It is late afternoon on Bagno Carducci beach and all around, bronzed Italian families are beginning to pack up their raffia bags. Tuscany may be loved by the Brits for its cypress-topped hills and glorious sunflower fields, but for the Italians it is Versilia Riviera, just a short drive from Pisa and Lucca, that is the star attraction.

And taking pole position is Forte dei Marmi, a resort town perched at the top of the coastline where Bagno Carducci is just one of its many beaches. Attracting well-heeled Italian families as well as fashion royalty – the billionaires Miuccia Prada and Giorgio Armani both have holiday homes nearby – Forte dei Marmi’s swish seaside heritage stretches back to the early 1900s when it became one of Italy’s first holiday destinations.