First stop Staccoli, family pastry shop (1952)

In the heart of the old town, on Via XX Settembre, the Antica Pasticceria Staccoli is an uninterrupted line of talent that starts from the family 'workshop' and arrives at today's creations. Renovated rooms, untouched soul: tradition can be felt at the counter and in the workshops.

In 2023 Paolo Staccoli was honoured by Iginio Massari as one of the 'Best Pastry Chefs in the World' with Rivierotto: bean to bar Ecuador chocolate loaf, 58% Piedmont Hazelnut spread, Cervia salt and Piedmont Hazelnut praline square, toasted almonds and 70% Ecuador fondant casting.

One bite and you understand why dessert is a city heritage here.

Second stop Bottega Maffi, textiles and linen (since 1935)

In Via Cattaneo, on the ancient Via Flaminia, Maffi is a textile house spanning three generations. Inside you will find period furniture and flooring, and even the fireplace from Mr Luigi Maffi's home-workshop: here people once lived in the kitchen and sold in the next room. Today as then, the Bottega offers quality for the home and made-to-measure advice.

Time has not stood still, it has only learned to choose well.

Third stop Canasta confectionery, the oldest (1948)

In Via Risorgimento, the scent of butter and vanilla greets you before you even enter the door. Canasta is a journey back to the 1950s: post-war marble flooring, glass decorations, photos and plaques telling the story of Marco Ercoles.

You sit, you order, you look at the walls: every detail is a page from the gluttonous Cattolica.

Fourth stop Oivos Enoteca, glasses of territory

A wine list designed to enhance local identity, with selections that speak of hills, sea and country wisdom.

In 2016 Oivos was recognised as 'Ambassador of Emilia-Romagna wines in the world': glasses and products that tell the story of an entire region, one at a time.

Fifth stop Ferretti Boutique, showcase elegance (since 1949)

On Viale Bovio, Giuseppina Prioli and Lucio Ferretti opened the 'Magasin Ferretti': seasonal, immediately iconic.

In 1967, the shop windows became the ones you still recognise today, and in 1975 the boutique became two-storey without losing its imprint.

Italian and international brands (with a weakness for France and the UK) designed a style that even ended up in the cinema: scenes from the film "I Pavoni" (1994) were filmed here and the boutique was mentioned in the volume "90 years in Cattolica". A showcase that is both memory and fashion.

Tips for true professionals

• Enter slowly: let the shopkeepers tell you about the city, between a taste and a fabric sample.
• Photograph the details: period signs, counters, shop windows, hands at work. That's where identity really shows itself.
• Close "to your taste": dessert before the sea or glass at sunset? The itinerary works both ways, you just have to be curious.