The Seaside Resort of Porto Corsini
In1872 the coast of Ravenna is involved in the earliest forms of beach tourism
Location area of the no longer existing first seaside resort in Porto Corsini (1872).
Dresses for a seaside stroll, about 1870 (from the Nuovo Giornale Illustrato Universale 1868-1870. Ristampa Edizioni Girasole 1987)
A new concept of wellness
During the XIXth century several resorts appear all over Europe, as a consequence of the latest theories regarding both physical and spiritual health. Natural environment is now seen as a therapeutic element, and the sea becomes a destination for the leisure of wealthy families; which leads to the creation of the first seaside resorts.
The Mingozzi resort (Photo by Pericle Stoppa, Porto Corsini Marina di Ravenna, Una Storia. Edizioni CAPIT Ravenna)
Beach tourism
Roughly in the half of the XIXth century, on the initiative of several private investors, beach tourism spreads on the cosats of Romagna. In 1843, a first resort composed of six changing rooms on a platform built directly over the sea was opened in Rimini, while in 1856 the first "capanni sulla spiaggia" are built in Cesenatico. following these private initiatives, in July 1872 the Società Balnearia inaugurates the resort of Porto Corsini, which will soon become an important landmark for the inhabitants of Ravenna.
Porto Corsini
The resort of Porto Corsini consisted in a long yellow and green removable wooden platform which could be assembled in the warm seasons. The structure was supported by one meter and a half tall stilts fixed in the water.
The position of this structure allowed it to directly access to the water thanks to a hatch and a ladder. A bather could thus directly pass from the changing room to the water while avoiding the public eye. The bathing areas for men and for women were separated by cords, both in the changing rooms and in the water.
The city council of Ravenna didn't consider a necessity to connect the resort with the city, thus dismissing a cabin built with a therapeutic purpose. The municipality couldn't imagine that those first changing rooms above the sea represented a first step to the creation of one of the most well-known and thriving tourism industries in the world.
In 1875 the resort was purchased by the Mingozzi family, and for many years it remained the only beach resort in Porto Corsini. After World War I it was finally exploited and enhanced with a dance floor and a restaurant. Afterwards other resorts were built, such as the Padiglione Maddalena.
By winter, Mingozzi attempted to improve the itinerary from the lighthouse to the resort by levelling the sand and creating a path made of seacrumbs. The path was eventually called "via allo stabilimento" (i.e., "path to the resort"), possibly corresponding to the modern Via Thaon de Revel. The Stabilimeno Adriatico of the Mingozzi family, the historical reort in Porto Corsini, was destroyed during the war in 1944.
CONNECTIONS WITH THE RESORT
A boat leaves passengers in Porto Corsini (photo from Fondo Mazzotti postcards)
In Summer it was possible to reach the sea thanks by using boats (batane), such as the Catalana, the Anita Garibaldi and the Crimea. The boats were initially pulled by horses lead by a conductor, later replaced with a steam engine. They departed from the Darsena and docked after roughly two hours at a little pier before the Case Lunghe. The edges of the boat were connected by a narrow board, and a second board divided the boat in half, thus allowing two rows of passengers to stay back to back. A table covered with a canvas was set up in order to protect the passengers from the sun. Once arrived in Porto Corsini, the passengers disembarked, while dropping six coins for the round trip ticket in the hat of the leader of the horses, befor proceeding on foot towards the beach. By sunset, the sound of a trumpet called back the bathers to te return to Ravenna.
10 AUGUST: THE FEAST OF SAINT LAWRENCE
Two women beside their carriage, from a late XIXth century (photo (by Pericle Stoppa, Porto Corsini Marina di Ravenna, Una Storia. Edizioni CAPIT Ravenna)
The bathing season begun on July 10th, with the feast of St. Lawrence, which soon became the day when the inhabitants went to the sea. The tradition was strongly felt in Romagna, and on that day the whole population headed towards the seaside by every available transportation. The families of farmers prepared for the journey; those who had not a little carriage (birroccino), made the journey on old coaches crowded with people and baggages. These improvised bathers left before dawn, and once arrived at the sea they camped around their carriages on empty spaces of the beach. The rite consisted in having seven baths in order to be protected from any disease for the rest of the year. Oxen and horses too were immersed in the sea water for the St. Lawrence bath.
SWIMWEAR IN PORTO CORSINI
In the period when the resort was inaugurated the conception of the body, especially the female one, was very different. Chastity and modesty were considered as virtues to preserve. For this reason, the body couldn't be exposed, and prying eyes were to be avoided. Naturally this concerned especially the middle class and the aristocracy. Journals dedicated to body care and socially accettable dressing were thus fairly common.
The body was almost sacralized, and pale skin was a sign of a high social and moral status. The seaside was not considered a place of leisure, but for body care. A tan would have been considered regrettable, as it was associated to lower classes, used to hard work and a sunburned skin.
Swimwears in the late XIXth century usually covered entirely a female body: poofy trousers long up to the calves, knee-length dresses tight at the waist, dark and covering tights, and cuffs to cover the head. The outfit was made in flannel, and embellished with ribbons and nautical decorations.
Female dressing became lighter only during the first decades of the XXth century, when the outfits became slightly shorter, tights became facultative, and the neckline became broader. The colours worn on the seaside were lighter, and the first swimsuits made their appearance.
Tans were considered acceptable only by 1920, when short taffeta skirts with a belt arount the waist and athletic swimsuits in wool jersey fabric made their appearance. The swimsuits are slim fit and tught, slightly low cut on the back, sleeveless, with mid-thigh trunks or short coulottes.
By the twenties and the thirties many fashion rules were loosened. Shorter swimsuits are meaningful of a newfound female freedom.
(photo by Pericle Stoppa, Cara Marina...: storia per immagini della vecchia Marina, sin da quando si chiamava Porto Corsini. Edizioni CAPIT Ravenna)
