Cesenatico and the canal port
Leonardo's canal and the floating museum
Between Rimini and Ravenna, Cesenatico is a fishing village and seaside resort crossed by a picturesque canal port, the Porto Canale, lined with colourful fishermen's houses, restaurants and bars, and full of fishing boats. The canal was dug in the fourteenth century as the port of Cesena, and in 1502 it was studied by Leonardo da Vinci, who came here as military engineer in the service of Cesare Borgia and drew a precise survey of the port, with proposals for its improvement, preserved in his notebooks.
The most original attraction of Cesenatico is the Museo della Marineria, the Maritime Museum, which has a land section and above all a floating section: along the oldest stretch of the canal, a fleet of historic sailing boats of the upper Adriatic, such as the bragozzo, the trabaccolo and the lancia, is moored, with their large sails painted with bright colours and traditional symbols, which are hoisted in summer, creating a spectacular sight. At Christmas, the boats host a floating nativity scene, with life-size statues placed on the boats of the canal, illuminated at night. The town also has the house of the writer Marino Moretti, with his library, and the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who embarked here in 1849 during his flight from the Austrians. Typical of Cesenatico is fish cuisine, with grilled sardines, the "poveracce" clams and the fish "brodetto". The beaches, with their bathing establishments, are popular with families.
Tip: visit at dusk, when the canal lights up; the floating nativity scene can be admired from December to January.
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