1 Evaluating benefits of an Italian beach in different seasons and areas: a value of biodiversity Silva Marzetti Dall’Aste Brandolini 1 * and Marta Disegna 2 1 Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Italy 2 School of Economics and Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy Abstract Biodiversity of natural areas is rarely valuated. This paper focuses on the comparison of the seasonal recreational value of three different beach areas where biodiversity is present in different extents. Within the EU DELOS (2000-03) framework, a Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) survey, in the value of enjoyment version (VOE), was carried out in Lido di Dante (Italy), a resort where tourism is well developed and three different areas are present: one extensive natural area where biodiversity is conserved, and two smaller developed beach areas where biodiversity has been to a different extent sacrificed to tourism growth. The values of the non-marketable recreational use (such as sunbathing, walking and swimming) of the whole beach and of the three beach areas, in the status quo scenario and in two seasons (spring/summer and autumn/winter), are estimated and compared. This comparison highlights that in Lido di Dante visitors evaluate the recreational daily use in spring/summer higher than in autumn/winter, and that the lower the degree of biodiversity in a beach area, the lower its daily recreational use value in spring/summer and autumn/winter. Keywords: Biodiversity economic valuation, public goods, sustainable coastal management, beach recreational use value, protected beach area. JEL classification: H41, Q01, Q26. *Corresponding Author: silva.marzetti@unibo.it