By Sonia Simpatico - JUMP team
August the 20th 1982, Lido Solesi, Badolato, Southern
Italy
Vincenzo is one of many Italian boys, son of emigrants from Badolato, living in Switzerland. Like every summer he comes back to his beloved Italian village and hangs out with some friends. On a warm summer night, they all go to the Solesi, the perfect place to have fun.
Agathe on that evening is in Badolato too. Agathe is a Swiss girl, colleague af Maria, from Badolato, also daughter of emigrants and living in Switzerland. This August she finally decided to visit the place from where her friend comes from. And on that 20th August also the two of them decides to go to the Solesi.
On that fateful evening Vincenzo’s and Agathe’s look
meets for the first time…
The Beach resort Solesi is placed on the Ionian Sea, the coast with white sand and crystal clear sea. Grounded and built up by the
Criniti family, it took its name from the family nickname. The beach resort opened 1980.
In the 70’s the memorable beach resorts which before the Solesi served the demand of the young years of the tourism in Badolato were: the Due Ruote beach resort (the first at all in Badolato), the Delfino, the Caciaro,
the Blue beach and the Colonna. The Solesi beach resort got the club par excellence, the place of the nightlife where young people from the neighboring villages used to meet during the 80’s. The Lido Solesi is an historical beach resort of the lower Jonian Coast, which wrote the history of the beach tourism of Badolato and also of the area. Anyway by the end of the 90’s it got destroyed in the fire and ended up abandoned.
In 2013 a new management, the Nisticò family, took it over and renovate it, turning it into a ludic and recreational place promoting social aggregation, whose target today are families with children. With the new management the beach resort with its bar, restaurant, beach sports, baby park and more (s. its website) has a full-services offer.
While earlier people looked for exclusivity in the beach
resorts, which for economical and social reasons weren’t accessible to
everybody, today an interesting phenomenon is happening: people look for
exclusivity in isolated places (consider that in the high season this beach
resort can serve until around 3000 people at once!).
Another phenomenon typically Italian is that everybody has
off in August and so everybody goes on holiday at the same time, storming the
beach resorts. The Lido Solesi succeeded in extending the season (before only August, now also June, July and September), by internationalizing its customers.
But Italian mentality has been changing and nowadays also in June you can find some Italian swimmers who are not willing to wait until August for their first plunge.
July the 3rd 2021, Lido Solesi, Badolato, Southern Italy
Vincenzo and his wife Agathe, both retired but still living in Switzerland, have reserved a beach umbrella for the whole July by the Solesi and are having fun in the water with their three grandchildren, while their two sons with their respective wives are working in Switzerland and will
join them 2 weeks later. By the end of July they will go back to Switzerland all
together.
At sunset they have a drink at the bar and smiling they recall the magic evening when they met for the first time…
Sources: Guerino Nisticò, Pepè Argirò
Pictures: Solesi
