Lido degli Estensi (Ferrara), July 29, 2026 – Evening has not yet fallen, I am shirtless, on the beach. There is no one around. A decisive move, goodbye broken umbrella. Another video, he has a cap on his head, uses his t-shirt to cover his face while opening drawers, rummaging through shelves. Under the watchful eyes of the cameras. “They enter hooded because they know we have electronic eyes. And they take away the liquors,” says Matteo Fogli, owner of the Onda Blu bathhouse, Lido degli Estensi, worried. “They have entered the kiosk twice, every weekend 50 kids come and cause chaos, they take away gin, rum, vodka. They break everything.”
Read more Fakir case, the meeting of Police Chief Pisani with the family. Lawyer Anselmo: “A lesson from them
Beach establishment owners at the mercy of the ‘maranza’
His is one of many voices from the beaches, owners of beach establishments who feel at the mercy of the maranza, exasperated. Some pay guards, some do patrols, sleep with one eye open at the establishment. They take turns from one to six in the morning, in three-hour shifts. “From one at night there should be no one along the beach, there is an ordinance that forbids it. Instead, during those hours that strip of umbrellas and sunbeds becomes theirs, a no man’s land.” They have not stayed idle, they join forces, make a common front. Two, three establishments. Then five, six put their hands in their pockets, team up to save on private security expenses.
Security costs shared
At Bagno Virna, the owner is Mery Carli, she has joined hands with Marysol, led by Mattia Menghi. They share the security costs. “For some time now we have been paying out of our own pockets for surveillance. We have a guard who watches over our business all night. The service is on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. For some years the situation at our beaches has changed. For the worse,” bitter words.
The path she has taken has been followed by colleagues. Italo Esposito, owner of Bagno Holiday in Lido di Spina, was recently targeted by a gang of very young people. Umbrellas broken, ripped from the ground. A pile of twisted sunbeds and deck chairs, thrown one on top of the other. “I was forced to pay for private security, here at night it’s a no man’s land. After those episodes I started sleeping at the establishment, but you can’t go on like this.”
“Every night costs 136 euros”
So together with Nicola Ghedini, national president of CNA Balneari beach operators, owner of the Kursal establishment, and Sabbia d’oro they paid for a security guard. “Every night it costs 136 euros, for the whole season we’re talking about almost 6,000 euros each. This way we split the expenses. And we protect ourselves a bit.” Not only that. They have also lit up the establishments like daylight, up to the first row. Light bulbs and hope.
“The maranza devastated the kiosk for three nights in a row”
Some have said enough. Lele Cammattari is the owner of the Locura bathhouse, together with his girlfriend Liusmila Barrero Perera, 31 years old. “The maranza devastated the kiosk for three nights in a row, they took away the liquors. The last straw was Sunday at dawn after the long Saturday night. The guard of the establishment next to ours called us, a boy had cut the roof of our car. He was about to escape when my girlfriend arrived. He fled, she chased him, managed to catch him. He hit my Liu in the face, bit her hand. But she stopped him.”
The boy, assisted by lawyer Filippo Sabbatani, denied all charges. The court validated the arrest by the carabinieri. A signing obligation was imposed. Awaiting trial. “Stricter rules are good, but they must be enforced. We have the right to work peacefully. Here instead it feels like being on the front line.”
Read more On the highway on a moped from Bologna towards Puglia: 1000 euro fine. «I wanted to reach Bari»
