Our Story

1959

BAGNO FANTINI IS BORN

That year, Claudio Fantini's parents - Antonio and Fiorina - bought a bathing establishment on the beach in Cervia, providing beach umbrellas and deck chairs for customers. Guests included singer and showgirl Carmen Villani. In the 1960s, people went to the beach to laze in the sun and enjoy the sea, time passed by slowly and in the evening, you took a little walk...ice cream was still a luxury. Or you would sit in front of a bonfire on the beach and sing, making 'rustide' (Romagna-style grilled fish) with the fish you caught.

1970

THE BIRTH OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL AT BAGNO FANTINI

In the 1970s, beach life became busier, habits changed, and young people were more active, more dynamic, despite the turbulent years of political clashes. The intuition of mamma Fiorina was to set up a fishing net where guests and her son Claudio begin to play volleyball: this is the origin of beach games at Fantini.

1984

FIRST BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT IN EUROPE AT BAGNO FANTINI

In the early 1980s, Claudio Fantini brought to Europe for the first time a beach sport that, until then, was known in the United States and South America as beach volleyball, and later called Beach Volley. In 1984, the very first national beach volleyball tournament was held at Bagno Fantini, sponsored by Campogalliano Market, owned by Tiziana Panini (daughter of the founder of Panini). The event was a huge success. The two-hour long final, played in front of two thousand people, was won by Angelo Squeo, now Director of the Beach Volleyball department of the FIVB, and Massimo Penteriani. They defeated the duo of Gobbi and Cappio after a hard-fought match that ended 3-0. Ghiurghi-Bartiani came in third and Molducci-Berti came in fourth. Other well-known players were Ghiretti, Ferrari and Pascucci. The following year, the first Italian championship was organized, with stages throughout Italy.
Later, all the other beach sports began to become popular: beach soccer, beach tennis, beach handball, beach rugby, badminton, footvolley and beach basketball, which, over the years, have made the Fantini Club famous as the most sports-oriented bathing establishment in Italy.

1996

SPORTUR IS BORN

Claudio Fantini also had the idea for a change in the world of tourism, not only on the Riviera: the Sportur project was created from a brilliant intuition of his in 1996, with the intention of combining two worlds: the world of sports, meant as a challenge with yourself and with others, and the world of tourism, as a culture of hospitality.

1997

FIRST EDITION OF THE GRANFONDO VIA DEL SALE

From the idea of creating a new sporting event to bring people together and give them the opportunity to share an incredible experience, the "Antica via del Sale" bicycle race - which later became the "Via del Sale" - was born. It was named after the route that salt workers once took, leaving from the salt pans to go and deliver salt to the villages of the Tosco-Romagnolo Apennines.
It was April 6, 1997, 15 minutes before the start of the first edition of the race, which had 750 registered participants. At that moment, a group of cyclists headed toward the group that was waiting for the start. One of them said, "They told me there is a race, I came with a group of friends. Can we join in too?" It was the legend, Marco Pantani.

2005

MARADONA AT THE FANTINI CLUB

That summer, Diego Armando Maradona participated in a charity Beach Soccer tournament organized at the Fantini Club, with the help of his friend Salvatore Bagni. The "Pibe de Oro" showed he had great charisma on the sand as well, launching himself into sliding tackles, amid the enthusiasm of the public that came to see the great champion.

2011

SPORTUR CLUB HOTEL IS BORN

With the intent of offering guests spaces and services inspired by the principles of sport, that year saw the birth of Sportur Club Hotel: an innovative concept hotel located directly on the sea in Cervia, right in front of the beach of Fantini Club. Sportur Club Hotel offers endless vacation options designed specifically for sportspeople: cyclists, golfers, runners, triathletes and lovers of beach sports can enjoy their favorite activities here. From March to October, they can train and stay in a facility equipped with all the comforts suitable for dynamic tourists who love sports.

2017

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITALY, THE IRONMAN RACE COMES TO CERVIA

Thanks to the farsightedness of Claudio Fantini, who strongly believed in this project, in 2017 Cervia and Fantini Club hosted the first IRONMAN® Italy Emilia-Romagna, the first Italian stage of the spectacular "long distance" Triathlon race, which features the combination of the three disciplines, swimming (3.8 km), cycling (180 km) and running (42.195 km). An extraordinary event that has quickly become the IRONMAN® event with the highest attendance in Italy, with the participation of 8,000 triathletes coming from more than 70 countries around the world.