Italy

Facing the Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Adriatic Seas and with the two largest islands in the Mediterranean (Sicily and Sardinia) it is certainly the most coastal country in the Mediterranean. Coastal morphology Sand or gravel strands stretch for approximately 3,240 km, whereas the remaining 4,660 km are constituted by cliffs plunging into the sea and enclosing small pocket beaches. The Basilicata region on the Ionian Sea has consequent rivers which flow parallel to each other resulting in a coalescent coastal plain bordered by sand beaches. A limestone rock coast characterizes Puglia, both on the Ionian and South Adriatic seas. The economic boom of the 1960s and the call for holiday houses near the sea led to villa, condominium and holiday resort construction over coastal dunes. The ineffective fifth breakwater was lowered to sea level and two submerged groins built to stabilize the northern coast.