{"id":2944,"date":"2014-05-14T14:53:20","date_gmt":"2014-05-14T12:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=2944"},"modified":"2021-09-11T23:25:05","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T21:25:05","slug":"weekend-cesenatico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/weekend-cesenatico\/","title":{"rendered":"A Weekend in Cesenatico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"alogo\"<\/a>A blog tour within my blog tour\u2026how fun!\u00a0 Last weekend I had a chance to meet and collaborate with fellow bloggers at the breezy seaside town of Cesenatico, on the Adriatic Coast of Emilia-Romagna, in association with #cesenaticobellavita<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arriving in town on Friday afternoon, something struck me as vaguely familiar.\u00a0 The smell of the sea, bikers and joggers along the sunny boulevard, and buildings in the Liberty style of architecture\u2026very similar to what we call Art Deco back in Florida.\u00a0 An odd variety of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu that I wasn\u2019t expecting.\u00a0 For me, there is something reminiscent of home in Cesenatico.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the Hotel Lungomare<\/a>, I was greeted warmly by the owner, Silvia, who showed me around the premises, which have been in her family for 25 years.\u00a0 The elegant property sits directly on the beach and my room had an expansive view of both the pool and the entire coast, full of colorful umbrellas and beach chairs awaiting the arrival of the summer vacationers.\u00a0 Every off-season, Silvia and her family restore\/renovate\/redecorate their hotel, keeping the environment fresh and inviting. \u00a0The hotel also features a gym, bicycle rentals, two spas, and a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.\u00a0 Guests can choose whether they want a full board package, half board, or just bed and breakfast.<\/p>\n

\"Hotel<\/a>
View from my room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These days, Cesenatico is a perfect place for a relaxing family holiday, or to indulge your passion for outdoor sports\u2014the town is known for attracting bicycle racers, in particular.\u00a0 Historically, it was (and still is) a working fishing village.\u00a0 In fact, there\u2019s a museum dedicated to the special type of sailboats used for fishing the local waters by employing two sailboats in tandem to drag nets along the sea floor.\u00a0 The best part of this museum is that half of it is actually floating in the canal just two steps from the entrance.\u00a0 The traditional vessels with their colorful sails dominate the view from all sides.<\/p>\n

\"Museo
Museo della Marineria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The canal is an important part of the local commerce. Goods arriving by sea are transported inland through this waterway.\u00a0 However, there is a geological issue regarding the topography of the harbor that causes an accumulation of sediment at the inlet.\u00a0 Around the year 1500, an architect was brought in to solve the problem.\u00a0 The man tapped for the job was none other than Leonardo Da Vinci who, of course, quickly formulated a solution.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the materials and engineering skill to realize Leonardo\u2019s project were lacking\u2014until about 20 years ago, when it was at last completed from Da Vinci\u2019s original design.<\/p>\n

Cesenatico and the Surrounding Region<\/h2>\n

About 15 kilometers up the canal from Cesenatico is the town of Cesena.\u00a0 We spent a pleasant afternoon strolling through the historic center and visiting the important sites.\u00a0 It was market day, and the atmosphere was energetic and festive.\u00a0 For lunch, we enjoyed a specialty of the Romagna area, piandina;<\/em> a type of bread, similar to a flour tortilla, stuffed with local salami and cheese. \u00a0Nearby, there was a booth set up by a local brewery, and we sampled some of their artisanal beers.\u00a0 And there\u2019s nothing better than cool gelato on a hot day to finish off a great lunch.\"piadina\"<\/p>\n

Worth seeing in Cesena is the ancient library, Biblioteca Malatestiana, <\/em>built from 1447 to 1452. \u00a0<\/em>It is notable for being the first civic library in Europe\u2014in other words, open to the public, and not just for clerics and scholars.\u00a0 Unesco included it in its \u201cMemory of the World\u201d register.\u00a0 The highlight of this visit is the reading room, which still contains ancient books chained to the shelves beneath the desk.\u00a0 Even today, researchers come to this library (by special appointment, I assume) to study the ancient manuscripts at their original location, using only the natural light.\u00a0 Their massive collection contains over 3,200 volumes from the 16th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

\"Biblioteca<\/a>
Photo Credit: Biblioteca Malatestiana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This little beach town, still very quiet in mid-May, is a wonderful place to just relax by the sea, ideal for both couples and families, as well as cycling enthusiasts.\u00a0 The seafood is fresh and there are just enough distractions to keep you as busy as you\u2019d like to be.\u00a0 Or not busy at all, if you\u2019d prefer.\u00a0 Of course, there are other more famous seaside destinations in Italy.\u00a0 But that is exactly Cesenatico\u2019s charm.\u00a0 Despite some newer hotels and modern restorations, it has remained true to itself.\u00a0 It is still a fishing village with a nice beach, mostly free from cheesy t-shirt shops, panhandlers, and busloads of daytrippers.\u00a0 Relax and enjoy!<\/p>\n

A big \u201cGRAZIE\u201d to:<\/p>\n

Our Hosts: Hotel Lungomare<\/a>, Hotel Leonardo Da Vinci<\/a>, Cesentaticobellavita<\/a>, La Trattoria<\/p>\n

Our fearless leader, Alessandra from 21grammy<\/a><\/p>\n

My fellow bloggers, Christina from Fleeting Life<\/a>, and Gudrun from Reisebloggerin<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A blog tour within my blog tour\u2026how fun!\u00a0 Last weekend I had a chance to meet and collaborate with fellow bloggers at the breezy seaside town of Cesenatico, on the Adriatic Coast of Emilia-Romagna, in association with #cesenaticobellavita. Arriving in town on Friday afternoon, something struck me as vaguely familiar.\u00a0 The smell of the sea, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[211,169,94],"tags":[223,384,225,226,224],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}