Dona (Consumers): here are our rights at the beach, from access to games to the sea

What are our rights at the beach? From access to the sea to games on the shoreline and four-legged friends, in a video interview with Sole 24 Ore Massimiliano Dona, lawyer, populariser and podcaster, president of Consumatori.it, reminds us what our rights are. A problem that concerns many citizens, given that this summer around 38 million Italians will spend at least one day on holiday. And the favourite destination of holidaymakers is precisely the sea.

"The first right we have as consumers is to access the sea. The legislation expressly says so. And it makes no difference whether it is a public beach or a lido, a concessionary establishment,' Massimiliano Dona recalls in the video interview with Il Sole 24 Ore. 'So even if we find in front of us a private lido with sunbeds, umbrellas for rent, we have every right to enter for free. Not to stay there, but to get to the shoreline. The law specifies that the consumer also has the right to get to the beach for bathing purposes. So we can leave our things there and bathe right in front of the lido,' explains Dona. Of course, services are charged for.

In addition to Article 11 of Law 217/2011, which provides for 'the free and free right of access to and use of the foreshore, also for bathing purposes', Law 296 of 2006 establishes 'the obligation for the holders of concessions to allow free and free access and transit to reach the foreshore in front of the area included in the concession, also for bathing purposes'. By shoreline is meant the strip of sand on which the wave goes to break. In short, access to the sea is free and you do not have to pay anything to go for a swim. What should you do if they do not let you pass through the bathing establishment to reach the sea and bathe, or try to charge you? 'Call the police directly and ask them to intervene on the spot so that they can draw up a report,' explains a guide from Consumatori.it.

You cannot leave your umbrella on the beach for the next day: it is a convenience, but it is an illegal occupation of public property. In fact, you cannot leave objects such as mattresses, sunbeds or parasols on the free beach for a prolonged period of time. On pain of having the objects confiscated by the police.

It is always a good idea to find out about any prohibitions imposed on beach games by the Harbour Master's Office or the municipality. There is no national law regulating five-a-side football or volleyball games on the beach, but depending on where you are, there may be a specific ban. Local regulations aside, it is a good idea to 'use common sense and avoid causing damage or disturbance to other bathers, thus limiting sporting exploits to isolated beaches with no people around', reports Consumatori.it. On the same principle that it is illegal to leave a beach umbrella on the beach overnight, it is not allowed to hold up the installations of sports fields (beach volleyball or beach soccer, for example). Fields can be created, e.g. by setting up a beach volleyball net or creating football goals, but on condition that, once used, they are dismantled and the place restored to its original condition. Leaving these installations in place for longer than the playing time is again an occupation of public land and therefore illegal. This rule can be derogated from in the case of authorisation by the relevant municipality, authorisation that, for example, bathing establishments that offer this kind of facility to their guests have.