Sea Wedding

Now in its 581st edition, it remains a fascinating event and one of the city's most heartfelt celebrations.

This ancient rite has been held since 1445, when the then Bishop of Cervia Pietro Barbo, on Ascension Day, on his way back from an embassy in Venice, was surprised by a storm, which he calmed by throwing his ring into the water.

The Archbishop of the Diocese of Ravenna and Cervia goes out to sea on a fishing boat, blesses the Adriatic Sea and donates a gold ring to the waters, thus continuing the vow made in 1445.

Cervia still relives the atmosphere and preserves the traditions linked to this rite.

The historic procession starts from Cervia's main square, Piazza Garibaldi, where lords, bishops, ladies and mayors parade in sumptuous period costumes, accompanying the ring that will be thrown into the sea in the historic ceremony of the "marriage of the city with the waters of the Adriatic".

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