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We're All About Italy

Jewels from the Sea: Glass Beaches in Italy

9/30/2015

7 Comments

 
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In the summer when I was a kid, our family would head to the Jersey "Shore" for a week to enjoy the sand and surf of the Atlantic. One of my favorite things back then was finding sea glass--shards of broken bottles and such that had been tossed into the ocean as garbage. Time and waves and grinding sand would smooth the pieces into colored gems in all colors of the rainbow. They were smooth, yet sandy to the touch. The shapes often looked like faces or an animal shape, and if I found a cobalt blue one it would become my new lucky piece to be carried daily in my dungaree pocket. 

In Italy, you can also find pebble beaches. For instance, near the famous Murano glassworks in the Venice lagoon, there are places that were used to dispose of broken glass for hundreds of years. Divers bring up buckets of the stuff and sell the gems to jewelry designers. You can walk the shores around Murano, or even go as far as the Lido beach at low tide and see what colorful treasures you can find. 

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Sea glass on a Murano beach
You can also try your luck in Scalea, a pebbled beach in Calabria or in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. Some sea glass hunters had luck on the coastline of Capri, the rugged beaches of Cinque Terre and even the Gargano Peninsula north of Bari. 
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A sea glass collection
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Low tide at the Lido beach near Venice can uncover lots of colored sea glass
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Vietri sul Mare ceramic shards


And here's another idea... If you are ever in Vietri sul Mare near Salerno on the Amalfi Coast, try beach-combing in the area. Vietri has been a center of ceramic production for generations. The broken pieces were tossed into the sea, which has created soft-edged shards of colorful pottery to be found on the beaches. If you're lucky and find a lot, perhaps you can use them to create your own ceramics treasure.

--Jerry Finzi

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7 Comments
Sandy
6/7/2018 05:04:04 pm

Hi! Thanks for this article I have the same child memories but in France :)
I 'm going to Sardinia this summer, do you know any good beach combing sites on the island?
Thanks in advance!

Reply
Jerry Finzi
6/8/2018 09:03:39 am

I've never heard of any beaches for sea glass, but apparently lots of beaches in Sardinia are pretty good for sea shells... I've seen photos of a wide variety from Sardinia.

Happy hunting... and have a great time!

--Jerry

Reply
Avstro
12/28/2019 12:57:52 am

Watch out - I think it's illegal to get seashells in Sardinia. I don't think they mind about seaglass (not natural) but I wouldn't try to get anything that is there naturally.

Agnes
6/25/2019 09:59:46 am

Any suggestions of beaches near Formia that would have
Good amounts of sea glass?

Reply
valentina
7/6/2020 07:36:10 am

I live in venice and I never saw a glass beach in Murano.
Or any sort of beach, in Murano, anyway.

Reply
Gina
8/28/2020 08:13:28 am

That is what I thought too. My husband is Italian and he never heard of a beach near lido to find glass. I am an avid hunter and would love any suggestions for beaches with sea glass near Venezia.

Reply
Anirul
5/13/2022 11:39:38 am

I've just collected lots of glass in the indicated spot - tiny, tiny beach by the Murano lighthouse.


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