Naples – New shock on the beach concessions front PosillipoThe Port Authority's tender committee, meeting yesterday at its Naples headquarters under the chairmanship of attorney Antonio Tisci, ruled two major exclusions, upending the race to assign the lots on the Baia Donn'Anna beach. The Lombardy-based company Blu Beach spa and Even More, an umbrella company of entrepreneur Edoardo Trotta, have been eliminated. For both lots up for grabs on the beach, the bidding now risks turning into a monologue, barring any dramatic developments in the administrative courts.
The issue of organizational models and the halt to "rescue"
The reasons for the deletion stem from the tender's strict adherence to the formal requirements. At Blu Beach SpA—led by administrator Simone Cioni and active in a nationwide plant acquisition program—the commissioners challenged the submission of a draft organizational and management model document.
A similar flaw resulted in the expulsion of Even More, the shareholding structure of Edoardo Trotta (owner of the adjacent Palazzo Petrucci), which was accused of failing to submit a self-declaration using a similar form. In both cases, the commission deemed the flaw insurmountable through the "investigative assistance" procedure, decreeing the immediate exclusion of the two companies.
Bagno Elena and Bagno Ideal reach the finish line
The combined effect of these decisions paves the way for the incumbent operators. For the first lot of Baia Donn'Anna, Mario Morra's Bagno Elena remains the only competitor and, barring further surprises, is on track to secure the concession.
The scenario is the same for the second lot: Trotta's forced exit leaves only Bagno Ideal, the historic manager of the portion of beach not occupied by Bagno Elena, free to go.
The battle, however, is far from over and promises to move back to the courts. Attorney Gianluca Lemmo, representing Trotta for Even More, has already filed an appeal with the Campania Regional Administrative Court (TAR), requesting an urgent suspension of the order. It was Even More itself, about a year ago, that initiated the entire bidding process, obtaining the annulment of the old extension for Bagno Elena before the TAR and the Council of State. No official comment has been made from Blu Beach, although in beach club circles a similar appeal is expected.
Romeo and Siren duel on the Monache beach
The competition for the third lot of the tender, for the beach adjacent to the public beach of Le Monache, also near Palazzo Donn'Anna, remains heated, at least for now. The contest is between two parties: on one side, Bagno Sirena, which boasts decades of management of the area; on the other, Grandi Alberghi Romeo, a million-euro company chaired by entrepreneur Alfredo Romeo (whose home overlooks the establishment) and whose board of directors includes Diego Romeo.
The current tender represents the Port Authority's second attempt to regulate the Posillipo beaches, following its self-restraint withdrawal last summer, necessitated by the Antitrust Authority's recommendations. The ongoing tender, which closed at the end of January with the submission of eight total bids for a two-year concession, has already claimed other high-profile victims in recent weeks: Max Mare Service, excluded for failing to specify the lot of interest, and GMC srls, halted due to the lack of certain self-declarations.
It seems like a strange situation to me: they exclude companies due to missing documents, but then it seems the incumbents are left alone, and the tender becomes almost a monologue. I don't understand how the requirements work, or if the draft is sufficient; I was hoping for more transparency, but now an appeal to the Regional Administrative Court is likely.