Emanuela Zampa

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A Little Fresh Loophole

A sign at the entrance of the public beach in the working-class district of Voltri reminds visitors to wear masks, use hand sanitiser and maintain social distancing. Behind the fence surrounding the beach, the management of the Covid-19 emergency becomes visible through designated and separated spaces assigned to bathers. The beach, known locally as “La Fognazza” (“the sewer”), lies near oil terminals and the Fincantieri shipyards. The Port of Genoa is one of the most important maritime ports in Italy. Genoa, June 2nd 2020
A sign at the entrance of the public beach in the working-class district of Voltri reminds visitors to wear masks, use hand sanitiser and maintain social distancing. Behind the fence surrounding the beach, the management of the Covid-19 emergency becomes visible through designated and separated spaces assigned to bathers. The beach, known locally as “La Fognazza” (“the sewer”), lies near oil terminals and the Fincantieri shipyards. The Port of Genoa is one of the most important maritime ports in Italy. Genoa, June 2nd 2020

Genoa, 2020. At the end of the first two lockdowns, local administrations were forced to regulate the fragile balance between containing the spread of Covid-19 and reopening access to public space. In Liguria, and particularly in the metropolitan area of Genoa, life is deeply tied to the coastline: the sea is both infrastructure and social space.

With the arrival of spring, it became clear that the few public beaches had been reorganised through a system of fragmentation and control. Access was monitored by Local Police, and social distancing measures were enforced through the physical restructuring of space. Beaches were divided into marked and separated zones, where bodies were assigned fixed positions under the sun. Plastic bags filled with sand and marked with red numbers appeared along the shoreline, turning proximity into a regulated condition. Alongside this, digital tools and reservation systems were introduced to manage access.

The pandemic did not invent these mechanisms, but intensified them, making visible a pre-existing logic of governance over public space.

Yet within this system, the cliffs and rocky edges of the city were forgotten and remained unregulated. These liminal spaces became informal openings, used especially by younger generations as an escape from containment—a place where social life was spontaneously reclaimed under the powerless eyes – and sunglasses – of local police.

Genoa, Quinto al Mare public beach. Detail of sand-filled bags used by civil protection to divide the beach into sections in accordance with social distancing rules imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Genoa, May 28th 2020.
Genoa, Quinto al Mare public beach. Detail of sand-filled bags used by civil protection to divide the beach into sections in accordance with social distancing rules imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Genoa, May 28th 2020.
View of the San Nazaro bathing establishment, where rows of umbrellas and sunbeds appear almost unchanged despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike public beaches, where access and distancing were directly regulated and monitored, safety management inside bathing establishments was delegated to private operators. Although San Nazaro is managed through a publicly participated company, access to the facility remains paid for citizens, reflecting the broader division between free public beaches and privately managed establishments along the Ligurian coast.
View of the San Nazaro bathing establishment, where rows of umbrellas and sunbeds appear almost unchanged despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike public beaches, where access and distancing were directly regulated and monitored, safety management inside bathing establishments was delegated to private operators. Although San Nazaro is managed through a publicly participated company, access to the facility remains paid for citizens, reflecting the broader division between free public beaches and privately managed establishments along the Ligurian coast.
The metropolitan area of Genoa covers 240.29 km² and around 40 km of coastline. Local police forces alone were not sufficient to monitor all beaches during the summer of 2020, leading authorities to involve private contractors, volunteers, civil service workers and associations of retired police officers and carabinieri in the management and control of coastal spaces. Genoa, June 2nd 2020.
The metropolitan area of Genoa covers 240.29 km² and around 40 km of coastline. Local police forces alone were not sufficient to monitor all beaches during the summer of 2020, leading authorities to involve private contractors, volunteers, civil service workers and associations of retired police officers and carabinieri in the management and control of coastal spaces. Genoa, June 2nd 2020.
A woman sunbathes respecting the space she booked through the dedicated app at San Giuliano public beach along Corso Italia, in the Albaro district. Public beaches in Genoa are limited and often overcrowded, while large portions of the coastline are managed through a system of concessions and private bathing establishments. Genoa, May 28th 2020.
A woman sunbathes respecting the space she booked through the dedicated app at San Giuliano public beach along Corso Italia, in the Albaro district. Public beaches in Genoa are limited and often overcrowded, while large portions of the coastline are managed through a system of concessions and private bathing establishments. Genoa, May 28th 2020.
People sunbathing on a public terrace in the Quinto district. Because of the limited availability of free public beaches, many people usually gather on terraces, piers and rocky shorelines — spaces which, at the time, also remained outside Covid-19 regulations. Genoa, June 2nd 2020.
People sunbathing on a public terrace in the Quinto district. Because of the limited availability of free public beaches, many people usually gather on terraces, piers and rocky shorelines — spaces which, at the time, also remained outside Covid-19 regulations. Genoa, June 2nd 2020.
Now dedicated to Gianluca Vialli, a beloved Italian football player, the “Molo dell’Amicizia” extends over the rocks protecting the small public beach beside the gardens of Quinto. Here, even a small group of boys diving from the pier appears — and is perceived — as a crowd.. Genoa, June 2nd 2020.
Now dedicated to Gianluca Vialli, a beloved Italian football player, the “Molo dell’Amicizia” extends over the rocks protecting the small public beach beside the gardens of Quinto. Here, even a small group of boys diving from the pier appears — and is perceived — as a crowd.. Genoa, June 2nd 2020.
Aware that the cliffs and rocks were not subject to the same controls or restrictions, many people moved into these spaces. The pier becomes a place where young people release months of confinement by diving, pushing each other into the water, helping one another climb back up, and reclaiming physical closeness. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Aware that the cliffs and rocks were not subject to the same controls or restrictions, many people moved into these spaces. The pier becomes a place where young people release months of confinement by diving, pushing each other into the water, helping one another climb back up, and reclaiming physical closeness. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
Kids dive from the Pier in the Quinto district. Genoa, June 2nd, 2020.
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