In the soft Tuscan dawn, before the beach umbrellas unfurl, an old man steps onto the sand of Viareggio as he has every summer for decades. The air carries the salsedine—that distinctive mix of salt and sea breeze—and the promise of another sunny day identical to countless ones before.

There is a saying in Italy: stessa spiaggia, stesso mare—“same beach, same sea”—a mantra of return and ritual. For generations of Italian families, villeggiatura (the extended summer holiday) in Versilia is routine, repeated year after year with exacting precision.