“Eternal Love” – an elderly couple head to their umbrella

The term “Stabilimento Balneare” may be best translated as a beach establishment. You will find these lining many shores in Italy, but nowhere so much as in Versilia. The stabilimento is an invention after my own heart. It’s a clean and orderly approach to going to the beach. On a daily, weekly, or seasonal basis, you can rent an umbrella or even a “tenda” (larger “tent”) and lounge chairs. These are neatly placed on a beach that has been combed just for you. The Stabilimento usually also has changing cabins, clean bathrooms, a bar and restaurant, and perhaps some services and games for children. They are particularly useful for people with small children, or people like me who just like traveling in comfort. This weekend I was in Lido di Camaiore as a guest of friends who rent a “tenda” at the beach by the season in a rather luxurious stabilimento. It was a very stylish place. I was particularly impressed by the geometry of the architecture and the surf-inspired colours. Here are my photographic impressions.