Images from Cortellazzo, Veneto, August 2010

The Italians have a deep love for ‘La Spiaggia’ (the beach). August is when Italians abandon the cities to migrate via ‘le autostrade’ and leave the tourists to infiltrate the major attractions (Venice, Rome, Florence and the ubiquitous Tuscany). The series of images is taken on a small beach in Cortellazzo, Veneto at the height of this exodus. It examines the spirit of ‘Andiamo al mare!’ (Let’s go to the sea!), whereby the rituals of ‘le spiagge libre’ (the free beaches), is coated with the plethora of practical items transported to la spiaggia for the long hot summer days. Hawkers (‘i venditori ambulanti’), usually African migrants, patrol the beaches trying to sell their wares and the Italian Ice Cream van is dragged up and down the beach to service the beach goers with ‘i gelati, bibite e granite’.

© Larrie Paul Tiernan / All rights reserved