Marine tourism in Emilia-Romagna
Rimini. Ph: Cristian Ghisla via Shutterstock
Marine tourism in Emilia-Romagna
The sea of Emilia-Romagna
Sailing and Emilia-Romagna share a story of passion, heritage and futuristic technology.
Max Sirena, the man who kept millions of Italians glued to their screens by leading the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team to the final at the 36th America's Cup is from Romagna.
A native of Rimini, just like Cino Ricci, who was a protagonist with "Azzurra" in Newport in the 1980s, winning the semi-finals to enter the America's Cup
Romagna was also the place where the adventure of the Moro di Venezia began. The legendary boat wanted by entrepreneur Raul Gardini won the Louis Vuitton Cup in 1992, becoming the first Italian boat in history to compete in the America's Cup. Today, it is suspended at the head of Ravenna's Candiano canal and reflects on its waters.
From 1993 to 2007, the beach town of Marina di Ravenna hosted the Trombini Trophy, whose 13 editions entered the history of sailing for welcoming champions such as James Spithill, Dean Barker, Francesco de Angelis, and Ed Baird.
Ravenna is now home to the National Match Race Training Center, the most challenging and technical discipline in sailing.
Finally, in Ferrara (Goro) is one of the three nautical centers of the Italian Naval League and along the entire Riviera Romagnola there are about 40 sailing schools.
The 24 tourist port and marinas on the Romagna coastline host every year international sailing events, from the traditional Vele di Pasqua (Easter Sails) in Cesenatico (FC) – with dozens of boats from Italy and other countries around the world like "A", Hobie Cat, Top Cat, Tornado and Free class catamaran classes – to the World O'Pen Skiff Championship in Rimini, the youth sailing event that will award Under 12, Under 15 and Under 17 men's and women's titles from July 16th to 21st, 2023.
Not to be forgotten is also Coppa Primavela and the Italian Youth Championship in Singles, hosted between late August and September at the Circolo Velico Ravennate.
Tradition and innovation. If futuristic and luxurious yachts are coming out of prestigious shipyards in Romagna such as Ferretti Spa and Cantieri del Pardo, Cesenatico (FC), on the Canal Harbour designed in 1502 by Leonardo da Vinci, is home to the "Louvre of Sailing", the Maritime Museum, the only one of its kind in Italy.
It consists of an outdoor "floating" section, with ten traditional boats from the upper and middle Adriatic Sea that, in summer, hoist their Lug sails (decorated with natural earths and with the symbols of Cesenatico's fishing families), and a land-based, indoor section dedicated to traditional boats. In 2023, the Lug Sails were designated "Intangible Cultural Heritage" by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and were nominated for the same recognition by UNESCO.
Sailing on the Riviera Romagnola is also an expression of inclusivity, as demonstrated by the activities of, among others, Marinando, a sailing association for people with disabilities but not only, operating in Marina di Ravenna since 2009, which, since last year, has expanded the range of its activities to include competitive sailing.
Marine tourism in Emilia-Romagna
The Romagna nautical district is, along with the provinces of Pesaro-Urbino and Ancona, at the top of the Italian shipbuilding industry. The numbers bear witness to this: 645 million euros in annual turnover and 23 active companies, employing more than 1,500 people, making Romagna the second Italian hub in the sector.
The Province of Rimini is a leading player in this context, with 523 million euros in turnover (300 of which are exports) and 1,272 employees; followed by the Forlì-Cesena area, generating 115 million euros (about 200 considering nautical, naval, and merchant shipbuilding) and the Ravenna area, with a turnover of less than 10 million and less than 200 employees at work.
Overall, there are 23 tourist ports in Romagna, with a total capacity of 6,136 berths. Among them, Marina di Rimini, counted by industry experts as one of the most beautiful and state-of-the-art marinas in the entire Mediterranean, and MarinaRa di Ravenna, one of the most modern and well-equipped tourist ports in the Adriatic, with no less than 1074 berths and a constant depth of about 5 meters, deserve special mention.
In the fall of 2022, the Emilia-Romagna region allocated as much as 6 million euros for the redevelopment of its tourist ports, which will be completed by 2024. Specifically, 4 million euros will go to the redevelopment of the regional ports of Rimini, Cattolica (RN) and Cesenatico (FC) and 1.9 million euros for the municipal ports of Riccione and Bellaria Igea Marina-Riccione (RN).
For those arriving by boat on the Riviera Romagnola, the tourist docks are the "gateways" to an offer of 1,430 equipped bathing establishments, about 6,000 restaurants, pizzerias, bars, cafes and wine bars, 15 amusement parks (Europe's highest concentration), and a rich calendar of events ranging from great international music to food, culture and entertainment.
Finally, the large Ravenna Cruise Terminal, one of the most important cruise ports in the upper Adriatic, guarantees the Emilia-Romagna region's full entry into the Mediterranean cruise circuit.
Located between the pine forest behind the dunes and the beach of Porto Corsini (Ravenna), the infrastructure is not only capable of accommodating the largest ships currently in circulation (over 300 thousand passengers a year are expected to pass through at full capacity), but it also includes an investment program by Royal Caribbean of about 27 million euros, which will lead to the creation of a new futuristic and efficient maritime station capable of welcoming vacationers from all over the world, along the lines of what Royal is already doing in other American ports.
Fun facts
Embraced by two breakwaters, and thanks to the floating docks, all equipped with rubberized rubbing strake, MarinaRa is the safest tourist port of the Adriatic, making it safe to moor in all weather conditions.
Its uniqueness, especially when viewed from the sea, lies in the two breakwaters placed at the sea-side mouth: the northern one, dedicated to Luciano Cavalcoli (1905-1991) is 2,250 mt long, while the southern one, named after Benigno Zaccagnini, allows you to walk for 2,450 mt in the middle of the sea, defining a European record. In fact, no other continental port has a pier that ends so far from the mainland.
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Marinas
Marina di Goro (Ferrara)
Marina Degli Estensi (Lido degli Estensi, Ferrara)
Nautica Mondo (Porto Di Volano, Ferrara)
Marina Di Porto Reno (Casalborsetti, Ravenna)
Porto Turistico di MarinaRA (Marina di Ravenna, Ravenna)
Marina di PortoVerde (Misano Adriatico)