Nov. 11, 2024
Hotel Villa Italia, Rimini, Italy
 |
| Museo della Marineria |
When I was deciding on the itinerary for this trip, I saw pictures of classic boats in my guidebook and mistakenly thought they were located in Rimini. After I got to Rimini, I discovered that the Museo della Marineria was actually located about eleven miles north in Cesenatico. Since there wasn’t that much to do in Rimini, I decided to take the train back up to Cesenatico to visit the port, there.
I was suffering pain in my left foot and right knee after all the walking I had done, so I ate breakfast in the hotel and spent the morning keeping my legs elevated. I suspected that I had a stress fracture in my left foot, but it wasn’t swelling and didn’t seem to be getting worse. I had somehow strained the lateral collateral ligament on my right knee. The brand new pair of running shoes I had brought on the trip had turned out to be much less supportive and stable than earlier versions of the same make and model, resulting in injury after constant walking. I had replaced the insoles with orthotics from another pair of shoes, but the damage was done. I was taking elevators and walking as little as possible, but not letting my injuries cramp my style.
 |
| Museum Boats in Cesenatico |
I took the train back to Cesenatico and arrived about 13:15. Cesenatico is not a big place and it was a short walk to the canal where the museum boats are moored. The majority of them are mysteriously located between two old, fixed bridges. I have no idea how they got in there. During the summer, they raise their traditional, painted sails every day. At this time of year, they only do so on the weekends, so I had to make do with pictures. Boats varied from the small, double ended lancia, with one mast, to the trabaccolo
 |
| A Lancia |
da trasporto, a schooner used to transport goods all over the Mediterranean. All of the boats featured a sail type known as al terzo, a gaff rig with one third forward and two thirds aft of the mast. The topo, a small flat bottomed boat, is typical of the Venice Lagoon and motorized ones are still used there. They were used for fishing with a line and for transporting fish from the off-shore fleet to market. They were flat bottomed in case they went aground in shallow water. Traditionally, all the boats featured sails painted bright colors and often displayed family symbols.
 |
| Trabaccolo da Trasporto |
Privately owned classic boats were allowed to moor near the museum free of charge as long as they raised their sails in accordance with the museum’s hours. The main canal was lined with such boats, mostly very well maintained. I was especially impressed with the macrame covered fender protecting the bow of one of them. Motorized fishing boats lined the canal closer to the harbor entrance. Cesenatico was a working fishing port and there were a few fishing huts on the north side of the harbor. Side canals offered moorage for small sailboats and a proper marina was located on the north side of the main channel. As in Ravenna and Rimini, most (90+%) of the boats in the marina were sailboats.
 |
| Private Boats in Cesanatico |
 |
| Macrame Fender Cover |
 |
| The Marina at Cesenatico |
 |
| Grilled Shrimp & Calamari at Osteria Bartolini |
I walked along the main canal until I spotted some women eating fried shrimp and got hungry. Not having eaten a proper meal for a couple of days, I decided to treat myself to lunch at the Osteria Bartolini, a Michelin starred restaurant located on the canal. I had skewers of grilled shrimp and calamari. The calamari were butterflied in a novel fashion, making for a lovely presentation. The food was a little salty, but very tasty, and I got my fill of protein. I had an entire liter of fizzy water to myself to counteract the salt.
After a leisurely lunch, I continued my walk along the main canal, over a bridge on a small offshoot, and down to the beach. As in Rimini, the beach was completely lined with deserted beach clubs. There did not appear to be any public beach access. Since there was no one around, I snuck through one club that had left its gate open.
 |
| Boats Moored in a Side Canal |
 |
| Berm in Cesaenatico |
All of the beaches along the Adriatic had constructed tall berms of sand between the water and the beach clubs. I assumed this was to protect the beach clubs from winter storms. The beaches were wide and flat. I climbed over the berm and could finally see the sea. A reef parallelled the shore and made the gentle waves break in confused patterns. Many people were walking their dogs along the beach. I followed the shore back to the mouth of the harbor and sat for a time on a bench to watch the fishermen and passing boats. It was sunny for the first time in several days, although it was still chilly.
 |
The Beach at Cesenatico
|
 |
| Boat Sailing Beyond the Reef |
I took a slightly different route to return to the train station, exploring the side streets of Cesenatico. There wasn’t a lot to do as a tourist, but it looked like a nice place to live. A quick train ride returned me to Rimini just after dark.
