Sirocco in Cervia and Cesenatico, 20 & 21 June

Both Cervia and Cesenatico, a few miles apart on the Adriatic coast south of Ravenna have in common to be fully devoted to fisheries. We are currently experiencing sirocco wind, bringing Sahara sand and resulting in a hazy weather, very hot and humid! 

Trabaccolo traditional coastal trade boats in the Leonardo Da Vinci Cesenatico canal

These two towns offer an authentic experience of life on the Adriatic coast, a little off the tourist trail. We are no longer in touristy Venice or pre-medieval Ravenna, but in an Italy of busy fishermen, with a brilliant past and a present not less. It's refreshing to stroll through the historic centres at aperitif time, when the day doesn't start until after 5pm! So we sail the few miles between the tourist ports at the hottest time of the day, arriving around 3pm, when it is end of siesta time in the marinas, and leaving around 5pm to visit the towns. Perfect timing.

Cervia

Known primarily for its ancient salt pans, Cervia has been a crucial center for salt production since Roman times, earning it the nickname "City of Salt." The production and trade of this "white gold" greatly contributed to the city's prosperity and development over the centuries. Today, Cervia's well-preserved salt pans are a symbol of its cultural heritage. Additionally, the coastline is fully equipped for recreational tourism with an endless succession of beaches and hotels. Yet, Cervia city centre is still very traditional, fishing activities driven around its canal. A perfect mix!

Belisama in Cervia marina

One of the many fishermen boats along the Cervia canal

The Cervia salt museum is worth a visit. I should admit that for people of my generation, born after the generalisation fo fridges in the kitchen we don't understand how salt used to be considered the white gold and Cervia made a fortune of it for centuries. We have forgotten than until the 1950's, survival of population across the winter relied on the conservation of healthy food through the use of salt for drying (prosciutto in Italy) or fermenting foods (sauerkraut in eastern Europe). And this is where salt was indispensable and became even considered as a currency! On Belisama, nowdays, as on Captain Cook second round the world expeditions, we use fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) in sea salt (no iodine added) to keep full vitamine fresh vegetables on board! We replenished our pure sea salt in Cervia!

Transport of the salt from the marches in Cervia, picture from the salt museum

Cesenatico

On our way to Cesenatico, the first boat we come across is a Nordic Folkboat, Sweden's most iconic sailing boat dating back over 80 years. This one below is probably a more recent fibreglass version. But it's like being back on our many Baltic cruises. 

Encounter with an Ostrogoth Folkboat on our way to Cesenatico

Then, a little further south, we come across the most iconic ship of the Adriatic trade routes of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Trabacollo. 

Encounter with a Trabaccolo on our way to Cesenatico.

The canal that enter Cesenatico is rather shallow and narrow. It was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci for Cesare Borgia, ruler of Emilia Romagna at the time. The canal is often referred to as the Porto Canale Leonardesco.     

Leonardo Da Vinci notebook reflecting the conception of the Cesenatico canal, Cesenatico Mare Museo

Leonardo da Vinci handling over the Cesenatico can to Cesare Borgia

The canal indeed is impressive, first to arrive and enter the marina. Very small and narrow, with not a lot of options for fitting between the "mooring poles" that are the default way to moor in the Mediterranean. Often a bit stressful... 

By the way this boat was built in 1956, just like me :-)

Out of the canal, in the "centro storico", quite a few colourful nice houses as we have seen in the entire region.

More along the canal

The maritime museum is very interesting. Just an example is the presentation of the motives appearing on the sails that were used as recognition signs for the fishermen families. Each family had its own sail, of which it was proud and had its exclusive use. In case of a wedding, the bride could add her family symbol to the husband's family sail, in the same way that happened with coats of arms of the families of nobility.... 

In short, to summarise, we were very surprised by the discoveries we made along the north-western coast of the Italian Adriatic, from Venezia to Rimini... First, for sure, the touristic places as Venezia and Ravenna are worth the trip, but smaller places all along the coast are very authentic and well preserved if you don't stop in the hotel resorts that are blooming in between these authentic places.

As for sailers, Initially we were scared that it would be difficult to find places to moor for a night. In fact, there is not much touristic activity apart from the beaches, and we always found places to stop on our way  by calling a few hours ahead using Navily. Then you ave to understand that most of these places are private clubs, not taking advance bookings since not having processes for doing so, and with offices closed from 13 to 15:30 on average, so forget about getting advance booking. However, we always found a place for our mooring, at times, just showing-up in the marina because of marinas not answering phone or VHF. So, in short, not a problem, just a way to understand how the whole thing work and find a way through. Not a single bad experience overall!