Families preparing to jet off on their Easter holidays have been warned they face stiff penalties in Italy if they take home these innocent-looking items
Families preparing to jet off on their Easter holidays have been warned they face stiff penalties in Italy if they take home these innocent-looking items
Brits preparing to fly out to Italy for the Easter holiday have been warned of steep fines that could reach up to £4,200 if they return with sand, seashells or pebbles as souvenirs.
Collecting mementos such as magnets, T-shirts, or mugs is all part and parcel of the holiday experience for many UK travellers, alongside essential holiday activities such as ensuring their passports are at the ready, checking into hotels or visiting iconic landmarks.
That said, reports suggest some take it further by taking home coral, shells, and sand – sometimes without realising the strict laws in place against such practices.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has now issued a reminder to British holidaymakers headed for Italy there are strict regulations against removing beach materials.
In a post on X, the office advised: “Did you know in Italy, it’s illegal to take sand, shells or pebbles from the beach? You could face hefty fines – and no one wants to bring those home as a souvenir. Take photos, not shells!”
The post also included a prompt to check out its travel advice page, highlighting: “Always check local laws and customs before you travel.”
The legislation referred to in the reminder concerns Sardinia where, since 2017, tourists have been prohibited from exporting sand, sea shells and pebbles due to environmental concerns.
The Italian island is known for its stunning beaches such as Is Arutas Beach with its unique white and pink quartz sand, the ice-white sands of Pelosa Beach, and Cala Mariolu, famous for its pink and white pebbles.
However, under article 4 of the Sardinian Regional Law (28/07/2017), tourists could face fines of between €300 and €5,000 (£250 to £4,183) for removing even small amounts of sand, pebbles, stones or shells from the coast without proper authorisation.
These laws were put in place to protect the island’s marine environment and maintain the beauty of its beaches after years of overtourism led to significant damage. Despite hopes that these rules would deter tourists from taking home beach souvenirs, the number of arrests and fines has actually increased since 2017.
Notable cases include a British tourist who was fined €1,032 (£930) in 2018 for taking sand from a beach near Olbia, and a French couple who faced six years in prison in 2019 after being caught with 40kg of Sardinian sand on their way to Toulon, France. They claimed they were unaware of the law and simply wanted a “souvenir”.
In 2023, a French visitor found themselves facing the possibility of a €3,000 fine for removing 41kg of pebbles and stones from Lampianu Beach in northern Sardinia.
The problem has grown to such an extent that there’s even a Facebook group called Sardinia Robbed and Plundered (Sardegna Rubata e Depredata) dedicated to highlighting these larcenies. The group, which shares images and news stories related to the theft of local sands, claims that each year customs officials on the island confiscate nearly five tonnes of beach material.
Their plea is clear: “Dear guest friend of our island, please be respectful of our natural heritage, help us to protect and preserve it for our children and grandchildren. Observe, touch, smell and enjoy all the beauty that surrounds you, take pictures and keep the memories in your mind, but don’t take anything away with you!”
Furthermore, Rosanna Laconi, Sardinia’s environment councillor, pointed the finger at lax rule enforcement as the root cause allowing tourists to continue pocketing the island’s treasured sands.
Speaking to the local L’Unione Sarda newspaper in 2024, she expressed that tougher penalties are required and that while education should ideally begin in the home, efforts are made to inform visitors about the prohibitions.
“Harsher sanctions are needed,” she demanded. “It is a problem of civic education, of information that should come from families but we do everything possible to inform those arriving in Sardinia about the bans. If we can legislate on this or find measures to intervene in this sector, we will certainly do so.”
