Food on the beach yes, but no dinners and lunches as if it were Christmas or Christmas Eve, maybe with the barbecue set up in a corner of the beach establishment and the checkered tablecloth borrowed from grandma. No turnstiles at the entrance as if we had to go to the gym for an hour of Pilates or to the stadium for a match at risk of public order. And, therefore, free (and free of charge) access to concession beaches if services are not used. With the obligation on the part of the managers (but also the customers) to leave five meters of shoreline free from sunbeds and umbrellas. As per regulations for the vast majority of municipalities, including those in Tuscany.
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The last sign
It is around these main commandments of beach etiquette that the vast sea of our beaches moves, where every day controversies, clashes, and small earthquakes arise between concessionaires and customers, between conservatives and progressives. The latest (apparent) paradox in the management of beach establishments in Tuscany comes from the Tirrenia seafront, province of Pisa. In recent days, at the entrance of the “La Perla” bath, one of the most frequented in the area, a sign appeared signed by the management reminding customers, with a prohibition symbol (in the background chips, toast, and bottled drink), that “it is not allowed to eat in the aperitif area and in no other area of the bath with food brought from home.” Heaven help us.
The sign went around web bulletin boards sparking controversies and harsh messages against the concessionaires. Also because the regulation on this aspect, as explained on the National Consumers Union website, is clear: “The owner does not have a monopoly on catering: citizens are fully entitled to bring food and drinks into the beach, respecting the decorum of the beach.” In short, without exaggerating.
It is by asking for explanations from the person in charge of the establishment that one understands how and why the notice was necessary. But it is also understood how the managers took the opportunity to slightly extend the boundaries of the ban. “There were customers – this is the reconstruction – who showed up at the establishment occupying tables reserved for aperitifs and self-service for private lunches. That is why we were forced to write that notice. Let it be clear: those who want to eat under the umbrella can continue to do so, we always try to accommodate the needs of customers: we do not charge guests and if there is a need to warm baby food, we have never said no.” Of course not.
Livorno and the turnstile case
But the hot potato of food in establishments is an old issue, so much so that in recent days in a Livorno bath (Nettuno) there was a harsh clash between managers and subscribers. And last spring, in Forte dei Marmi, the chic lounge of our coast, the posting of a message at the Levante bath sparked controversies so much that the intervention of Mayor Bruno Murzi was necessary: “You cannot do such a thing – he said –. Those who frequent Forte dei Marmi have never set up picnics or situations that could be judged inappropriate on the beach, but if you want to eat under the umbrella food brought from home everyone is free to do so. Just as they are free, if they have the economic means, to go to a restaurant.”
But on the sea, there is not only the belly to keep in check. What is dominating, in these hot days, is especially the issue of turnstiles at the entrance of Livorno’s beach establishments after the blitz by Matteo Hallissey, president of +Europa and the Italian Radicals, together with Ivan Grieco, correspondent of Pulp Podcast, the famous podcast of Fedez and Mr. Marra, one of the most followed in Italy.
Let it be clear, Livorno’s baths are unique on the Italian maritime scene, more of a tourist village reserved for locals than an attraction for tourists and occasional consumers: umbrella and cabin, between Antignano and Terrazza Mascagni, are passed down from father to son like the necklace with the Madonna of Montenero medal in backlight. That is why the Livorno beach system surprises more those who see it coming from outside than those who live it from the inside (despite the grumbles at the beginning of the season when prices increase).
Yet there are distortions (and abuses), even beyond the turnstiles. For example, you pay even after 8 pm (3 euros) if you choose to go to dinner at a subscriber friend’s place, hot showers have a price and cold ones, in some, a maximum number. Some recall the Five Star battle when they took over the former red city shouting “free sea”: they forced the managers to draw an access corridor to the free areas. It was a flop. Now, after Hallissey’s complaint, there has been some unrest. Who knows if the long wave will take away some distortions.
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