The Porto Canale, the small canal harbour just south of the centre, is what Cattolica looked like before it was a beach resort: a working fishing port with brightly painted wooden trawlers tied up along the quays, nets drying on the cobbles, and a couple of cafés where the fishermen drink between trips.
The Cattolica fleet is small (a few dozen vessels) but still puts to sea most nights of the year, returning at dawn with sole, sardines, anchovies and squid. The fish market on the quay opens at around 4 a.m. and is mostly trade-only, but visitors can stand quietly at the edge and watch the auction.