a’ marenna a’mare

what i'm eating this summer at Italian beaches

Happy tomato season! Happy pesto season! It’s hot and sticky and Neapolitans want to show off their bods in little bikinis, sunbathe to dangerous levels of skin exposure, and eat pasta at the beach. I have only been back a little over a week and I’m enjoying delicious Neapolitan summer food and soaking in the good vibes.

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When the clock strikes 1 PM at the beaches of Italy, you will see the ocean or the pools clear and everyone stops swimming to have their lunch. Oftentimes, it’s a little marenna (Neapolitan for sandwich snack) under the beach umbrella. When it comes to summer food, Neapolitans go simple and high quality.

Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash

Beach Sammies

I learned the word marenna because I was trying to find out the opening hours of my favorite deli here in Naples. Despite not having a website or posted hours, I found a video created by the deli meat company Levoni to highlight the artisanal quality of their sandwiches. Last I ordered a sandwich at the deli, the guys making it took their time, slowly slicing the meat and cheese. A jealous and impatient Neapolitan woman waiting in line after me said, “wow, you guys are real artists”. In the video, the owner uses his grandmother’s fried zucchini to top his beautiful creation.

My favorite beach marenna has turtle bread, olive oil, dop mozzarella or ricotta, prosciutto, summer tomato, and a sprinkling of arugula. I also LOVE a large piece of Italian country bread soaked in olive oil and topped with tomatoes, garlic and herbs (summer bruschetta).

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Beach Pasta

Last weekend, we went to the lido (beach club). We had lunch at a modest self-service counter and I was blown away by the quality of the pasta. While I would love to sit down with a full-blown spaghetti allo scoglio, which is pasta with clams, mussels, octopus, and prawns, it’s a little tricky to eat such complicated crustaceans at the beach. Beach pasta tends to be a little more simple.

We enjoyed paccheri pasta with cheese and summer greens. Paccheri is one of my favorite pasta shapes because the noodle is dense and thick, and the tube traps all the flavor and cheese inside! This was served hot and gooey.

They also offered cold pasta salads. Can we talk about pesto? Italian pesto is so good! The world’s best olive oil, pine nuts, basil, and parmigiano reggiano into a delicious sauce? I could make this at home but in the summer the grocery store deli counter sells DOP pesto that you can get to go. I had some farfalle pasta with corn, pesto, and greens. Heavenly.

What about you? What are you eating at the beach this summer? Here are some more guides to the summer in Italy:

• Great summary of how it all works from

  Gillian Longworth McGuire
  - Love Letter to Italian Beaches. Really wish I read this before I came to Italy.

• Next on my to-visit list: the beaches of Abruzzo (Thanks

  Laura Itzkowitz
  )

• My favorite summer pasta from

  Lolly Martyn
  - spaghetti with pistachio and lemon.

• As always, a reminder to be wary of over-tourism and over-heating! If you can visit outside of July and August, when tourism and heat spikes, it’s better for everyone. September is still very hot in Southern Italy and beaches remain open :)