It is said that in 1445 Pietro Barbo, at the time Bishop of Cervia , while sailing home from Venice found himself in the middle of a terrible storm.
By means of prayers, blessing the sea and even throwing his own ring into the waves, he eventually succeeded in calming the sea and was therefore able to survive the storm and land safely in Cervia, together with his crew. The Bishop vowed that every year, on Ascension Day, he would remember the event with a solemn ceremony designed to renew the alliance between the people living on these shores and the sea.His promise has been faithfully honoured ever since.
Nowadays, the Bishop of Cervia blesses the Adriatic Sea, the boats, the sailors and the attending people. He then throws a wedding ring into the sea while young people are waiting, ready to fish it out.
Finding the ring is a time-honoured belief that, all over the world, means good luck and prosperity.
The sea plays a double role in the ceremony as it is both the backdrop and the main character
Old tall ships with colourful sails carry civil and religious authorities out at sea and, traditionally, a prayer is said so that the sea will once more be the medium for bringing together in brotherhood all the people living by it, regardless to which Country they live in and what race they belong to.
Inevitably, a bit of attention is spared to local matters, by asking also that a plentiful season is bestowed on Cervia and its inhabitants.
The ceremony has been given ever increasing importance and significance throughout the years by common people as well as civil authorities and the Church itself.
In 1986 Pope John Paul II celebrated the event himself and was our very special guest for the occasion.
On the Vatican web site, you can still see the speech that the Pope delivered that day.
Being Cervia a very important sea side resort on the Adriatic coast in County Emilia Romagna, every year the solemn celebration is implemented by a number of other important events.
The day before the ceremony of the marriage, the Ascension Historical Regatta takes place. It is known as "Ascension Day Regatta" and it has been held here since 1871
In more recent years, we started having a Guest town with which to share the tradition and the meaning of the alliance with the sea. We always selected towns that we could relate to in tradition. history, culture. The first one was Venice with which we share centuries of common history. Venice also has its own "Marriage of the Sea" even though theirs has different origins and significance from our own. Last but not least, the Bishop whose decision was to begin the ceremony, was at the time coming home from Venice.
The following year, the Croatian town of Split was chosen not only because it is located on the opposite side of the same Adriatic Sea but also because its original town plan is very similar to Cervia's.
In 2004 it was the town of Sliema in the Isle of Malta. In 2005 it was Kalajoki, a Finnish tourist resort at 200km from the Artic Polar Circle, while the following year we picked Aubusson, a small French town well known for its tapestry. Finally, last year it was Danish North Fyn.
Since we started having a guest town, we have always made sure that during the whole week of the celebration, its culture is both represented and spread through music performance, traditional songs etc.Having a partner town has been a great addition to our celebration, we truly enjoyed getting to know better other European cultures while our own perception of being Europeans has been greatly increased by the exchanges. We trust that all our past guests feel the same.
This year's partner is Malahide that will represent Ireland in Cervia during the Marriage of the Sea. We wish to thank the town and its citizens for having agreed so readily and kindly tour proposal.
Cervia and Malahide have a lot in common, both being important tourist towns located by the sea and actively committed to environment protection, quality of life's high , services are efficient and quick, a lot of attention is given to public green, families and children's needs and safety are top priority.
Great modern sports facilities can be found in each of them.

To welcome its guests, Cervia is going to recreate a traditional Irish atmosphere through dancing and live music throughout the town. A small market, with stalls selling typical Irish products will be organized as well, along with a connoisseur's whiskey tasting of the best known brands of Irish spirits.
Moreover, in a small and characteristic central square, visitors will find an original Irish Pub in which not only beers will be served but also some gourmet dishes, a blend between Irish and local Romagna cuisine. All of this, naturally, seasoned by traditional Irish live music.
We trust that the Marriage of the Sea will be but the first step of a long lasting cooperation between our towns.
We hope that cultural and tourist exchanges will be planned and carried out, including language schools cuisine schools, hotel management, sports, gardening and environmental associations.
Our co-operation has very promisingly started already thanks to a new relationship between a Malahide Tour operator and Cervia's tourism marketing office.
The Ryanair regular service connecting Dublin to Forlì (25km from Cervia) greatly shortens the distance between our towns.
Cervia is very proud to have Malahide as partner town for 2008 Marriage of the Sea and wishes to
acknowledge the help, assistance and support received from the local Chamber of Commerce, all the members of which we'd like to thank very warmly .