Molo di Ponente e Faro Verde

On Cesenatico's west pier, wooden capanni and their lifting nets preserve a shore-based fishing tradition associated with the Romagna coast. The pier forms the western arm of the canal harbour.

Why it matters

The Ponente pier preserves evidence of Cesenatico's fishing culture. Along it stand capanni da pesca, wooden huts with balance nets, or reti a bilancia, used to raise small fish from shallow water. Together the pier, huts and harbour reflect a local economy shaped by fishing and navigation.

What to notice

The capanni are built around large nets lowered and raised from wooden platforms. Their beams and winches reveal the mechanics of this shore-based fishing method. A plaque commemorates the Custodi dell'Arte, a civic group associated with local oral-history work. Across the canal, the town frontage and historic vessels of the floating museum line the bank.

Context and history

Like its eastern twin, the Ponente pier belongs to the harbour geometry recorded in Leonardo's bird's-eye drawing of 1502: two moles sheltering the canal entrance. The western arm is also associated with capanni da pesca, whose balance frames let fishers raise nets from the shallows. The gate works of the Porte Vinciane inside the canal form another part of the historic harbour system.