 |
| Side Street in Cesenatico |
 |
| Non-Navigable Canal in Cesenatico |
 |
| Late Afternoon in Cesenatico |
For the past few years, I had been observing (mostly young) people zipping around on electric scooters when I was in Marina del Rey or Nuevo Vallarta. I had seen many of them in Italy and it appeared to be customary to ride them on the sidewalks and bike lanes. Because my foot was hurting and I wanted to irritate it as little as possible, I decided to give a scooter a try. I downloaded the app, gave them my payment information, and went in search of a scooter. I found several parked near the bus stops across from the station. I scanned the QR code on the scooter and it came to life. I gave it a shove, hopped aboard and tentatively advanced the throttle. Off I went. All went smoothly until I came to the subway under the train tracks. While there were ramps down the center of the stairs, I wasn’t brave enough to attempt them on the scooter. The length of the scooter was incompatible with the stages of the stairs and I had to manhandle it down and back up. It was heavy. Once I got back to the street level, however, I was able to whizz back to my hotel. It cost me 3.75 euros and my foot was much happier for it.
Nov. 12, 2024
Hotel Savoy, Pesaro, Italy
 |
| Bike Path in Rimini |
I didn’t have far to go on the train to get to Pesaro, but I had a long trek both to and from the stations. I left the hotel in Rimini about 9:00 so as to make it in time for the 10:03 train to Pesaro. The hotel Villa Italia had been very economical, but the bed was uncomfortable and there was no heat. I was glad to leave it behind.
 |
| The Piazza Lazzarini |
After a 25 minute train ride, I found myself in Pesaro. I could tell right away that it was a far cry from Rimini. Everything was just nicer. I had booked a hotel near the beach and it was 1.2 miles from the station. Theoretically, I had three and a half hours to kill before check-in time. I dragged my bag about half a kilometer to the nearest piazza and stopped for a cappuccino. I killed an hour checking my messages and playing games on my phone. Then I continued through the medeival section of Pesaro to the Piazza del Popolo. Chairs had been set up around an art installation featuring a sphere that operated like a screen. There weren’t many people out on the cold morning but a few elderly citizens had stopped to chat. I crossed the square and kept dragging my baggage towards the hotel.
 |
| The Hotel Savoy |
Past the piazza, I entered a more modern area and soon came to the hotel zone. The hotels in Pesaro were much more upscale than those in Rimini. I arrived at the Hotel Savoy about 11:45. I intended to leave my bags and go for a walk, but they already had my room ready. I was thrilled. The hotel was a bit more expensive than the place in Rimini (The posted rate was actually the same, but the Villa Italia only charged me half of that.) but the hotel was much more luxurious. I got a sixth floor room with a view of the Adriatic. It was attractively decorated and had a comfortable mattress. While I couldn’t control the heat, it was much warmer than the hotel in Rimini. There was even a jacuzzi tub. I didn’t want to leave the room!
 |
| My Room at the Hotel Savoy |
I took a short nap and then went out for a walk. It looked like it might rain, so I didn’t want to wait. I walked along the shore to the breakwater at the port entrance. It was about a mile. There was a modern plaza at the foot of my street and a boardwalk as far as the first breakwater. The Adriatic was much wilder than the day before. There was more public beach access than in Rimini. The shore was still lined with abandoned beach clubs, but the beach was narrower and they were not as protected. Some were even sandbagged for the winter. I walked along the tidy, modern path to the main harbor channel.
 |
Piazzale della Libertà
|
 |
| Sandbagged Beach Club in Pesaro |
 |
| Monumental Boatyard in Pesaro |
 |
| 18th Century Boatyard |
Pesaro seems to have been the place to repair boats for centuries. They had the most elaborate, modern, and monumental boat yard I had ever seen. Two large “hangars” towered over the harbor. A sign spoke of a comparably advanced facility built there in the eighteenth century for waterproofing wooden boats. I walked along the channel and admired the sailboats moored alongside. None of the marinas I had visited had finger piers. All of the boats were med-moored. One end was tied to a long dock and the other secured with an anchor. Two surfers were taking advantage of the waves kicked up by the approaching storm.
 |
| The Marina at Pesaro |
 |
| Surfers in Pesaro |
I returned to the hotel via a different route through the town. It was looking very threatening and I retired to my room to read and doze. I eventually got up and worked on my blog until about 19:30 when the hotel restaurant opened. The restaurant seemed deserted, so I wandered down the street to a Piadina restaurant and had a porchetta and mashed potato piadina with carmelized onions for dinner. I washed it down with a glass of Sangiovese and returned to my room to work on my blog. While I had had plenty of time to work on it in Rimini, the internet had been down for the last twenty-four hours.
