Rome
Authorities managing one of Sardinia’s hottest beaches have banned umbrellas for people between the ages of 10 and 65, citing security issues in the occasion of an emergency.
Sun safety and pores and skin most cancers prevention is a precedence in most locations in the world, but for these wanting to go to the Punta Molentis Beach, on the Italian island’s southern coast, shade can be in brief provide this summer season.
Only households with youngsters as much as the age of 10 and people aged 65 and above can be allowed to deliver one umbrella, officers stated. Everyone else is prohibited from placing up umbrellas and different shade tools.
The measure, which has confronted widespread criticism, is one of a number of that officers are introducing.
From June 5 to late October, these accessing the beach can be charged €10 ($11.50). Those who’re disabled and their companions are exempt from the cost.
“It is prohibited to install umbrellas, gazebos, tents, or other shade systems,” the ordinance states, in response to the native authority web site.
“One large umbrella is permitted exclusively for families with children up to 10 years old and persons 65 years of age or older.”
The transfer has drawn scorn from beachgoers, whose feedback vary from sarcasm, asking in the event that they must turn out to be a mother or father simply to guard themselves from the solar, to cynicism, with one individual commenting on the municipality’s web site: “How wonderful, a beautiful day at the beach and 20 hours in the emergency room for burns. I think they tried this ordinance before and it fried their brains.”
The municipality says it had no alternative however to manage the use of umbrellas to keep away from the state of affairs that performed out final yr when dozens of beachgoers needed to be evacuated by boat following a fire in the area.
(*10*)
Part of the downside was beach overcrowding and too many umbrellas, which made it unimaginable to evacuate on land, officers stated.
“It is essentially because of that fire and the difficulty we had evacuating the beach due to the sheer number of umbrellas set up that the commune has set up this rule,” a spokesperson for the municipality of Villasimius instructed NCS Thursday.
“This is also an area where the paid beach establishments are prohibited, meaning people set up umbrellas next to each other, which blocks access, causes various hazards and blocks the view of the sea, which also led to the ordinance,” the spokesperson added.
Italian beach tradition just isn’t for the faint hearted. The peninsula is known for its extremely organized beach institutions with matching coloured umbrellas spaced out in excellent rows on the sand.
The worth for a day at these paid beach golf equipment can run between €100 to €500 ($115 to $575) for a chair and umbrella, and seasonal reservations can price hundreds.
People have a tendency to order the identical chairs in the identical rows yr after yr, however there are crowd limits in these areas and people can not pitch their very own tents or use their very own chairs.
Anger over the growing personal membership use of the nation’s seashores has led to numerous issues.
The seashores in Ostia, close to Rome, have been topic to quite a few closures this season after the Italian capital, which has jurisdiction over the seaside, dominated that many of the institutions both pay too little or don’t even have the proper to promote umbrellas and chairs on public sand.
Beach guidelines in Italy have typically raised eyebrows.
In current years, seashores in Sardinia have made it unlawful to take sand from the seaside, topic to fines of as much as $3,500.
In many coastal communities, beachgoers should use straw mats as a substitute of towels to keep away from unintentionally taking sand off the beach caught in the fibers.
To keep away from overcrowding, many Italian seashores even have deadlines, with people arriving by boat restricted to 90 minutes or requiring reservations for a spot on the sand booked and paid for on-line.