An unusual story between Italy and Albania has ended up in the spotlight of the Italian media. Around 350 sun loungers, stolen in 2024 from a beach club in Italy, were later identified at a seaside resort in Cape Rodonit, north of Durrës, with the logo of the Italian business still visible.
According to the Italian daily Il Resto del Carlino, the sun loungers disappeared overnight from the Onde Chiare beach on Via Fenulli, in Reggio Emilia. The equipment, worth over 45,000 euros, was stolen by perpetrators who have not yet been identified.
The surprise came a year later, when a friend of the owners, while on vacation in Albania, spotted identical sun loungers with the Onde Chiare logo at a resort on Cape Rodoni. Photos and videos sent to Italy made it possible to immediately identify them.
The club's owners, Alberto Costoli and Enrico Cavazzoni, entrusted the matter to lawyer Gianluca Dallari, who, in collaboration with a legal representative in Albania, initiated procedures for the recovery of the property.
"We even thought about coming to Albania ourselves to get them, but we chose the legal route," said Costoli.
According to him, Albanian authorities should have seized the sun loungers as soon as they were identified, but this did not happen.
"In theory, they should have been placed under seizure. In practice, a client of ours who was recently in Durrës sent us a video where the sun loungers continue to be used normally by holidaymakers," he stated.
After failing to reach a solution, the club's leaders decided to make the case public, contacting Italian media and the investigative show "Le Iene", as well as seeking the attention of Albanian institutions.
However, Costoli emphasizes that this event does not change his perception of cooperation with Albanians.
"We have been working with Albanian suppliers for years and have never had any problems. We just hope that someone will take an interest in this case, because we don't know who to turn to anymore," he said.
In an attempt to attract attention, the club also published a post on social media that went viral.
"If you go on vacation to Cape Rodon, say hello to our sun loungers! It sounds like a joke, but unfortunately it's true," the message read.
The owners say they have submitted documentation, translated the deeds, and paid legal fees in Italy and Albania, but even after more than a year since the sunbeds were identified, they are still located at the same resort.
"We just want to understand how it is possible that a theft worth 45 thousand euros, with the property identified and documented for more than a year, has still not been solved," the owners say.
The case has received hundreds of shares and thousands of reactions on social media, while the owners hope that media pressure will push the authorities to intervene to shed light on and resolve this unusual story.
