Italians prepare for summer close to home

The sun is shining across Italy and its warm enough to go to the beach and swim in what this year are even clearer waters than usual. At one very popular beach in Tuscany, La Feniglia, a favourite with families from Rome, preparations are underway to welcome back only Italian tourists for the moment.

La Feniglia beach in Tuscany, popular with families from Rome, remains largely empty for now as travel between regions is not permitted in Italy until 3 June. © Sabina Castelfranco

Many Romans have homes in the area. Argentario, as it‘s known, has two very popular ports: Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano, packed with yachts in the summer months.

After the rigid lockdown in Italy due to the coronavirus, many have begun making plans to spend the summer months close to home. Although some beach clubs will already be starting to re-open, Romans will not be able to come to Tuscany until 3 June, as travel between regions will not be permitted until then.

In the meantime, La Feniglia, with its impressive six-kilometre sandy beach and pine trees of a natural reserve connecting Mount Argentario to the mainland, is getting ready to ensure that they comply with all the safety requirements that need to be in place following the Covid-19 lockdown.

At beach clubs like Braccio and Zonca on the Porto Ercole end, and at Capannuccia and Al Cartello on the Ansedonia end, frenetic work is underway to clean up the beach and prepare the restaurants to ensure that tables are sufficiently distanced from one another.

Clean-up operations are finally underway at Feniglia Beach, after months of delay due to the coronavuris lockdown. © Sabina Castelfranco

'Big losses'

Noe’, responsible for bed and umbrellas at Braccio Beach Club, believes the loss for this season will amount to 30-40 percent. He says they will lose some foreigners, like Russians, but most customers who arrive from abroad come to this beach at the beginning and the end of the season.

Maybe, he says, “we’ll see the ones that usually come in September”. 

“Luxury hotels like Il Pellicano, which work mainly with foreigners, many Americans, are bound to suffer big losses this year,” he adds.

Most beach clubs are getting organised to provide food on the beach to make up for limited seating at their restaurants, says Carlo at La Zonca beach club.

Feniglia's restaurants will be looking to limit their losses by proving food services on the beach. © Sabina Castelfranco

At the Ansedonia end of la Feniglia beach, Giuseppe, who manages the beach at Al Cartello Beach Club is wary of a return of Covid-19 restrictions. “If anything goes wrong, like another lockdown, it will be the end, economically speaking.”

He says they know that this year they will be working more than ever with locals. Like other beach clubs in the area, they have already begun receiving many bookings. They are hopeful they will be able to save the 2020 season.

Giuseppe, like Claudio, at La Capannina Beach Club, are busy sanitising everything, since hygiene is one of the important requirements that must be assured.

Football, beach volley banned

The Orbetello city council has prepared a well-thought out plan for La Feniglia and its other beaches. Tourism councillor Maddalena Ottali says there will be three separate areas: "Beach clubs with umbrellas and sun-bed that customers will pay for at the same price as last year. These clubs will be able to increase their beach area a further 30 percent.

"Next to these, the council is offering beach areas with free umbrellas where beach-goers will be able to either pay for sun-beds or lie on their towels.

"Finally, there will be free beach areas that will be monitored by the Red Cross," to ensure social distancing and that there is no beach volley or football, because these sports are banned on the beach this year.