Rimini, September 13, 2026 – The beach “is my whole life. It’s my home.” At bathhouse 18 Romeo Nardi, 79 years well kept, practically grew up there. His father, Attilio – whose name the bathhouse still bears today – opened the establishment in 1951. “Ours was among the first bathhouses opened in the Marina Centro area after the war.” And Nardi, one of the ’deans’ of Rimini’s bath attendants, is ready to defend his business with tooth and nail. 2027 will be the turning point, with auctions that will have to assign the new beach concessions. “But I am convinced – Nardi emphasizes – that those who participate with a quality project and offer will have nothing to fear from the tenders.”
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What worries you the most?
“The direction the beach revolution initiated by the Municipality is taking. And I say this right away: I am not fundamentally against the large establishments that could arise from macro-aggregation projects (at least 8 bathhouses and one venue, ed). But first we need to establish what kind of beach tourism we want in Rimini.”
The bath attendants of Confesercenti, of which you were president, have said a firm ’no’ to the new large establishments.
“The point is this: are we sure that this type of establishment is what the majority of tourists in Rimini want? Are we certain that having many amusement parks on the beach, because that’s what many of these large bathhouses risk becoming, would help our tourism, which is mainly made up of middle-class families?”
By the 18th, the macro-aggregation projects must be submitted: 9 are already certain, involving over 90 bathhouses.
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“But more will come. This means that a large part of the beach will turn into big amusement parks by the sea, with more services and higher prices. Because the Municipality, before issuing the call for large establishments, did not try to understand how many micro-aggregations there could be (2 bathhouses and a restaurant, ed)?”
Are you afraid of being surrounded by future large bathhouses?
“I fear nothing. Our establishment works well, the reviews are very positive, we have many loyal customers. I am skeptical about the real benefits that macro-aggregations will bring to our tourism. Rather, I would like to know who is behind certain projects…”
Has anyone come forward to buy your area?
“No, also because they know that as long as I can, I won’t give up.”
Have you been offered to join forces with other colleagues?
“For this area, the Municipality has decided that micro-aggregations are fine. We are ready to join with bathhouse 19. Also because, if you don’t aggregate, you can’t touch anything on the beach and you can’t redevelop. Think that we had a beautiful project, presented 15 years ago: the Municipality told us no.”
In favor of pools?
“No. Many millions were spent to redo the sewer network, after 15 years we regained the Blue Flag. The sea has improved: building pools would be an own goal and the costs to build and manage them would be high.”
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