History and wellness in the Adriatic Riviera: Cervia.
By: Lia Contesso
Submitted: 2010-04-27 03:14:34 | Word Count: 545
It would then be “the place famous for seaweeds”), or perhaps in honour of an Etrurian leader, Ficol, that is said to have put an end to Ravenna’s tyranny, or else in memory of Ficolea, the saline it rose from; between history and legend, the name Ficocle was transformed in the current Cervia between 900 and 1000.
In fact, neither the origins of the name “Cervia” are certain, but there’s a legend to which Cervians are very attached that tells the story of a deer that, to escape from some hunters, knelt-down in front of the bishop of Lodi (Saint Bassian) who was wandering in a pinewood, recognising him as a God’s servant. The city’s coat of arms, in memory of this, is a knelt-down deer.
The city of Cervia has always been attached to the production of salt: it rose right in the middle of the salt evaporation ponds, with three balance bridges that connected as many entrances to the dry land, till, on the 6th November 1697, pope Innocent XII ordered it to be rebuilt in a more salubrious place, giving precise indications about the number of houses to be built, the disposition of the Cathedral, the Bishop Palace and the prison; the defensive tower and the salt warehouses had already been built some years before, in 1691. The fact of being in the centre of the salt evaporation ponds, though this made the city easily defensible, was not healthy because the canals that passed through it were salty, and the drinkable water was too rare to grant a sufficient hygienic condition to the population.
A very characteristic thing to visit in Cervia is the MUSA (the Salt Museum), inside the Torre warehouse, that could contain up to 130.000 tons of salt; its appearance is that of a Romanic Cathedral, with its nave and aisles. Other than photos and documents concerning the production of salt, nowadays, as a museum, it hosts a model of the salt evaporation ponds and some tools that are used to produce salt.
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Salt is a protagonist in many aspects of the life of the city: its thermal baths, in fact, benefit from its presence, because the water containing sodium chloride, bromide and iodide and the mud extracted from the salt evaporation ponds have benefic properties, other than being therapeutic in the articular and otorhinolaryngological areas. But, as it’s obviously to be desired, even if there’s no need for cures and therapies, the positive effect of the thermal baths is anyway undeniable as a moment of absolute relax: thermal baths can be a good cuddle for mind, other than for the body, and physical and psychological well-being often go together.
Another characteristic of Cervia is being part of the Riviera Romagnola: beaches and amusements are more that abundant, and interesting spots in the vicinities should be added to those inside the city, with lots of places of historical interest side by side with a perfect touristic organization, from seaside bathing structures to nightclubs, passing through amusement parks of any kind, restaurants and receptive structures.
