The second and third caveat address this. The definition of a coastal city in the quiz is obviously quite generous, but I can't really think of objective criteria that would make more sense. If, for example, we accept that Rome is not a coastal city, then what about Athens? In fact, the municipality (comune) of Rome reaches the coast in Municipio X, whereas the Athens Municipality doesn't. Yet Athens, according to how most people perceive it as a city, is, arguably, coastal.
Edit: My bad. It's not among the most populous.