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Cesenatico: traditional boats ten years displayed in canal designed by da Vinci
02-6-2015
 Forty years ago the ancient town of Cesenatico was facing significant change as road transport threatened its historic role as a haven for Adriatic coasting vessels. Its harbour had been established in 1314 to serve the town of Cesena several kilometres further inland, and Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned in 1502 to plan a canal linking the two settlements, which however was never completed. By the early 1970s Cesenatico was becoming known as a holiday destination, like its larger neighbour Rimini. Tall buildings were appearing along the shoreline to accommodate the influx of holidaymakers. The town faced the prospect that its historic identity might be submerged under new concrete.
The traditional way of life of the old Cesenatico fishing families was under threat , and the boats from which they fished under sail were being ousted by modern power trawlers. A conference convened in Cesenatico in 1977 acknowledged the threat that the town might lose sight of its cultural heritage as its local economy changed to meet new circumstances. From that conference emerged a publication ‘La marineria romagnola, l’uomo,l’ambiente’ (‘Seafaring in Romagna: man and environment’). The Emilia Romagna region subsequently pledged its support for the development of a museum devoted to the maritime history of Cesenatico, and an existing building was adapted and extended to accommodate full-size examples of typical local sailing vessels such as the bragozzo and trabaccolo. Adjacent displays show the history of fishing, boatbuilding and the origins of the seaside holiday. Ten years ago the Museo della Marineria embarked on an ambitious programme of displaying traditional Adriatic sailing vessels afloat in the canal in front of the museum, and keeping alive the skills of operating them with regular trips to sea under volunteer crews. The colourful sails of these vessels are raised each day in summer, and at Christmas the boats are floodlit with dressed Nativity figures on board. Their distinctive triangular sails have been adopted as the emblem for Cesenatico in its marketing literature and websites. When the town won the premier award in 2014 in the ‘Memoire des Ports de Mediterranee ‘ competition run by the FPMM, the jury recognised the Museum as the most powerful and effective agency in keeping alive Cesenatico’s fishing and boatbuilding heritage.
The Museum’s Director, Davide Gnola, invited friends and supporters to gather in Cesenatico on 29 May to celebrate ten years of the Museum’s floating displays. Three of its exhibits took guests on a short sail around the bay, and at a subsequent public meeting Giovanni Panella and John Robinson were among those invited to speak in support of the Museum’s achievements. The day ended with an al fresco dinner of grilled sardines and a concert of maritime music and poetry on the quayside.
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