European holiday hotspot introduces strict new beach rule

Even locals are said to be furious over a strict new beach rule at a European holiday hotspot.

Beaches in Italy are allegedly banning holiday-makers from bringing their own picnics.

In the Italian region of Puglia, some privately-owned beaches are said to be stopping families from eating food brought from home.

Many beaches across Italy are privately owned by hotels and restaurants, and they charge tourists to hire parasols and sunlounges, The Sun reports.

In a bid to encourage holiday-makers to spend money at their own beach bars, some private beaches have clamped down on picnics brought from home.

According to La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, three families were “intimidated” from eating their homemade meals by staff members at a private beach.

They wrote: “Three families were unable to consume the provisions at a well-known beach in Torre Lapillo.”

The family told La Repubblica they were “literally intimated” as they opened their food.

“The three families, who had reached the Ionian marina with their children, said: ‘When we opened the bags with the food we were approached and threatened’,” they added.

Privately-owned beaches in Italy are said to be banning picnics from home. Picture: istock

News website Dividend Wealth added: “Entrance fees to some beaches in Puglia are already swinging out of control.”

Dario Dusso, who is a local resident and lawyer, is said to be “furious” with the “food ban”.

He told News Italy 24: “They simply cannot do it. They don’t have the authority.

“And if it’s too late for this season, because the times of the bureaucracy would not allow us to intervene in good time, from next year we will warn anyone who dares to forbid bathers to access the state property with their own food.”

Michele Colella, who is the manager of Lido Calarena, a private beach in Cozze, told Dividend Wealth: “We don’t allow large refrigerator boxes for group gatherings.”

“But if you bring a snack, a drink, or a mini fridge box, we turn a blind eye.”

The rules around what food and drink holiday-makers can bring to Italian beaches vary depending on each beach.

Many beaches in Italy charge tourists to hire parasols and sunlounges. Picture: istock

Meanwhile, other beaches in Italy are bringing in measures to minimise the impact of tourists on their shores.

In Sardinia, only 1600 people can visit Cala Sisine while Santa Maria Navarrese only permits 1300.

Fewer still are able to visit Cala Mariolu, with only 550 people allowed in per day and each having to pay a €1 fee ($1.70).

Elsewhere on the island, Pelosa Beach has banned towels and asked visitors to instead bring mats which gather less sand. Anyone visiting will have to pay €3.50 ($6).

Some beaches in Italy are bringing in measures to minimise the impact of tourists on their shores. Picture: istock

Tourists wanting to visit the beaches of Cala Coticcio and Cala Brigantina in the archipelago of La Maddalena will have to pay €3 ($5) per person for access each day after new rules were brought in.

The archipelago itself is a national park and only accessible with a guide, which will cost €25 ($42) for five hours.

And anyone caught visiting the archipelago without a guide could face prosecution.

Just 60 people will be permitted on each beach per day, as the local authorities look at ways to protect the sites from the impact of tourism.

Slots must be booked in advance by contacting a local guide but it is hoped that an app will be launched soon.

Italy is not the only place to reduce the number of people visiting its beaches, with Sugiton cove in the south of France forcing people to apply for permission.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission