A love letter to the Italian beach club

Tutti al mare!

No one does summer better than the Italians do summer. Where they really excel at summer is at the beach. There are thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than 400 islands here. That means that wherever you are you are likely not that far from the sea.

Italy’s coast stretches for 8,300 kilometers. There are 27,335 beach concessions for “recreational tourism” purposes in the country. It is estimated that 60% of Italy’s sandy coastline is occupied by beach clubs. Moving beyond the nature/culture dichotomy, it appears evident that the architectural design of such places is a prominent feature that determines the country’s landscape. It is also evident that beach culture is a key part of our identity. Salvatore Peluso

In most places in the world when you go to the beach you bring your towel and maybe an umbrella and plop down anywhere you please. That is not how it works in Italy. What we have here is a highly regulated system of clubs and chairs and umbrellas and cabins and restaurants. They are called Stabilimenti. They are private but they do not require membership.

The oldest beach clubs in Italy date back to the 1800s. In the 1920s popularizing the seaside holiday was part of the Fascist ruler Mussolini’s dreams of a new Italian empire. This is when Ferragosto, a holiday with ancient Roman roots that was then transformed into a Catholic holiday by the Papal States was inextricably bound into Italian seasonal rhythms. The real boom in beach tourism came after World War II and with the economic prosperity that followed. For many Italians, their stabilimento is a place where they have been spending summers for generations.

There are free beaches, spiagge libere . They are not for me. If that is your style, the wild parts of the Tuscan coast, Sardegna, and the two kilometers of beaches south of Rome known as the Cancelli are for you.

Me, I love a stabilimento. I like the order of the colorful chairs and umbrellas (extra credit if there are stripes) all lined up. I like the restaurants and snack and cocktail options. I like a clean bathroom.¹ 

There is a timeless charm to the rituals. Occupying the same set of chairs, begging Nonna to swim before the mandatory waiting period of 3 hours after lunch, the bellow of Cocco Bello, Cocco Fresco. The squawk of the loudspeaker announcing the times for babydance and acquagym. The late afternoon loop of tormentone from the current year and summers past.

These are some of the places that I love and have been going to for years. I am partial to the Tyrrhenian Sea and I am not wild about the Adriatic. I haven’t been to the Ionian. There are really no wrong answers. All you have to do is pay for a chair and umbrella, book a table for lunch, order plates of spaghetti alle vongole and drink a little too much white wine. Have a nap and a swim and an ice cream and another nap before the sun sets and it’s time to go home.

What to Bring

You will not see many women wearing one-piece bathing suits. Buy yourself a bikini. My advice is to book an appointment (you can do it online) at Pati Bloom or order from one of these Made-in-Italy brands; Isole Vulcani and Repainted. You need to bring a towel. I always have a Turkish peshtemal in my beach bag. My favorite one is from Mizar & Alcor. Don’t worry if you forget something. There are usually vendors walking the length of the beach selling towels, bikinis, cover-ups, jewelry, beach toys, and more.

Beaches near Rome

Rome is close to the sea. Sit on the right side of the plane and you will see the coastline as you land at Fiumicino. If we come to the airport to pick you up, you are probably going straight to the beach. It is our family’s patented jet-lag cure.

Maccarese Paradise Beach

Unless you are very new here you have heard me talk about Paradise Beach. This is one of our favorite places. Gaetano and Adriana are like an aunt and uncle to our son and his friends. One of the best things about Paradise Beach is that it is open year-round. That means on sunny December and February afternoons we have a long walk and lunch at the beach. Our meal has been the same since Noah was in middle school. Spaghetti alle vongole, fried moscardini, grilled fish and a bottle of cold Pecorino to drink. Sometimes there are telline, tiny clams that come from this stretch of seaside, sometimes there is whatever vegetable is in season, sometimes there is dessert or a wedge of watermelon. You need a car to get here. (We use the car-sharing service Share Now. Their app Free Now is also the most useful taxi app in Rome. (We both get €5 credit if you use my code RTKCBDSIQ)

Anzio Il Barretto

This is a story of how every now and then all that scrolling pays off. When our lockdown restrictions were lifted in the spring of 2020 the first thing I wanted to do (after a LONG walk) was to go to the beach. Paradise Beach did not open that first weekend but the Instagram algorithm gave me the gift of Il Baretto. The menu here is small and reflects what the boats brought in that morning. Be prepared, Spaghetti alle vongole is not always on the menu. Fried anchovies with garlic aioli almost always are. The wine selection is excellent and features local, biodynamic, and French producers. The beach club Il Tirreno is large and has kid’s activities and exercise lessons. At sundown, there is a gin & tonic bar that also makes fresh potato chips. This is a popular place. You must reserve your table (for lunch or dinner) and umbrellas and chairs. Anzio is an easy train ride from Termini. The walk to the beach from Anzio station takes about 20 minutes. There are trains every hour. The last train back to Rome leaves at 22:00.

