Umbrellas and deck chairs seized in dawn raid on Italian beach to stop spot-reserving
Italian authorities confiscated 40 beach items left overnight on a free-access beach near Naples, targeting the growing trend of reserving prime spots with unattended equipment.
Authorities in the coastal suburb of Torre del Greco, near Naples, conducted a dawn sweep of Laghetto beach, seizing umbrellas, loungers and deck chairs as part of a crackdown on people leaving belongings overnight to secure prime spots.
The port authority said coastguard staff and local police collected 40 items during the national beach and lake safety operation targeting what the Italian press calls "umbrella cheaters" (furbetti dell'ombrellone).
The sweep at Laghetto, a popular free-access beach unlike the private concessions dominating Italy's summer coastline, followed numerous complaints about equipment left unattended for days. The operation found "unattended chairs, umbrellas and small tables that were continuously occupying the beach, effectively reserving a spot for the owners' return."
"It is a practice that recurs each summer, but it is expressly prohibited," the port authority said, adding that such occupation violates regulations governing the management of maritime public domain areas.
Leaving beach equipment after sunset risks fines up to €500 (£425), while reclaiming confiscated items involves a bureaucratic ordeal.
Similar blitzes occurred earlier this month on a beach in Puglia, as well as in Liguria and Sardinia. Italian beachgoers are battling to reclaim "free beaches" from private concessions, common especially in Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Puglia.
One such battle was recently won in Bacoli, near Naples, where the municipality aims to make over 80% of the local coastline free or equipped for public use.
