The most exclusive beach club of Forte dei Marmi

The most exclusive beach resorts to discover “Forte”

There were two large tents on the beach; one for the adults, the other for the kids. (…) We built sandcastles, volcanoes and enormous tracks for racing glass marbles, set off by our right index finger. If there were a lot of friends, we would have a sandcastle building contest. The team leaders were two brothers, Emilio and Puccio Pucci.
Da Vestivamo alla Marinara, Susanna Agnelli.
Forte dei Marmi is like this description by Susanna Agnelli, which is perfect as the summer season begins: simple like a white, linen dress, but sophisticated at the same time. The pine forest, the long stretch of beach and the 1930s-style villas overlooking the sea dominate with their relaxed elegance of the early-20th-century Italian upper class, and we’re still charmed by them today. The leading families in the world of economics, fashion and theatre have even returned, and instead of spending their time here as just a simple holiday, they decided to invest by buying the beach resorts that have marked the history of these beaches. The first is perhaps the Bocelli family: Bagno Alpemare is a slight alternative to the clear beige and blue water, with a hint of bright green at the entrance, a green oasis that reminds us of the pine forest that extends beautifully behind the beach. No umbrella, just 48 splendid tents, a bar and a restaurant. At Bagno Alpemare, you can have breakfast, lunch, aperitivo and, on the weekend, dinner as well. Over the summer, there are a series of events, some of which are open to the public. Chef Dario Leonardi offers biodynamic cuisine and reinvents Versilian recipes, creating innovative combinations with local ingredients. Bagno Santa Maria - 6,000 square metres with 49 metres of beach front in the most exclusive area of Forte dei Marmi - was purchased by the Pinzauti family this spring. As Leonardo Pinzauti, who oversees the management, explained, “we liked it because it hasn’t changed over the years, having kept its Forte dei Marmi style since the early 1960s, characterized by traditional tamarisks and green wooden cabins that protect the small rooms from the wind.” The exclusive beach boasts just 30 tents and 20 umbrellas, which guarantee privacy and tranquillity for its clients. The restaurant offers simple but elegant dishes for lunch with a view or exclusive events. The bar, open from 8am, prepares genuine breakfasts and excellent aperitivi in the evening, for those who love to stay on the beach until late in the day. For this season, the new ownership, ahead of the coming summer, only made a slight change to the resort, having decided to push off some of the more major transformations until next year. The restaurant was also re-examined, with a restyling of the menu that now focuses more on seasonal and local ingredients. The Spaghetti alle arselle and Fusilli Santa Maria are definitely worth trying, with aromatic herbs, cultivated in the vegetable garden, limes and mullet directly from the Tyrrhenian. Alessia Berlusconi came to the Versilia more than a year ago. With her business partner, she bought Bagno Alcione, one of the most historic spots on the coast. After a first summer, last year, when she focused on making the services more contemporary and refined – primarily the restaurant, which serves excellent breakfasts, lunches with freshly-caught fish and aperitivi at sunset with your feet in the sand and the salt on your skin – this year the newest addition is the pool. Other interventions were a dedicated restoration that improved the structure and functionality of the resort without altering the vintage charm that makes it unique. In this vein of enhancing operations, attention towards the environment played a key role, which can be seen primarily in the efforts to save energy. During the summer, a series of themed evening events are the occasion for a candle-lit dinner on the beach, while a liaison with art fed by the passion of the owners ensures that there will be outdoor exhibitions by major names on the contemporary scene. Last but not least, Datcha Beach is the private beach belonging to the namesake guesthouse in Forte dei Marmi owned by Oleg Tinkov, a Russian magnate with a passion for bikes and the Versilia. A few meters from the residence, 12 tents, a pool, a Jacuzzi, a green oasis, a bar and a restaurant are reserved just for the guests at the Datcha. This is where luxury reigns, in a contemporary and international perspective where the history of Forte dei Marmi can be enjoyed by those who want to get out of this exclusive buon ritiro to explore the surrounding areas.