The development of a controversial luxury resort in a marine protected area of north-eastern Sardinia will not go ahead, after planning permissions were revoked by the Italian government.
The Tavolara Bay project in Cala Finanza, in the Loiri Porto San Paolo municipality, would have seen the renovation of an existing villa and the creation of a “glamping site” opposite the island of Tavolara and 20km south of Porto Rotondo. The full proposal from Brazilian company JHSF, which operates the Fasano luxury hotel chain, also involved around 20 cabins, which JHSF said would not have increased the overall built floorspace.
But in 2006, Italian billionaire and President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Renato Soru, had effectively outlawed any development on Sardinia’s coastline with a directive that no building could take place within 300 metres of the sea.
@americanmominthemed SAVE SARDINIA 🏝️ Spero di vedervi in tanti domani alla manifestazione a Cala Finanza 💓💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 If you don’t understand Italian, please read the subtitles as this is a very important issue, if you are currently in Sardinia you are welcome to join us in protest tomorrow in Cala Finanza in hopes to preserve the beautiful wild coasts of the island 💪🏼💪🏼💓💓 #calafinanza #sardegna #manifestazione ♬ original sound – Charlotte | Life in Italy
Two decades later, to get around that restriction on development in a protected marine zone, JHSF had requested the creation of a special economic zone (ZES). A scandal developed when planning was approved before the economic zone was rubberstamped back in February 2026.
Protests and rallies then ensued, staged by Sardinians in opposition to the real estate project, and as a result, the permit was withdrawn in early July, with local politicians framing the outcome as a win for Sardinian autonomy and calling for resignations.
Francesco Mura, coordinator of the Melonian Party in Sardinia, said the situation should “have inevitable political consequences” since it had “exposed the entire Region to institutional disgrace”, meaning that sackings should follow “out of respect for the citizens and to safeguard the credibility of the municipal administration of Loiri Porto San Paolo.”
“Sul resort a Tavolara abbiamo avuto ragione. La Sardegna ha avuto ragione. Il Governo ha provato a decidere al posto nostro ma ha dovuto arrendersi all'evidenza e fare un passo indietro, revocando l'Autorizzazione Zes”. La Presidente della Regione Sardegna Alessandra Todde… pic.twitter.com/6cNHz44BTk
— Adnkronos (@Adnkronos) July 3, 2026
But Mayor Francesco Lai trod a more circumspect line, focusing on lessons learned and governmental cooperation. “This affair must be a lesson,” he said. “For everyone. For investors, first and foremost: Sardinia is not up for grabs.” He hailed the decision as “a victory for the principle of loyal cooperation between institutions. It demonstrates that when a municipality exercises its prerogatives seriously and rigorously, the state knows how to listen. And how to correct itself.”
The scandal comes amid similar recriminations about a massive resort that Donald Trump’s son-in-law wants to build on the fragile Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape lagoon area near Vlorë, Albania.
At the same time, the sustainable development of marine tourism has been a hot topic at the Global Tourism Forum in Angola, where investors are increasingly drawn to the country’s so-called “blue oil”: one of Africa’s longest coastlines, and the promise and pressure it brings.
