Today I want to give you a fairytale. A fairy tale that has the salty taste of the sea and the sweet scent of cordiality. A fairy tale that has the colors of the village vitality of what was once a small fishing village, now it has become a real well-organized tourist citadel. A Romagna fairytale, which has as its protagonists the sea, boats and eat them in company. We are in the charming Romagna, the land that has made fun and culinary tradition its strong points, and in particular in a small town on the coast, just 14 km from Rimini, from the name "speaking": Bellaria.
THE PORT AND THE SEAFRONT
The journey to discover flavors and traditions begins right on the bridge that connects the town of Bellaria to the nearby Igea Marina, a single municipality. It dominates imposingly on the small port, and even if the environmental impact is not the best, it has its own charm for the view it gives us. On the pedestrian side of the bridge in via del Trabaccolo, sitting on one of the benches, your eyes will be able to navigate slowly on the Uso river, linger on the nice fishing boats with the names of women, until you get lost in the blue sea on the horizon. A little curiosity: from May to September on the left side of the canal it is possible to admire the bragozzo Teresina. Built in 1948 in Murano, the historic boat is owned by the Municipality of Bellaria and is currently used in historical gatherings and for tourist purposes. Its beauty lies in the hand-made paintings of the prow and in the splendid sails on the third, almost 12 meters long, colored with shades of yellow and scorched earth red.
Going down via Rubicone, on the Bellaria side, one realizes how over the years urban planning has not taken too much account of tradition: the small one-storey houses that overlooked the street in the mid-50s to make way for modern villas. For this reason I advise you to leave the main road, to get lost in the narrow and winding streets, the Bronx as some call it. From via Montenero to via Vipacco, passing through via Pasubio you can relive the flavor of the past and rediscover the colors and architecture of the native fishing village.
If it is almost noon, the obligatory stop is atOsteria del Mare-La Baracca. Open from March to September, the restaurant not only serves excellent fish but also has a great history. The entire building is made entirely of wood by the old owner, a carpenter in winter, who in the summer managed the restaurant with his wife and daughters since 1959, when it was nothing more than a small shack on the Uso river.
After lunch, treat yourself to a relaxing digestive walk on the canal port. Two steps and you will be on the beach. Here the same beach, same sea rule applies: people have been coming for years, and everyone knows exactly the name and history of each component of the bathroom. A sort of extended family that organizes tournaments and barbecues by the sea.
Positive note? In Bellaria the umbrella and the sunbed are cheap, around 10-12 euros per day, but you can rely on convenient packages made available by hotels that allow you to save on the daily cost of bathing services offered by the various establishments.
