unfortunate problem will only get worse with the next arrival of hot weather, with a further significant worsening of the damage”.
“We take note – they declare Roberto Nigro and Giovanni d’Eliapresidents of the two associations – of what was stated and published by the vice-president of the Puglia Region Raffaele Piemontese, following the meeting with the mayors of Cagnano Varano, Carpino, Ischitella and Lesina, and we trust that the commitments undertaken, however late, will translate into concrete actions suitable for safeguarding the upcoming bathing season and, from September, to definitively resolve the problem. But if this does not happen, we will continue with determination the action taken until the request for verification – in every location, without exception – of any liability as well as compensation for damages”.
