Liguria is confirmed as the queen of the Blue Flag, the prestigious banner awarded by Fee (Foundation for Environmental Education) that certifies the quality of bathing waters, and Marina di Varazze organized a special evening to celebrate this important recognition. Varazze, in fact, is one of the 63 Ligurian locations that have earned the Blue Flag for the year 2022 as well, putting the region at the top of the list for the highest number of banners, ahead of Tuscany, Campania, and Apulia. In particular, Varazze stands out for the continuity of the result: the Ligurian city has in fact reached its twenty-ninth consecutive banner and Marina di Varazze its fourteenth.
For this reason, following the Fee’s announcement, Marina di Varazze organized a special evening-event on 30 July to share and celebrate this important milestone. It was a precious occasion to raise awareness of the richness of Liguria’s seas in terms of biodiversity and of the importance of taking care of each resource, with projections of images and videos by the “Menkab: Il respiro del mare’ (‘The breath of the sea’) association, in which some activities carried out with the classes of the Istituto Comprensivo Varazze-Celle Sezione Blu and Ecoschool were presented, leading participants on a wonderful journey to discover heritages such as the Cetacean Sanctuary and the other peculiarities of the marine ecosystem of the Ligurian territory. All participants were given informative flyers dedicated to jellyfish, oceanic posidonia and cetaceans.
The event 
launched the rich programme of environmental initiatives organized by Marina di Varazze with the aim of inviting citizens and tourists to increasingly adopt environmentally sustainable behaviour. This year’s activities include the marine waste collection organized with the Lega Navale, the Nautical Club and the Associazione Pescatori (Fishermen’s Association), which was joined by the Estate Ragazzi group, and “Mare in Mostra”, which will be held on 27 August at the Marina di Varazze, an exhibition dedicated to the life of the underwater world, organized by the Menkab Association with the collaboration of Artescienza. The complete programme of events can be found at www.marinadivarazze.it.
“The presentation of the Blue Flag awarded to the City and the Marina of Varazze is a very important event both from an environmental point of view, which is a priority element in the city’s political and administrative choices, and from a tourist and promotional point of view,” says Varazze Mayor Luigi Pierfederici. “This is precisely why it is a pleasure to share the awarding of the Blue Flag with our guests and to offer them once again a wonderful postcard of our city“.
“Marina di Varazze has always considered the protection of the environment and the sea a strategic element of its corporate policy,” says Giorgio Casareto, CEO and Director of Marina di Varazze. “Maintaining this important result over time represents a further challenge that implies aiming at continuous improvement. We have developed many initiatives, not only at a corporate level, but together with schools, research institutes and associations present in the Marina, as well as with boat owners: these activities have led us over time to spread not only good practices, but the promotion of a real culture of the sea thanks to the valuable network of collaborations that our management has been able to build, which is destined to consolidate and grow“.
“We will of course continue along this path,” confirms Marina di Varazze Deputy Director Italo Bogliolo. “Programmes and initiatives for the new year are already being studied, and I am certain that the experience gained over the years in the yachting sector will strengthen the excellent work carried out so far by the Marina di Varazze team.”
