Sun, sea, and no need to hide the cellulite
Tom Kington in Rome
Monday June 25, 2007
The Guardian
Italian women are flocking to the country's first all-female beach: a short stretch of sand designed to let bathers relax away from prying eyes and football talk.
Bathers arriving at Beach no 134 on the 50-mile stretch of beach clubs linking Rimini to Riccione on the Adriatic coast are greeted with a large sign featuring a cross over an image of a man.
"Here I can allow myself to be less than perfect," said Cinzia Donati, 43, of Milan.
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"Men prefer to talk about four-four-two formations," added architect Alice Ghresta, 24. "I come here to relax, and all that is lacking is a eunuch at the door."
Deep-fried squid and chips, mainstays of Italian beach club menus, have been replaced at no 134 by tuna and avocado tart, as well as prawns tossed with tomato, black olives and capers. No disco music blares across the sand.
"We hope women will not feel required to dress in this year's bikini, wear make-up or always cover up that bit of cellulite with a slip," said beach manager Francesca Ravaglia. "It is a place for Italian women to feel some solidarity."
A beach without leering men is the season's biggest novelty in a resort where hundreds of beaches dream up new specialities every year to compete for 40 million paying punters. Dog-walking stretches of sand jostle with surfing hang-outs and beaches for book readers only, equipped with lending libraries. After aerobics in the shallows, this year's get fit fad involves marching up and down in the breakers with ski poles in hand.
Ms Ravaglia's father, Fausto, owner of the beach, said that one man would be allowed in. "The lifeguard must be a man. Clearly, to save a woman you need a man. It's a question of muscles."
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