🇮🇹 Bathing water quality in Italy

Also known as Italia, Włochy, Wlochy. 5,535 officially monitored bathing sites, tested all season for sewage bacteria.

5,535monitored sites
91%rated Excellent
72rated Poor
185turned around

Home › Italy

Excellent: 4972Good: 340Sufficient: 104Not classified: 47Poor: 72

⚠️ Rated Poor in Italy — think twice

A Poor classification means persistent contamination across recent seasons. Authorities must advise against bathing, or ban it, at these sites.

…and 42 more. Full list across Europe →

✅ The safest bets in Italy

Sites that have held the top rating five seasons in a row — not a one-year fluke.

📈 Turned around

These were rated Poor or Sufficient a few seasons ago and are Excellent today.

📍 Destinations in Italy

Common questions about swimming in Italy

Is it safe to swim in Italy?
Mostly yes. 91% of Italy's 5,535 officially monitored bathing sites hold the top "Excellent" class in the 2025 assessment, but 72 sites are rated Poor — bathing there is advised against or banned all season.
Which beaches in Italy should I avoid?
The 72 rated Poor: 100 Mt a Nord Foce F. Feltrino, 140 M Sud Foce Fosso San Lorenzo, 200 M.petrace, 200 Mt a Dx F. Mesima, 200 Mt a Nord Stazione Ff.ss. Tollo, 200 Mt a Sud Foce F. Arielli and 66 more. Poor means the site failed the minimum standard across four seasons of sampling.
Where is the water cleanest in Italy?
4,506 sites have held the top rating five seasons running — a far better signal than a single good year. Around Naples, Olbia, Lake Garda you will find the densest clusters.
How often is water quality tested in Italy?
Through the whole bathing season. National sanitary authorities sample each official site for E. coli and intestinal enterococci, report to the European Environment Agency, and the published class reflects the last four seasons combined.

Ratings are the official season-long classification, computed from the last four seasons of sampling — not a live reading. After a storm any site can be temporarily worse; local advisories win.