Cervia ( rgn, Zirvia) is a seaside resort town in the province of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

, located in the northern Italian region of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. Cervia is a major

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

, North Italy. Its population was 28,700 at the 2018 census.

History

Originally called Ficocle, it was probably of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

origin and was located midway between current Cervia and Ravenna. It is known that this original settlement was destroyed in 709 by patrician Theodore for its alliance with Ravenna against the loyal Byzantines. Later the centre was rebuilt in a more secure position, in the '' Salina''. This medieval city grew until it was provided with three fortified entrances, a Palaces of Priors, seven churches and a castle (''Rocca'') which, according to the legend, was built by Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

. The name also changed from Ficocle to Cervia, probably referring to the ''Acervi'', great amounts of salt left in the local evaporation ponds. After a long series of events, it became part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. As time passed, the salt pond turned into a marsh, and on 9 November 1697,

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

ordered it to be rebuilt in a safer location. The new city had huge silos for the storage of salt, containing up to 13,000 tons. Cervia is also mentioned in

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

(Inferno, Canto XXVII, lines 40–42).

Town information

Nowadays Cervia is a

on the

Adriatic Riviera The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

thanks to its shore characterised by sandy beaches. Unlike its neighbour

Cesenatico Cesenatico ( rgn, Ziznàtic) is a port town with about 26,000 inhabitants on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is located in the province of Forlì-Cesena in the region of Emilia-Romagna, about south of Ravenna. Cesenatico's port canal was surv ...

, the buildings are subject to strict urban regulations, favouring the conservation of the pine forest and green areas between each new construction. Cervia has a large pine forest, about 260 hectares and includes the areas of Milano Marittima, Cervia, Pinarella and Tagliata. A project with the local authority of ARPA is active for the control of water, at various points between the beach in Milano Marittima and that of Pinarella. The results that are obtained show that the water quality is such that guaranteed the city the blue flag of the Foundation for Environmental Education for the ninth consecutive year (since 1997). The levels of these wastewaters have always been excellent in recent years, except some small survey of 2004 and 2002 that triggered the alarm and were provided other controls, which have verified the quality of the water, immediately returned to levels within the normal range. Housing prices in Cervia ranked second highest in the Emilia Romagna in a 2009 research, only after

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

. With the development of the neighbourhood Milano Marittima, the presence of

nightclubs A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

and outdoor dances were banished from Cervia centre, in order to respect the comfort of residents and tourists. In Cervia, they are already operating several cycling routes. In fact, the city is also famous for its large number of bicycles around the town, especially during summer. It's heavily influenced by the presence of sports, art, and cuisine. Cervia was Italy's first city to host an IRONMAN Triathlon, drawing world-class athletes from all over the world. Tortelli verdi is a typical food in Cervia.

Main sights

* The Cathedral (''Santa Maria Assunta''), built in 1699–1702 * The Museum of Salt * The Communal Palace * St. Michael Tower

Transportation

The city is served by the road Strada statale 16 Adriatica or Romea South. It is possible reach the Italian A14 highway at

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and '' comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was ...

(15 km) and

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

(24 km). Cervia is located about 103 km south of

, 311 km far from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

and 359 km from Rome.

Notable people

Maria Goia Maria Goia (1878–1924) was an Italian politician, feminist, and trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the con ...

(1878–1924), politician, feminist, and trade unionist

Twin towns/sister cities

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...

, United States *

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

, United States *

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (pron. ; Polish: ; german: Hirschberg im Riesengebirge; Exonym: ''Deer Mountain''; szl, Jelyniŏ Gōra) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Low ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous commun ...

, Spain *

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

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Aalen Aalen () is a former Free Imperial City located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is also the large ...

, (Germany)

Gallery

File:Porto Cervia.jpg, Cervia Harbour in 2015 File:CerviaPorto.JPG, Harbour File:Cervia beach.jpg, The Beach File:CerviaPalazzoComunale.JPG, City Hall File:DLO goes to adriatic.jpg, The

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

of Piazza dell'Unità in Pinarella File:Veduta di Milano Marittima.JPG, Beach of Cervia

Notes and references

External links

Cervia Municipality

Official tourist information site of Cervia, Milano Marittima, Pinarella and Tagliata
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna