Italians are in revolt against the privatisation of the country’s coast as vast stretches of beach are taken over by lucrative beach clubs, bars and restaurants.

The “stabilimento” or beach club is a long-standing tradition in Italy where customers pay a premium for umbrellas, loungers, showers and readily available food and drink.

In the past, the rest of the beach remained accessible to the public for free.

But the country’s thousands of beach clubs have encroached on ever greater stretches of sand. The number of beach concessions has increased by 12 per cent in recent years.

Now, many Italians have had enough, especially as inflation and the cost of living crisis means an increasing number of families have been unable to have a holiday at all this summer or have taken much shorte

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