How many Blue Flags does Salento have in 2026?

Salento (province of Lecce) has 18 Blue Flags in 2026: 7 on the Adriatic coast (Alimini, Baia dei Turchi, Torre dell'Orso, San Foca, Roca Vecchia, Sant'Andrea, Torre Specchia Ruggeri), 1 at Capo di Leuca (Castro), 4 in south Salento (Pescoluse, Posto Vecchio, Torre Mozza, Lido Marini), 6 on the Ionian coast (Porto Selvaggio, Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno, Punta Prosciutto, Torre Lapillo, San Cataldo).

What does Blue Flag mean?

Blue Flag is an international recognition awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to coastal locations that meet 32 criteria: excellent water quality for 4 consecutive years, environmental management, services (lifeguard, disabled access, recycling), environmental education. It is renewed annually: a location can lose it if standards are not maintained.

Does Blue Flag guarantee clean sea?

Blue Flag certifies bathing waters of Excellent class according to ARPA parameters in the last 4 years. It is not an instant guarantee: after a storm or an unexpected discharge, waters can temporarily worsen. To check the current status, you can use ARPA Puglia bulletins or the QualeSpiaggia bathing score, updated twice a day.

What is the difference between Blue Flag and Pediatric Green Flag?

Blue Flag (FEE) certifies general environmental quality. Pediatric Green Flag (FEDE - Italian Pediatric Federation) certifies child-friendly beaches: sand (no rocks), shallow seabed, presence of lifeguard, playground, pediatric services. In Salento, the Pediatric Green Flag 2026 are: Marina di Pescoluse and Punta Prosciutto.

What are the Four Sails Legambiente?

The Four Sails are the highest recognition of Legambiente for the most beautiful Italian coasts. They evaluate environmental quality, biodiversity, landscape. In Salento, only one beach has the Four Sails 2026: Porto Selvaggio (municipality of Nardò), which is also a Regional Natural Reserve.

Salento

Blue Flags Salento 2026: the complete list of 18 awarded beaches

What the flag really guarantees, how it is obtained, and the updated list by area. Plus three small "interpretation traps" that are useful to know.

Andrea Serravezza

Apr 25, 2026·5 min read

Torre dell'Orso, one of the 18 Blue Flags of Salento 2026. The "Le Due Sorelle" stacks in the background.

The Blue Flag is the flag you see raised on the beach or at the entrance of the municipality. It seems like a universal guarantee, but underneath it is more subtle. Here is what it really certifies, and the list of the 18 Salento beaches awarded for 2026.

What is the Blue Flag

It is a program of the FEE — Foundation for Environmental Education, a Danish NGO founded in 1981. The recognition started in France (1985), extended to Italy in 1987, and today covers 50 countries. In Italy, it is managed by FEE Italia, based in Asti.

The criteria are 32 and are divided into four categories:

Water quality: "Excellent" class according to European parameters (bacterial load, transparency) for the last 4 consecutive years.
Environmental management: municipal plan, recycling, wastewater treatment.
Services: lifeguard in high season, accessibility for the disabled, first aid, regular cleaning.
Environmental education: informative signage, activities with schools, biodiversity monitoring.

The flag is renewed every year. It is not "for life": a location can lose it if the waters worsen or the quality of services declines. In the last five years, some Italian beaches have lost it and then regained it.

The 18 Blue Flags of Salento 2026

All belong to the province of Lecce. I organize them by geographical area to facilitate planning.

Northern Adriatic coast (7 Flags)

Alimini — municipality of Otranto, golden sand and pine forest
Baia dei Turchi — nature reserve, 15-minute walk access
Torre dell'Orso — the "Le Due Sorelle" stacks
San Foca — district of Melendugno, equipped promenade
Roca Vecchia — Messapian archaeological site, Grotta della Poesia
Sant'Andrea — four emerging stacks
Torre Specchia Ruggeri — sixteenth-century tower

Capo di Leuca (1 Flag)

Castro — port nestled between cliffs, Zinzulusa cave nearby

Southern Ionian Salento (4 Flags)

Marina di Pescoluse — also Pediatric Green Flag 2026
Posto Vecchio — municipality of Salve, white sand, less touristy than Pescoluse
Torre Mozza — sixteenth-century tower, sandy seabeds
Lido Marini — municipality of Salve, wide promenade

Central Ionian coast (6 Flags)

Porto Selvaggio — also Four Sails Legambiente, natural reserve
Santa Caterina — district of Nardò
Santa Maria al Bagno — historic fishing village
Punta Prosciutto — also Pediatric Green Flag 2026
Torre Lapillo — shallow seabeds, top for families
San Cataldo — the "marina" of Lecce

Three things the Blue Flag doesn't tell you

1. It refers to the location, not the single free beach. "Municipality of Otranto Blue Flag" does not mean that every meter of coast is certified. The recognition applies to the urban promenade and the main equipped beaches. Hidden coves 10 km from the center are not included: they can be beautiful but outside monitoring.

2. Water quality is a historical average, not instantaneous. Blue Flag certifies the parameters of the last four seasons. After a storm, an emergency sewage discharge, or a flood of agricultural drainage channels, the beach can temporarily worsen even if Blue Flag. For real-time data, see ARPA Puglia or the QualeSpiaggia score.

3. Blue Flag does not guarantee a tourist experience. The recognition evaluates environmental and service criteria, not if the beach is beautiful, quiet, well-maintained from a landscape point of view. A Blue Flag location can be a cemented promenade but with excellent services. A non-Blue Flag cove can be an untouched paradise.

Other certifications of Salento 2026

Pediatric Green Flag (FEDE — Italian Pediatric Federation): two Salento beaches, both already Blue Flag, are certified "child-friendly":

Pediatricians evaluate: sand (no rocks), predictable shallow seabed, presence of lifeguard, natural shade or equipped area, pediatric first aid on the beach or nearby.

Four Sails Legambiente: the highest Italian environmental recognition, evaluates landscape, biodiversity, and integrated management. Only one Salento beach has the Four Sails 2026:

Porto Selvaggio — already Blue Flag, it is a Regional Natural Reserve and Site of Community Interest

How to choose

If you are looking for a beach with services, accessible by car, with lifeguard and shower: go to one of the 18 Blue Flags. You are on the safe side.

If you have small children: Pescoluse or Punta Prosciutto. Double certification, newborn-proof seabed.

If you want maximum environmental nature: Porto Selvaggio. The Four Sails are not given to everyone.

If you want to discover something off the Blue Flag radar, follow the bathing score on QualeSpiaggia: some spectacular Salento coves (for example Baia di Porto Miggiano, Cala Fontanelle, Santa Cesarea Terme) are not included in the FEE program for administrative or logistical reasons, but are on par with the awarded ones for water quality.

Sources: FEE Italia (bandierablu.org), Italian Pediatric Federation, Legambiente Goletta Verde 2026. Article updated on April 25, 2026 — the FEE 2026 list is the most recent available. Reports or errors: hello@qualespiaggia.com. License CC BY 4.0.