Abstract

In Italy, the coastal landscape is not object of special protection being subjected to the same regime of other protected areas. At first the legislation only safeguarded sites of particular aesthetic interest and it was only with the law 431/1985 that areas within 300 meters from the shore came to be specifically regulated. However, an absolute prohibition to build in these areas still does not apply. The greater protection is today accorded to the natural element, through identification of protected marine areas and parks. The French system, on the contrary, has devised specific and more incisive tools for the protection of coastal landscapes. A prohibition to build applies on all territories within a hundred meters from the shore, and urbanization is limited in an even larger area. "Remarkable areas" are accorded enhanced protection. In the French system of protection a key role is played by the Conservatory of the shores.