Italy’s beach resorts have been in the hands of the same families for generations. The EU now wants to reorganize the awarding of concessions. Visit to Santa Severa, where a tradition is in danger of being lost.
At first glance everything is as usual. The sea glitters in the sun. The first guests have made themselves comfortable on the beach chairs and are stretching their toes in the still cool sand. It’s a late morning in March and people are celebrating the start of the season with a glass of Prosecco or Aperol Spritz. Beyond the idyll, however, Fabio Quartieri is not in a partying mood. “We are left with nothing, I don’t know whether I can still invest and what will happen next,” grumbles the boss of the fish restaurant and beach establishment Isola del Pescatore in the picturesque seaside resort of Santa Severa just outside Rome.