Hotels in Cervia, Italy. Hotel booking in Cervia from ahotelinitaly.com

A delightful mix of seaside and unspoiled nature reserve, Cervia is in the Ravenna province of Emilia-Romagna region. A town of some 27,000 souls on Italy's Adriatic coast, it's midway between Ravenna to the north and Rimini to the south. The town was built on salt (almost literally) with the economy being founded on the valuable mineral panned from the salt marshes on this stretch of coast. Certainly a Greek town (and possibly older) it was rebuilt successively by Frederick Barbarossa and then, in 1697, by Pope Innocent XII, who moved the town centre from the encroaching salt marshes. There are still 827 hectares of productive saltpans - it's still big business - and these are a habitat for avocets, blackwinged stilts, seagulls, mallards and many other species.

And the city is home to the Museum of Salt - possibly not unique in the world, but we're willing to bet it's a first for most visitors! Other sights in the town include the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (1699-1702), the Palazzo Comunale and the Torre San Michele. Cervia is also a great base for exploring the beaches of this gorgeous stretch of Adriatic coast. Emilia-Romagna has beautiful countryside inland with centuries old pinewoods surrounding the town, and a national park established in 1963 (plus it's not far from here to the Appenine mountains of the centre) and famously good cuisine. Cervia, with its salty waters, is also home to a state of the art thermal spa.

To the left you'll find a selection of Cervia hotels, just to whet your appetite. See also Cervia hotels (full listings) and our Cervia hotel map.