Milan’s beach

Not only is Milano Marittima part of the municipality of Cervia, but it can also be considered as the beach of Milan, in Lombardy: the connection between Milan and Cervia dates back at the beginning of the twentieth century.

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In that period, the municipality of Cervia was undergoing a strong development phase: after having been a little town, whose economy was based on fishing, agriculture and the production of salt, Cervia turned into a tourist centre. The construction of railways fostered the tourist growth of the area: the first railway line, connecting Ravenna and Cervia, was completed in 1884; the second line, connecting Ferrara, Ravenna and Rimini, in 1889. As both lines crossed Cervia, the city experienced a crucial increase in visitors, so that the first seaside resort, opened in 1882, expanded rapidly its activity and many more followed.

As regards Milano Marittima, its success as a tourist destination is not only a consequence of the railway construction, but also of an explicit arrangement signed by the Maffeis, an important family of Milan who ran a profitable business. In the agreement the municipality of Cervia gave to the Maffeis the management of a wide wrecked area where, in exchange, they would have built houses and parks in order to transform it into a beautiful tourist resort.

This is the origin of the strong bond between the renewed area of Cervia and Milan, and therefore its name, Milano Marittima. In 1911, the “Milano Marittima society for the development of Cervia’s beach” was founded with the purpose of planning the birth of the new seaside resort areas.

The style chosen to renovate the old wrecked area was the Garden city movement, an urban project which was born in England in the mid-nineteenth century. Its purpose was to mix city life comforts with country life health: a need generated by the sudden and chaotic industrial growth of that age, which, in certain cases, led some cities to become uninhabitable. Following the dictates of the City garden movement, many detached houses were built in the woods surrounding Milano Marittima, in order to provide a comfortable and independent environment, which was not allowed by the previous accommodation. As a result, the area was improved with parks, gardens and greenery, and the construction of houses continued for a long time, only interrupted by the two world wars. In 1927, thanks to Milano Marittima’s contribute, Cervia had been credited as a “Cure, Stay and Tourism Resort” by a ministerial decree.

At that point, tourist structures were almost completed: in addition to residences, the first hotels, colonies and clubs were in advanced stage of construction. Nowadays Milano Marittima is a renowned and appreciated destination, not only for its receptive availability and seaside resorts, but also for its number of bars, pubs and discos: services attracting a lot of tourists, especially young people who hang out at the city centre en masse. In fact, if you are in pursuit of fun and excitement, Milano Marittima offers a wide range of enjoyable activities; if you are looking for quieter holidays instead, its comfortable and well organized seaside resorts and hotels will let you rest and relax, without impinging on your privacy….