Nov. 13, 2024
Hotel Savoy, Pesaro, Italy
 |
| View from My Hotel Window |
I didn’t have a lot to do in Pesaro. I got up to try to see the sun rise over the Adriatic, but it was too cloudy. It looked cold and I was happy to stay in my comfortable room. I even took a hot bath, something I cannot do at home.
About 9:30, I headed out in search of something for breakfast. I walked a few blocks into the old town and stopped at the first café I found open for a cappuccino and a lemon cream filled pastry I was informed was called a Veneziano. I took a table and read for a bit while I enjoyed my coffee. Italian cappuccinos are lovely, but contain no more than six ounces. I longed to wrap my hands around a 12 oz. latte. Poor Sally had really struggled with this. Even the coffee machine in our flat produced only tiny cups of coffee. I considered making instant coffee in my room, but the water wasn’t hot enough.
 |
| Cattedrale du Santa Maria Assunta |
 |
| Plexiglass Floor |
The Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) was just a few steps up the street from my café. The current 19th century cathedral was built on top of a sixth century cathedral which had, in turn, been built on top of an even earlier Roman basilica. Large sections of the floor had been replaced with plexiglass so that one could see the mosaic floors beneath. Paying a euro to light the mosaics was a fund-raiser for the church. The church had stained glass windows in the apse due to its relatively recent renovation.
 |
| Two Layers of Mosaics Beneath the Floor |
 |
| Rossini's Birthplace |
Nothing is very far apart in Pesaro. A few steps further up the street, I found the house where the composer Gioachino Rossini was born in 1792. There was a small museum in the two rooms where his family had lived until 1797. They left Pesaro for Bologna in 1802.
Continuing up the street, I came to the Palazzo Mosca, an eighteenth century
 |
| Palazzo Mosca |
palace built by Antonio Maria Mazzolari and purchased in 1842 by the Marquise Vittoria Mosca. Vittoria collected art and left the palace to the city of Pesaro to be used as a museum. Today, the Musei Civici is in a larger building behind the Palazzo Mosca, but there was an interesting installation in the courtyard between the two. The artificial bookcase displayed there was originally part of the set from a staging of one of Rossini’s operas in 1997. Being tired of gawking at building fragments, mosaics, and renaissance art, I passed on the museum, but I did appreciate the sculpture near the entrance and would have paused longer to admire it had wild schoolchildren not been running rampant in the courtyard.
 |
| Bookcase from the Set of a Rossini Opera |
 |
| Sculpture at the Musei Civici |
Having ticked off all the original items on my list, I headed for the Piazzo Popolo but was distracted by a sign directing me to the sixteenth century synagogue. In 1556, twenty four Portuguese Jews who had been forced to convert to Catholicism were hanged and then burned in the public square in Ancona for refusing to renounce their Jewish faith. In response, there was a boycott of the harbor of Ancona in favor of the harbor at Pesaro. Portuguese Jews sought refuge in Pesaro and founded a synagogue there. There was also a monument to the area's Jewish community set into the pavement on the corner of the Piazza Popolo.
 |
| Monument to Pesaro's Jewish Community |
Having gone somewhat out of my way, I wandered through narrow alleys toward the Piazza del Popolo. I stumbled across the pretty Parrocchia di Sant’Agostino and enjoyed its impressive artwork. Pesaro’s former fish market (now filled with marble statues in crates) looked more like a temple. It certainly put my local fish market in Mexico to shame.
 |
| Pesaro's Former Fish Market |
 |
| Parrochia di Sant'Agostino |
Eventually, I arrived at the piazza. The ducal palace occupied one side of the piazza and exhibited the typical square architecture favored by the Sforza family. Another side of the plaza was occupied by an even grander building that housed the provincial offices of the post and telecommunications. My reason for returning to the piazza was to examine the glowing globe more closely. The Biosphere, as it is called was designed by Federico Rossi and Andrea Santicchia and constructed at a cost of 11 million euros. While the images it displayed appeared to be projected from within, they were actually composed of thousands of tiny LEDs. The images were generated by AI and responded to the motion of the spectators. However it worked, it was beautiful and fascinating to watch.
