The Emilia Romagna region along Italy’s Adriatic coastal stretch is impressive. Miles and miles of soft sandy beaches, all of them clean as a whistle and family friendly. This is the thing about most Italian resort beaches, they are set up perfectly.From Lido di Volano in the north by the Po Delta to Cattolica in the south close to the border with the Marche region.There are play areas for kids where parents can sit and relax and still keep an eye on the little ones, excellent clean toilets and wash rooms and plenty of available beds and umbrellas.
Don’t expect seclusion along this coast, it is after all aimed at holiday making families, so expect rows of beds, but there is enough space in between so you don’t feel you’re treading on toes. There is diversity too. In Cesenatico, for example, Latin American music is all the rage right now and many beaches offer jazz music and Brazilian capoeira performances or in Gatteo you could try a waltz at breakfast over a cappuccino and croissant.
Of course, the one thing you won’t go short of in this region is food and drink, with more beach side café’s, bars and restaurants than pizza toppings, not to mention the stream of vendors coming along with those famous Italian custard filled doughnuts.
There is also one annual event which makes the beaches along this region a little bit special; Pink Night or La Notte Rosa to be exact. Pink Night is normally held on the first Saturday in July and is effectively Emilia’ Romagna’s answer to New year’s Eve but a summer version. It is a time when the regions’ coastal resorts stay open all night, the shops, the bars, the hotels and firework displays light up the coast line; all combining to celebrate summer
The Emilia-Romagna region takes beach and water cleanliness and sustainability very seriously, so no wonder that once again this year it has swept the board with all its 96 beaches getting Blue Flag awards for water health.
The Adriatic Riviera has always been a popular beach magnet, but there are not that many regions that put as much effort as Emilia Romagna into ensuring all their beaches are kept so pristine.
Images by L.Bottaro and E.Salvatori.
