Aponte's project financing for a new tourist port in Sorrento has been rejected.

The project to redevelop and develop Caterina Beach in Marina di Cassano, with the goal of building a new marina for yachts and hydrofoils, was rejected by Mayor Antonino Coppola. The mayor of Sant'Agnello, hometown of the world's first shipowner, Gianluigi Aponte, chose to reject the project financing proposed by Navigazione Libera del Golfo, a shipping company controlled and managed by the Aponte family.

The proposal called for project financing, i.e., a private investment, of approximately €45 million and a 40-year concession to unify the marinas of Piano di Sorrento and Sant'Agnello, with a 15% increase in berths and the creation of a pier for large yachts.

In a Facebook post, the mayor explained the reasons for the denial, writing: "In recent days, we communicated to the Società Navigazione Libera del Golfo (NLG) that the redevelopment project for the village of Cassano (Piano di Sorrento – Sant'Agnello), including the construction of a tourist port, is unacceptable in its proposed form."

Lamenting "the attacks and pressure in the press, which coincided with the ultimatum letter sent to us," Coppola added: "We are accustomed to genuine dialogue with everyone, but while we understand the reasons, we do not accept inappropriate pressure, tone, and language. It is useful to establish some fixed points, far from simplified communication, summary judgments, hasty conclusions, and above all, uncritical and unconditional acceptance."

Regarding the decision, the mayor calls the project "extremely impactful for the construction of major land and sea projects. Three new piers and new facilities with a 48-month construction schedule, unrealistic given the average timescales for complex authorization procedures at various levels, especially at supra-municipal levels. The economic-financial plan," the post continues, "calls for annual revenues, based on the duration of the concession, to be derived from the rental of existing and newly built berths (390 in total), from the rental of commercial spaces, and from spaces intended for recreational and catering activities. A quick aside: the annual rents envisaged for these leases are, necessarily, far higher than the current ones, with consequences for the rates applied, clearly in contrast to what has been attempted so far."

The Municipality is not convinced by the proposed solutions for the relocation of beach resorts and the reconfiguration of the existing beach. "We have an obligation to consider those who work with the sea, all boaters, those with 30-meter boats, those with 15-meter or 5-meter boats, but also those who don't own a boat and want to use a public asset at affordable prices or even for free," the mayor added. "The transformation of the marina and the village into a tourist port risks distorting the identity of these places."

Navigazione Libera del Golfo (also via social media) responded, acknowledging the mayor's announcement, saying: "We accept everything and, in fact, we immediately withdrew the documentation, which was the result of nearly two years of work and the associated costs incurred by us. It's disappointing to read that, according to you, there was a discussion with us on the matter after the official administrative filing date (September 22, 2025), as required by law. Unfortunately, this isn't true; despite numerous requests to that effect, the discussion never took place, only now, indirectly, on social media."

The shipping company led by Maurizio Aponte, however, wishes to clarify a few issues: "Caterina beach would have been free, with more space (2.840 square meters versus 1.630 square meters today), as well as berths for residents (105 versus 103), at reduced rates as is currently the case. Our goal was to improve all services for residents, recover the investment as quickly as possible, and return ownership of everything to the communities as soon as possible. It saddens us to be told that they wanted to 'exploit' public land; the intent was precisely the opposite."

According to the proposing company, "the opposition is purely ideological; such a development by a private individual is inconceivable, regardless of the proposal. As has been argued, it seems to us to be nothing more than gratuitous demagogy to justify a legitimate refusal. For us, the matter is closed, and we will not return to the issue."

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