Ostia

Combine a morning of ancient Roman history with a beach lunch and be back in Rome for dinner with a day in Ostia. Start with a visit to Ostia Antica and then hop back on the train for a few more stops to the beach. La Vecchia Pineta is an old-fashioned starched white tablecloth kind of place. (You’ll recognize it from Suburra) V Lounge Beach is a flashier kind of fancy. It has a pool and a juice bar and football stars. Reserve a cabana on the grass and a table for lunch. There are plenty of spiagge libere here too. You can get to Ostia by train from Porta San Paolo (Piramide). Get off at Stella Polare and walk along the Lungomare. Castel Fusano is the closest stop the La Vecchia Pineta. Cristoforo Colombo is the closest stop to V Lounge Beach. From May to September if you want to go to the Cancelli beaches catch the 07 or 062 bus from Cristoforo Colombo. L’Oasi Naturista di Ostia Capocotta is clothing optional.

Fregene

If we have a late airport pick-up or want a quick sunset swim we stop at Il Kiosco. There are tables in the sand and strong gin & tonics. They do serve food. We have never eaten here. There are lots of famous beach clubs and restaurants here. It has been a long time since I have been to any of them.

Positano

Positano beaches are small and have dark pebbles, not sand. I like the Fornillo side. Da Ferdinando and Pupetto Beach club both have good food. I get the caponata, a cold mix of tuna, vegetables, and big olive oil-soaked croutons.  If you don’t want to climb stairs to the beach every day, stay at Hotel Pupetto. Da Adolfo is famous for a reason. For more Amalfi Coast intel watch Nicki’s Positano videos and buy Laura’s book.

Capri

Except for a few small pebbly patches in Marina Piccola and Marina Grande, the “beach” in Capri is slabs of concrete on large volcanic boulders. My suggestion is to book a spot at La Canzone al Mare. There are two pools, ladders to climb out of the sea, and lots of shady spots. The food is not the star here. Get a club sandwich at the bar.

Ponza

You need a boat to find the best places to swim in Ponza. When I stay on land, Frontone is where you will find me. I buy a sandwich, pizza stuffed with greens, or slice of Tiella, take the water taxi and rent a chair and umbrella at the very far end where the sun stays the longest and the late afternoon music is the quietest. There are two bars that have coffee, beers, water, and light meals. You have to climb the boulders and a flight of stone steps to get to Ristorante da Gerardo. It is worth it.

Venice

If all the art and palaces and crowds and cichetti get to be too much take the vaporetto (you have 7 choices) to Lido. Rent a bike and head to Murazzi or rent a chair and umbrella at Blue Moon. On my next trip, I am planning a visit to the airport bar.

Ansedonia

Last summer after exploring the Etruscan Necropolis and before going to the Tarot garden we stopped for a swim and a sandwich along the wild Tuscan coast near Ansedonia. Park at paid La Tagliata lot and find the kiosk. You can rent a chair or just bring a towel and find a spot in the sand.

We are creatures of habit and once we find a place we like we tend to keep going back. There are so many places that I have not been to. These are a few experts that I trust for advice about other beach destinations in Italy.

Sophie Minchilli has been going to Puglia since she was born. She has guides or even better you can spend a week with her there.

Book a Pescara food tour with Anna in Abruzzo and she can guide you to the best beaches along the Trabocchi coast.

There is so much to see in Sicily that it overwhelms me. Aeolian islands? Palermo?  And the food! The team at Casa Mia is a good place to start.

It has been years since I visited Sardegna. I would love to go back and explore the mysterious Nuraghe and its wide sandy beaches again.

What to Watch

Netflix has a wealth of summer stabilimento content. L'incredibile storia dell'Isola delle Rose, Summertime, and Under the Riccione Sun are all fun, light content.

We almost always eat a restaurant lunch, but I wish I could go back in time and my lettino would be to be next to some generous i 'fagottari'  willing to share their spaghetti frittata and cold watermelon.

Sadly, I can only find the trailer on PBS for Happy Winter, a melancholy short film about Italian beach holidays and economic realities.

1. Many of the free beaches in Ostia have bathrooms and showers and the option to rent a chair and umbrella.