Museo della Marineria - Sezione Galleggiante

Along the oldest reach of Cesenatico’s Porto Canale, ten traditional boats form the floating section of the Museo della Marineria. Bragozzi, trabaccoli, lance and other Adriatic craft preserve the forms and decorations of the region’s working fishing fleet.

Why it matters

The museum keeps its boats in the harbour setting for which they were built. Their hulls, rigging and painted details connect the maritime collection to the canal and to Cesenatico’s history as a fishing port. Two of the ten vessels can still sail, preserving practical knowledge as well as historic craft.

What to notice

Look for the painted eyes on the bows and other traditional decorations, including figures of music-making angels on some vessels. The sails, when raised, carry symbols and colours once used to identify fishing families. Among the collection is the transport trabaccolo Giovanni Pascoli, whose hold and cabins evoke the working life of a sailing vessel.

Context and history

The floating section occupies the oldest stretch of the Porto Canale Leonardesco and complements the museum’s land pavilion across the canal. Its ten vessels represent traditional boat types of the Adriatic. In summer, their colourful vele al terzo display family symbols; in winter, the boats provide the setting for Cesenatico’s Presepe della Marineria. The wider Porto Museo also includes around thirty traditional boats, most privately owned, that animate the canal as a living maritime landscape.