Beach Culture in Italy

I have learned to not be surprised by most cultural differences between not only the USA and Europe, but also between Spain and other countries, such as Italy.  I was prepared for language differences, food differences, driving differences, different dress codes, ... but I was not prepared for the huge difference in beach culture.

We spent today on one of the limited public beaches around Naples, Italy.  Most beaches are private and you pay for a chair and an umbrella on the beach.  With the beach being public I expected it to be more crowded (in US terms, not Spanish) and perhaps to see more differences in dress code (surprisingly, topless bathing did not exist at all).  What I did not expect was for the entire time on the beach to be in the midst of a moving vendors. 


All day different people selling different items were walking between the towels and umbrellas to offer their wares.  There were typical beach items such as floats, sand buckets, and towels, but the list kept going.  You could buy a bathing suit (uh, if you are at the beach, isn't it a little late?), sunglasses, and cover-ups.  OK - so maybe those are still in my "normal" perspective (being from Florida and Myrtle Beach areas).   But then it got different - how about a henna tattoo, or a knock-off designer purse, or a belt?  Clothes, fresh coconut, jewelry, CD's, roasted peanuts, phone covers, and bandannas?

Being that I am fair skinned and would turn into a lobster if I sat out in the sun all day, I enjoyed sitting under my umbrella and watching these vendors.  Nothing like "beach side service."