After 50 years, Silvia Ferrari returns the sand stolen by her family in Sardinia.

A nice gesture, with the loot being handed over to the Cabras administrators. In just two years, four tons of natural material have been stolen from the beaches of Olbia.

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Silvia Ferrari
Silvia Ferrari, at the time she was only a teenager, and she saw her whole family, starting from her mother, stealing sand on the famous beach of Is Arutas, in the Oristano area, where they used to go on vacation. Today, Silvia is a mature woman living in Milan and has decided to make a nice gesture: giving back to the municipality of Cabras. 40 kilograms of quartz sand taken from his family during the 1970s.

It must be said that at the time there was little awareness of the environmental damage caused by sand theft from such a delicate beach as Is Arutas. For decades, that sand remained in the Ferrati family home and was used to decorate the zen garden Her mother, Valeria, kept it as a souvenir of her vacation in Sardinia. Then, over time, the woman realized that taking sand from Sardinian beaches was not only illegal, but also contributed to the deterioration of a very delicate ecosystem.

Before her death, Valeria repeatedly expressed a wish to her daughter: to return to Sardinia and return the sand to the place from which it had been taken. Silvia, along with her husband Eros Cattaneo, decided to honor that wish. During the restitution, which took place directly before representatives of the municipality of Cabras, she explained that, in that moment, she felt her mother was present with them and that she had finally returned the sand "to its place of origin."

Sand thefts in Sardinia are on the agenda. In the space of two years alone, between 2024 and 2025, approximately 1,000 vehicles were seized in the municipality of Olbia. 4 tons of natural material, a figure much higher than in previous years because it includes intensified controls and large seizures. And in the same territory, therefore only in the Olbia area,by 2020 to 2025  have been raised 198 verbal and seized 902 kg of sand, shells and pebbles.

In practice, every summer they are discovered hundreds of cases, but the authorities believe that the real phenomenon is broader, because many small withdrawals are not intercepted.

The theft of sand from the beaches of Sardinia is considered serious because the sand it is not a resource that regenerates quicklyWhat may seem like a small amount taken by a single tourist, multiplied by thousands of people each year, can alter a very delicate ecosystem.

Here are the main reasons:

  • The beaches lose their natural balance. Sand is constantly moved by waves, wind, and currents. If any of it is removed, the beach can become more vulnerable to erosion and shrink over time.
  • The habitats of many species are being damaged. Small crustaceans, insects, mollusks, and microorganisms that are part of the food chain live in the sand. Even the dunes, formed by wind-blown sand, are home to rare plants and specialized animals.
  • The dunes protect the coast. Sand dunes act as a natural barrier against storm surges and wind. If the beach-dune system deteriorates, the risk of erosion and damage during storms increases.
  • Some beaches have unique sands. In Sardinia, there are beaches with sand composed of fragments of shells, quartz, or tiny remains of marine organisms. Their formation takes a very long time: in some cases hundreds or thousands of years.
  • The cumulative impact is enormous. If one person takes away only 200 grams of sand, it seems irrelevant. But if 10.000 visitors do it, that means approximately 2 tons of sand stolen in a single season.

Cover photo from the website www.comune.cabras.or.it

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