I’m lying on a yellow sunlounger shaded by a striped umbrella flapping in the breeze. On one side of me, a group of friends is gossiping loudly, to the other, a woman is chopping salami and distributing it to a gaggle of children. Tormentoni – Italian pop hits that are played incessantly – drift over from a bar, and someone on a megaphone announces that the “baby dance”, a disco for kids, is about to start.
With turbid water, regimented miles of sunloungers and uninteresting coastal geology, this portion of the Emilia-Romagna coastline can’t rival the spectacular seasides in southern Italy. Yet, the seven Lidi Ferraresi, or Ferraresi beaches, a couple of hours’ drive south of Venice, draw thousands of returning Italian beachgoers each year.
As chain resorts and ultra-luxury hotels take over the Puglian and Tuscan coasts, the Lidi Ferraresi offer an unpretentious and distinctly Italian summer escape.
Although beach costs are rising up and down the Boot, this area remains one of the most affordable. Renting two sunbeds and an umbrella for the day costs around €25. B&Bs and rental apartments near the sea start from €100 a night in August.
Choose the right beach for you
The Lidi Ferraresi are at the north of the Emilia-Romagna region’s Adriatic coastline. Behind the sand, holiday villages have sprung up – streets of white bungalows, terraced housing and low-rise apartment blocks.
Each beach has a different character. Lido di Volano, the most northerly, is the wildest, deep in the Po Delta. Birdwatching is popular in the forests, reedy islands and brackish waters just inland.
10 minutes’ drive south is Lido delle Nazioni. It is laid-back, with a weekly market selling Puglian products such as Caciocavallo cheese and rounds of Altamura (sourdough) bread the size of car wheels. I invariably stop at Friggitoria La Baracchina, a fried food stand with some of the best fritto misto – prawns, squid, sardines and mini octopus deep fried in a light, crispy batter – one of the best on the coastline.
Lido di Pomposa, a five-minute drive further south, is family-friendly, but also has a bar and beach club (La Playa del Medio) that is popular for its Latino and Afro music nights. Lido degli Scacchi, right next door, has beach establishments with entertainment for children.
Porto Garibaldi, a 10-minute drive south, is for the gourmands, with fishmongers like da Luigi and friggitoria like El Puerto dishing up everything from grilled eel to scallops au gratin to a large crowd who eat at the outdoor tables or by the fishing-trawler-lined canal just in front. The same road, the Via Caduti del Mare, has several elegant seafood restaurants like Lo Sbottonato (marinated anchovies with caramelised onions are a highlight), and Osteria Bombi, with its enormous seafood risottos.
Lido degli Estensi, five minutes’ drive away, has a tree-lined avenue of boutiques. I enjoy browsing the shops and stands with racks of swimming costumes, giant inflatables and beachy trinkets. The beach is also at its widest here, ideal for volleyball and tennis.
Next door, Lido di Spina is favoured for aperitifs at places like Malua54 and Baia di Maui 44 with all-you-can-eat buffets and dancing until late.
Where to eat and drink
The beaches are portioned up into establishments – called bagni – where you can rent sunloungers and umbrellas. Bagni facilitate languorous days on the sand, with dips in the sea (the murky water is due to the sandy seabed; the beaches are Blue-Flag certified) and trips to the closest bar for ice cream, granita or spritz.
A proper day at a Lidi Ferraresi begins with breakfast in one of the bars around the holiday villages. Those who own or rent houses in the resort tend to move around by bike (rental from €10-€15 per day).
At Lido delle Nazioni, I often stop at Pasticceria La Moderna for its pastries, or at Porto Garibaldi I go to seafront Caffetteria e Gelateria Litoraneo for an ice cream-filled brioche. After breakfast, the morning sunbathing session begins.
One pleasure of a Ferraresi beach day is lunch at the bagni’s restaurants like Kapogiro Beach at Lido degli Estensi and Mar y Sol Spiaggia57 at Lido di Spina.
Menus are chalked up on blackboards, and dishes might include handmade pasta with clams, deep-fried calamari, grilled prawns and a whole seabass with potatoes. Everything pairs perfectly with a litre carafe of prosecco alla spina (on tap), and you can expect to pay €80-€90 for a two-course meal and drinks for two. Not even disco music and shouting children can disturb a post-prandial nap, or abbiocco.
What to do when the sun goes down
As the sun’s rays lengthen, the music dials up and beachgoers begin their commutes between sunloungers and the bar for jugs of spritz and pints of beer. Most bagni have live music or a DJ playing the summer’s hits or Latino music, which is free to listen to (although you are expected to buy something to eat or drink). Later in the evening, some beach clubs have an entry fee of €10-€15, including a free drink.
Discos set back from the beach open their doors. In Emilia-Romagna, a type of dance called “liscio”, combining ballroom and folk music, is popular with older generations and a smattering of younger enthusiasts. I’ve whirled around a packed dance floor to waltzes, fox trot and mazurka Romagna (fast-paced folk dance).
www.instagram.com/p/DPBkh5ZCFDy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Emilia-Romagna has the perfect solution for late-night peckishness. Outlets along the coastline sell piadine – thick flatbreads made from dough fortified with lard and stuffed with local meats, cheeses and vegetables. Da Franco a Lido delle Nazioni is an institution for its version. Inside, small colourful rectangles of paper cover the walls, counter and cash desk listing all the filling varieties, from truffle sauce to falafel.
Day trips
Within an hour’s drive of the lidi is the medieval centre of Ferrara, a city with a moated castle and museum of 15th-century religious art. Around a 30-45-minute drive south is another historic city, Ravenna, where there are Unesco-designated ancient mosaics and a museum dedicated to Lord Byron.
Comacchio is a town in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, known for its network of canals (Photo: Getty)It’s a 20-40 minute cycle ride (depending which lido you start from) to Comacchio, known as a little Venice for its network of canals.
The Lidi Ferraresi’s summer charm is undeniable. I’ve already started my summer weekend trips, delighting in that feeling of salty hair and sun-warmed skin cooling as I zip home on a Vespa after a day at the beach.
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