Night bathing and babes revive Rome's 'Margate'

Ostia, the historic but plebeian beach resort near Rome, is planning to cast off its down-market image as Italy's Margate and restyle itself as Malibu. With the summer tourist season approaching fast, it is even seeking to change its name, from Ostia to Lido di Roma.

The main weapon in its makeover, however, is an attempt to recreate Baywatch on the shores of the Mediterranean. Ostia is recruiting young female lifeguards and building 10ft high observation towers from which they will survey and be surveyed.

A spokeswoman for the initiative listed the necessary qualifications, in order of importance. "They will need to be attractive and sporty, preferably have a life-saving certificate and possibly speak a second language," said Alessia Petruzzelli, press officer for Assobalneari, the association of hotels, bars and restaurants which charge entrance fees for their stretch of sand and sea.

Assobalneari has had plenty of applicants. Francesca Toppi, 20, a student and swimming instructor, told Corriere della Sera newspaper that she was interested in being a bagnina to pay her way through university. Not all the potential Pamela Andersons are so well qualified, however: some admit they can't swim.

In case Ostia's beach babes are not enough of a draw by day, Assobalneari is paying them to stay on and liven up the place by night. "Bathing establishments" will open up their beaches for all-night parties and special night bathing "pools" will be created at sea, as well as floating bars and dance floors. For an added touch of California, the pancake-flat beach will be moulded into dunes, and graced with palm trees.

"We have invented this to try to make people forget the old Ostia. Many middle-class Romans turn up their noses when you mention the name, but they probably haven't even seen the place for years," said Renato Papagni, president of Assobalneari.

But it will not be easy for the resort to shake off its tacky image. Ostia conjures up visions of proletarian bodies grilling away in rows, murky waters, large unruly families with immense picnic lunches and tattooed young men with thick Roman accents, fast cars and pouty girlfriends. For intellectuals, it is the place where the body of the poet and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini was found in 1975. Pasolini, who chronicled Italy's underbelly as actively as he participated in it, was battered to death by a rent boy.

While neighbouring Fiumicino still has some fishing industry, and nearby Fregene has become the summer disco capital, Ostia has become a dormitory suburb for people who cannot afford to live in Rome. Its proximity to the capital, a half-hour metro ride away, has also attracted illegal immigrants, and there have been racist assaults.

Local reaction to the arrival of the bagnine and night bathing was mixed. "It's a great idea. Maybe there will be more work for us locals," said Simone, an unemployed 25-year-old playing table football in a local bar. The bar's plump, grey-haired owner was more sceptical, saying: "This is a family beach. They'd be better off satisfying the existing clients than trying to dress it up as something else."

But Ostia is already planning the next step. An ambitious project, involving the international architect Paolo Portoghesi, foresees its transformation into a magnificent new Lido di Roma. Five artificial islands would each cater for a separate clientele, from nudists to dance fans to the sports crazy.