Today is Friday and I am going to the BEACH!!!
August 2013
The Riviera Romagnola refers to the long strip of sandy beach along the Adriatic Sea Coast. I’ve enlisted the help of a google image search to help me explain (aka, I lifted this map off of www.welcometuscany.org!)
The Emilia Romagna region is the bright green region in the mid-North of Italy. I live in Modena in the middle and about an hour to the right (East) there is the Adriatic Sea. Along the coast you’ll find the places like Ravenna, Cervia, Cesenatico and Rimini!
Many people, like my husband’s grandparents, who lived in Emilia (the left half of the region), also had a beach house in Romagna (the right half). My husband would spend three months out of every year at the beach with them, which is totally considered normal in Italy!
If you don’t have grandparents with a house at the beach, it is a semi-tragedy. The beach to Italians is so much more than a vacation. Italians are convinced (and maybe they’re right) that the salt in the air and water purifies the body, riding you of infections, making you stronger, aiding growth and revitalizing the skin, bones and airways.
The beach to Italians is so much more than a vacation. They are convinced that the salt in the air...Click To TweetPowered By CoSchedule
Children NEED the beach! Rest assured that if your child is frequently sick your pediatrician will ask “Ma lui è stato al mare quest’estate”? meaning “But did he go to the beach this summer?”
If the answer is no, they usually shake their heads, remind you of the health properties sea air has, prescribe a salt-water therapy and recommend that next summer you make more of an effort to bring them!
This may seem like I’m exaggerating, but let’s look back on the history of Italy for a moment.
Fascism and Sea Going
The Adriatic coastline in Romagna was actually developed as a beach-going destination because of Mussolini.
Mussolini was convinced that all children should have time at the sea side to make them stronger, regardless of economic class. Her created the “Colonie”, massive structures that look like hospitals, which acted as government run summer beach camps, in Romagna. The children of “operai”, factory workers, were sent to these “Colonie” for free, if their parents couldn’t afford to bring them to the beach. These “Colonie” ended in the 1970s, but in the decades that they existed, they created the Riviera Romagnola that exists today! Bringing with them a whole system of infrastructure, roads, services and of course “i bagni”. Ever heard of the "Colonie" the summer camps created by Mussolini to send children of factory...Click To TweetPowered By CoSchedule
I Bagni
One of the things you’ll notice right away along the Riviera Romagnola is that the entire coastline is COVERED in umbrellas and sun beds. Rows, upon rows, upon rows of sun beds and umbrellas of all different colors fill the beach. The few meters before the water is left free for running and playing, and behind these sun beds along the coast you’ll find a long boardwalk that connects the entire beach area. You may have heard the word “bagno” before referring to a bathtub or even taking a bath. Italians also refer to taking a swim in the Sea as having a “bath”. The actual beach, which is property of the state, has sections rented out to private individuals for 99 years at a time. These private individuals set up their umbrellas and sun beds to rent to tourists, and offer services if you rent out their beds during your stay.
- changerooms, chage tables and washrooms
- hot showers
- a kiddy club with a babysitter and art activities
- a playground with swings, slides, a trampoline and all kinds of things to crawl up and on
- Note there are also beaches that specifically cater to older kids and those that cater to younger ones so the playgrounds will be different, or they may even have two!
- a place to store your beach toys
- an air pump for filling air mattresses
- an air blower, to blow sand off your stroller and toys
- a cafe/bar for refreshments, lunch and ice cream!
- Some may even have a mini pool for guests with salt-water
- Ping pong tables, tennis courts, enclosed soccer areas with all equipment free to rent
- Massage, dance classes, an exercise area and morning yoga on the beach
All of this is included with the price of renting a sun bed and umbrella! The price is usually around 100 euro for a week for two people (includes 1 umbrella, 2 beds, + kids).
The June Ritual
If you do not have grandparents that can take the kids to the beach all summer, the next best thing is taking them yourselves!! They say that in June the healing and curative properties of the sea air are at their best, so you will find a flood of moms who spend anywhere from a week to a month alone at the beach with their kids.
Hotels prepare special packages that include one adult and one child, and the BEACH IS FILLED with single moms and kids….oh and old people!
Usually, the dads drive the family down on a Friday, stay the weekend and then head back home on Sunday so they can work on Monday. For the rest of the week, moms tan, play with their kids, make friends and live the good life!
When my husband asked me a few years ago if I wanted to take our son to the beach I said “No, why would I vacation without you??”
And then we had our first Earthquake! We live on the 6th floor and our whole apartment building swung in the air like it was made of paper and we slept in our car a few nights. At the time my baby was three months old and it was not easy. So we rented a house for me at the beach and I stayed there for a month alone with the baby, my husband visiting on the weekends. And so began my love affair with the Riviera Romagnola!!! Every summer since, I’ve gone with my son, and I’ve even gone twice, usually alone in June with my husband in August!
The Poor People’s Beach!
You’d think that ALL OF ITALY would be flooding to the Riviera Romagnola! The hotels are cheap and offer full-board (I’ll get to the incredible meals in another post!), kids are welcomed and have access to so many fun things, and the evenings are spent dancing, strolling and at all of the free public events in the beach towns!
What more could you ask for?
Oh…..well, perhaps a nice beach?
The Po’ River feeds into the Adriatic Sea, bringing with it a dark deposit of sentiment that, although makes for a sandy beach, also give the beach a quality not unlike MUD!!!
My son LOVES this type of sand, which is perfect for digging, throwing, eating and playing, but lets just say it isn’t Sardegna. You cannot see the bottom of the water, and when you wade in, it feels a bit like being in a giant mud puddle.
BUT HELLO PEOPLE, in Canada I went camping and swimming in what was basically marsh land. Plus, I’ve been to many of Italy’s most stunning, crystal clear water beaches in Sardegna, Puglia and Sicily….and let me tell you NO ONE was in the water! Out of the thousands of people sun bathing NO ONE WAS SWIMMING.
Fear of getting their hair wet, or make-up ruined? Who knows? So let me tell you, if you can get over the fact that the water is brown (clean, but brown non the less) that this is an incredible vacation for the whole family.
This week, I thought I would share some pictures from last year’s trip to the beach, along with letters I wrote to my sister’s and friends about it, I’m calling the Series “Postscards from Romagna”!
As soon as I get a change to upload and edit pictures from this current trip I will try to post them as well, perhaps in July! This year I’m going with my two year old, and a girlfriend who has a 1 year old. And now to go finish packing!!!
I’ll post about what I packed next week as well! I’m hoping that I still have time to blog, even though I won’t have my husband with me to help….but since my hotel is all-inclusive I wont be grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning!!
Any other moms out there vacation alone with your kids? Would you ever consider it?
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