Italy's War on Beach Umbrellas

Most people with any sense of fairness hate beach-hoggers. If you’ve ever taken a summer ocean dip, you’ll most likely have come into contact with this obnoxious tribe. They’re the ones who sneak down to the shoreline at night to reserve the best spots with umbrellas, stretched-out towels or loungers. If such behavior has ever riled you, then take heart in news from Italy this summer. This season, Italy’s coast guard is impounding any stuff used to illegally reserve beach spaces, and in some cases even fining the people who left them there.

Last Saturday in Livorno, the coast guard seized 37 deck chairs, 30 umbrellas, a baby’s cot and a hefty tonnage of towels and swimsuits. Similar raids have taken place at resorts along the Adriatic Coast and in Sicily, while last month at the beach near Castiadas, Sardinia, a trawl rounded up not just umbrellas but even boats left tied to them. People who have their possessions impounded this way can still get it back, however. They just have to pay a €200 fine, which means a decent amount of stuff will have had to be impounded in the first place to make paying up worthwhile.