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The church arose where in 1324 an oratory had been built which was dedicated to Saint James the Apostle and Christophe Martyr.

From a document comes out that in 1736 the ruined building by that time had been under restoration and was reconstructed.

The building with just the nave was consecrated on 16th May 1765. Until today no important changes in the architecture have taken place since the age of its reconstruction.

Inside the church there is a picture, representing Saint Joseph, attributed not unanimously to the painter Guido Cagnacci. There are also fine decorative works attributed to Giuseppe Milani.

The floor in terracotta tiles in the niche, where the Baptistery is situated, on which the date of 1765 is imprinted, and the font made of marble are original too.

The first record testifying the use of the “conserves” is a Venetian plan from 1643, they were useful to keep fish put between layers of pressed ice and snow inside masonry cylindrical truncated conical buildings with basements.

These constructions were surmounted by a square masonry space without windows, which isolated from the external environment.

On one of the sides a room, also square, was situated with a double door on the external side and a single one on the side of the funnel. The buildings, in order to be better isolated, were covered also on the roof with heaps of sand held by means of clods. The temperature inside the “conserves” was -5, -10 even in the summertime.

In the middle of the square Giuseppe Garibaldi’s statue stands, in memory of his passage through Cesenatico which occurred on 2nd August 1849. In 1580 on the right hand side of the square the clock-tower had been built under which through an arch wayfarers came from Cesena.

The tower collapsed in the earthquake of 1875, but the statue of the Virgin situated in a niche under the clock of the tower remained intact.

The statue of terracotta and plaster was set on the façade of Saint James church in the beginning of the 20st century.

After the earthquake the palace still framing the square was built, where at that time as today the post-office, a bar and other premises are located.

Opposite the square, on both sides of the bridge there are the Venetian columns, evidence of the short period (1503- 1505) when Cesenatico was ruled by Venice.

The two columns are made of pink granite and probably bore on their capitals: one the lion of Saint Mark, the other the statue of the local patron saint.

The foundation of Port Cesenatico was achieved by Cesena, a town which does not lie on the coast and for this reason longed a port.

Cesenatico according to the Annales Caesenates was founded in 1302. But the origins of the spot are more ancient, as they date back to the Roman republican and imperial age, as testified by the numerous archaeological finds, brick-kilns and settlements, situated in the immediate inland of the town.

The name of the site must have been Ad Novas, placename found in a document from the 12th century however a copy of an original one from the 3rd-4th century, the Tabula Peutingeriana.

During the middle ages because of the lack of important streams, to set up the port a “vein” was excavated and a fortified installation was built. Cesenatico, in order to avoid the silting up of its port, was equipped with a system of canals and “veins” partly still existing.

The neighbouring towns of Cervia, Ravenna and Rimini did not appreciate the construction of Port Cesenatico by Cesena and in 1320 after lots of attacks suffered, Pope John XXII in a bull justified and legalized the construction of the spot.

Since 1379 Port Cesenatico, before controlled by the Church’s State, was ruled by the Malatesta family. From 1429 to 1435 Malatesta Novello made important improvements to the structure of the harbour, such as the addition of two moles guardians that extended in the sea would have ensured that water was deep enough for mooring of ships, and a system of veins and basins in order to absorb water during the tide. Since 1452 have been attested masonry banks.

The salt, coming from the ancient salt pans of Cervia, and sulphur, which was carried from the mines in the inland, trade, the latter bought above all by Dutch merchants, made Porto Cesenatico more important.

Cesare Borgia son of Pope Alexander VI, ruled the spot from 1499 to 1503. During this period he called Leonardo da Vinci, to plan again all the fortresses and ports after the discovery of fire-weapons. Of Leonardo da Vinci’s visit to Porto Cesenatico two draws of code L remain, in which the harbour and the built-up area are shown.

On 21st December 1827 with a motu proprio by Leon XII Cesenatico got a complete autonomy, so completing the route which began in the 17th century for the independence from Cesena.
The touristic inclination of Cesenatico began in 1865 with the construction of the first bathing-huts built on the beach and in 1878 when the first bathing establishment was opened.

Marino Moretti was born in Cesenatico in 1885. About his town he wrote <>, The happy time.

Marino Moretti left his books and autographical papers to the local town library. In 1980 his sister Ines donated the house on the canal to the municipality of Cesenatico, in order to keep the writer’s library and archives in their original place and to grant their availability.