Sport

Italy

Kitesurf: evolutions between water and sky

Things get going with glides and small jumps but you will soon be able to touch the sky with your fingers.

2 minutes

Veneto: a taste for morning flights

Lombardy: alpine scenery, marine thrills

Lazio: appointment at noon

Calabria: divine acrobatics

Sicily: a paradise for everyone

The 2024 Paris Olympics will welcome Kiteboarding as an official discipline - and this further increases curiosity and a desire to give it a try in the many "spots" around Italy's coasts and lakes. By “spot” we mean a place near a body of water where the winds offer the best conditions for being pulled by a kite with a board under your feet. Original surfing over the years developed into windsurfing (pushed by the wind in waters without high waves) and then into the kite version. Literally taking flight. At first glance, it might seem to be the most complex of all variants, yet the approach to kitesurfing is immediate, as evidenced by growing numbers of practitioners. A sense of balance is only one of the necessary components then it's rather like... playing with a kite. The wind inflates the kite to lift you up from the water while you manipulate the control ropes in your hands. Things get going with glides and small jumps but you will soon be able to touch the sky with your fingers.

The strip of sand emerging from the Gardesana Nature Reserve near Malcesine (Verona) on the shores of Lake Garda is one of the most popular spots for morning kiters: here, the winds are especially favourable with the first light of day.

Villages

Malcesine

Veneto, Malcesine

Lakes

Lake Garda

Italy, Lake Garda

Lombardy: alpine scenery, marine thrills

Another freshwater spot: this time we are just 90 minutes from Milan, on Lake Iseo. Thanks to its prevailing winds (from the north early in the morning, from the south in the afternoon), there are several kitesurfing spots surrounded by the breath-taking beauty of the PreAlps, as well as impressive waves.

Lakes

Lake Iseo

Lombardy, Lake Iseo

From Santa Marinella to Lido di Ostia: the coast near Rome has many spots for kiteboarding enthusiasts. Kiters from all over the world gather here: the famous "ponentino" wind hailed in the stornelli (Roman dialect songs) is utterly reliable and begins blowing every day all year round precisely when the traditional cannon shot at noon resounds on the Janiculum in the centre of Rome.

Sea

Lido di Ostia

Lazio, Lido di Ostia

One of the spots with best winds in Italy for already skilled kiters and lovers of acrobatics is the Costa degli Dei in Calabria (from Pizzo Calabro to Nicotera by way of Tropea). It is a meeting point for people from all over Europe. The mistral, normally blowing at between 14 and 16 knots over these beaches, ensures perfect conditions for exciting trajectories.

Sea

Costa degli Dei

Calabria, Ricadi

A lagoon turned into a nature reserve. Stagnone on the coast north of Marsala has become a par excellence base for kitesurfing for everyone: since it is a shallow and flat lagoon, it is ideal for practising and improving your freestyle.