You could be fined £400 for eating on this Italian beach
Beachgoers in Italy could be issued with fines of more than £400 for eating on a beach.
Even consuming a sandwich or ice cream on the beach in Sant’Antioco in Sardinia, is banned, according to new council bylaws.
The town’s Mayor Ignazio Locci stunned residents and tourists with his list of 23 prohibited beach activities.
Among them is eating food of any kind, using stones to stabilise a sunshade and doing sport.
The maximum penalty for eating is €500 (£430).
Authorities said the food ban was to stop large gatherings that were sometimes disorderly and reduce litter.
But local media in the town – on an island in southern Sardinia popular with Italian and foreign tourists – have criticised the restrictions.
The mayor defended the decision.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Locci said: ‘If it can help in making people stick to the rule then yes, I am absolutely against the fact that you eat anything on the beach.
‘We continue to see lunches by the sea with banquets featuring huge watermelons, lasagne and sliced bread.’
I acknowledge that the ban may appear exaggerated. But in just appealing to common sense, our eyes have often been closed on too many fronts.’
The new beach bylaw makes ‘having a picnic’ a punishable offence. However, the ruling also warns that those who just have a snack or an ice cream, even if they take their litter with them, could also be fined.
One man who lives in Sant’Antioco, but did not give his name, told local media: ‘This means we are prevented from eating anything even if we spend the whole day on the beach? My kids and I can’t buy some ice cream and eat it under our sunshade?’
A mum, meanwhile, added: ‘This means I can’t provide my girl with a snack when she joins the town’s holiday camp for kids? That’s a bit weird..’
Last year tourists in Sorrento, on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, learnt they could no longer wear Speedos or bikinis on the town’s streets.
Similar to the situation in Sant’Antioco, anyone flaunting the new rule could be hit by a €500 fine, said town officials at the time.
The mayor of Sorrento Massimo Coppola banned the act to stop what he said was ’widespread indecorous behaviour’.
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