We dream of it in winter and yearn for it as temperatures rise: for each of us, the Italian seaside of the Adriatic and Mediterranean Riviera represents summer.
But how and when were the first beach resorts born?
The iconic lidos with colourful umbrellas that we all know today, originated in France and Holland in the late 1700s in the form of platforms on the water. These Bathing Machines were wooden cabins equipped with wheels and transported out to sea to ensure and protect the privacy of the high-ranking ladies of the coast.
Summer 1828, the Dori and Nereo beach resorts were born in Viareggio: it's the dawn of a new era.
The long wooden platform leading to the pier of the bathing establishments, strictly divided by gender, marks the rise of a more modern and worldly lifestyle inspired by the Kursaal and the thermal baths, in the name of British medical science that began to publicise the healing powers of the air and seawater.
Later, beach resorts became larger and equipped with bars, dance halls, sophisticated stores and upscale restaurants flanked by a crescendo of beach huts lit by a dreamy promenade overlooking exclusive 5-star hotels.
Farewell to picturesque pier establishments, welcome beach umbrellas: numerous lidos along the summer waters of the Mare Nostrum have opened.
Rimini, Livorno and Lido di Venezia as well as in Naples, Palermo and on the Ligurian coasts of Ponente and Levante: Italians love the lidos’ conviviality, although they began to frequent the equipped beaches only during Fascism when considerable investment was made in sea colonies with the aim of strengthening up the Fascist youth through physical and recreational activities.
The Italian summer exodus, born with the summer closures of large factories and their related industries, gave rise to what we know today as beach tourism, which came in the wake of the economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, after the gruelling years of reconstruction following World War II.
Booking boom: aboard iconic pastel-coloured Fiat 500s, families from all over Italy are squeezing in sun loungers, children and provisions to reach the now-fertile coastline's rivieras where they can spend the summer.
Riding the wave of the 1960s design cult, Framec has created Dolce Vita (view fact sheet), the cabinet for artisanal ice cream and slushies in full Fellini-esque style. Available in versions from 4 to 10 flavours, Dolce Vita features a large reserve compartment perfect for extra storage of homemade ice cream or tasty slushies.
Over the years, the concept of bathing mutated according to an increasingly dynamic and demanding society.
Today, bathhouses boast a range of amenities and equipment to meet the wide variety of demands of a national and international clientele who find in beach resorts an actual branch of their city lifestyle.
Mirabella: the exponent of contemporary culture shaped into a refrigerated showcase.
Framec's 3-in-1 flagship transforms according to display needs in less than a minute: from tubs of artisanal ice cream, to ice cream cake trays and popsicle stick holders, Mirabella (see fact sheet) is synonymous with sophisticated design and professional performance.
Many habits have changed and will continue to do so, but one will remain forever: the pleasure of enjoying ice cream by the sea.
For sixty years, Framec has been supplying professional refrigerators and refrigerated displays to beach resorts throughout Italy to nourish and sweeten the memories of families vacationing along the shores of the world's most beautiful peninsula.
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