Italy

Castellammare di Stabia

The town seafront under Vesuvius, and the most productive stretch anyone has written up in Italy. The glass is here for an unhappy reason: decades of rubbish went into the bay. It comes ashore in quantity, mixed with sea-worn Italian ceramic and terracotta tile. Collectors report filling pockets in ten minutes from the free beaches along the promenade; walk along the front towards Vesuvius and the shore gets quieter and richer. Turquoise, blue, cobalt and purple all turn up, alongside greys and yellows. The train from Naples Garibaldi drops you minutes from the water.

Marina Piccola, Capri

Capri's south-facing pebble bay, under the Faraglioni. The glass collects in the stones and nooks below the bathing-establishment decks rather than on the open shingle. That's where the collector who wrote this up filled two handfuls in one stop, all small to medium pieces. Come out of season: this is one of the busiest beaches on the island in summer, and there's nothing left under a hundred sunbeds. Take the glass, leave the pebbles: removing beach material is an offence in Italy.

Spiaggia dell'Innamorata, Elba

A 280-metre bay under Capoliveri on Elba's south-east coast: dark sand through the middle, stone and rock at the western end, which is where the glass is. Expect a few pieces, not a haul. The one first-hand account we trust calls the glass "not plentiful" but jewellery-quality, and this is a serviced beach worked over all summer. Best in spring, before the season. Elba is a national-park island and the park asks visitors plainly not to carry its sand, stones or shells away.

Spiaggia del Carrione, Marina di Carrara

A small free beach at the mouth of the Carrione, tucked beside a shipping container depot, with no sunbeds and no facilities. What it has instead is shingle, gentle water and a lot of glass, most of it properly frosted. Smoothed lumps of marble turn up too, carried down from the Carrara quarries by the stream. A visitor reported building works blocking the access in early 2025, so it is worth checking locally before you make the trip.

Cala Rossa, Ortigia

Ortigia is the old island heart of Syracuse, lived on for something like 2,700 years, and Cala Rossa is the little pebble cove on its eastern shore. Collectors who work it come back with almost the whole range of colours in a single visit. Watch for the pieces that read as black in your hand and turn deep violet against the light. That is manganese glass, made colourless when it was blown and slowly turned purple by a century of sun.

Spiaggia dei Maronti, Ischia

Two kilometres of dark volcanic sand and small stones under the cliffs of Barano, and the beach that collectors staying over in Sorrento are told to take the ferry for. Bus 5 from Ischia Porto drops you at one end, or you can come by water taxi from Sant'Angelo. The coarse volcanic grit does the tumbling here. What people report is how much there is rather than anything unusual, so give yourself time and walk the whole length.

Spiaggia di Mottagrossa, Vasto

A cobble beach north of Vasto, reached by a track down through the Punta Aderci reserve, and usually empty even in season. Until the modern port at Punta Penna opened in the 1950s this stretch was where ships put their cargo ashore, and the glass still carries that. The oldest pieces are black, from centuries of bottles made dark to keep the light off oil and wine. Teal and green often come from old electrical insulators.

Marina Grande, Sorrento

The old fishing harbour below Sorrento, still a working corner rather than a resort beach. A collector who spent a few hours along the waterfront here came away with olive glass so dark it reads as black until you hold it up, along with a piece of wired window glass. Sorrento's main beaches have a reputation for giving up very little, so it is the harbour itself that is worth your time.

Spiaggia di Fornillo, Positano

The quieter of Positano's two beaches, five minutes on foot from Spiaggia Grande along the Via Positanesi d'America path. Pebbles rather than sand, which is exactly what tumbles glass. An hour along the waterline is enough to fill a pocket. A Positano family that has made jewellery from local glass for generations counts Fornillo among the beaches it works itself.

Spiaggia di Santa Teresa, Salerno

Salerno's city beach, right beside the commercial port and a short walk from the centre. One collector reported greens, whites, a little blue and aqua in many shades, in every size from small to large, along with several marbles. Marbles usually mean old household waste somewhere in the mix. Easy to reach by train, and worth an hour if you are passing through.

Alassio

A long sandy bay on the Riviera di Ponente, easy to reach and easy to walk. A first time collector spent two days here and came away with aqua, a good deal of blue and one dark cobalt piece. Much of the seafront is taken up by paid lidos, so aim for the free stretches, and work the sand near the groynes where the sea tends to leave things.

Finale Ligure

A gravel seafront on the Ligurian ponente, broken up by groynes that trap and tumble whatever the sea brings in. Walking the strip between two groynes and back is the local method. Green in several shades and frosted clear are the two you will see most, followed by orange and brown. Sapphire blue turns up now and then.

Argentiera beach

Most of what I found was tiny jellybean pieces but I love those!

ciao