In Riccione, history is theirs: since the last century the Tomassini family has been at the helm of Hotel Marilena
Mirco and Daniele always on the front line thanks to the teachings of their family
The Tomassini family
They made the history of hospitality in Riccione; the Tomassini family has always managed the Hotel Marilena, a true emblem of Romagna hospitality. For generations this tradition has been passed down with an eye toward innovation. Today, Mirco and Daniele run the hotel with their children, but the story of Hotel Marilena dates back to the early 1900s, when their great-grandfather, a sailor with five children, owned a house rented to tourists from Bologna. “My godfather,” Mirco recalls, “spent his holidays here every year with his family. My parents prepared beach cabins for them and cooked freshly caught fish. Even Mussolini’s guards stayed here, given the proximity to his summer residence.”
FROM THE ORIGINS TO A TURNING POINT
The turning point came in the 1950s, when the building was demolished and, using the same bricks, the Tomassini family built their first guesthouse, ‘Marilena,’ run by the grandparents. Here, Grandpa Augusto, also a sailor, could satisfy the guests’ culinary needs with the fresh catch of the day, while the rest of the family took care of everything else. Their father Gino, with his trabaccolo, also carried out transport—especially in winter—but in summer he preferred the “summer service”: Grandpa Augusto with a small boat and Gino with the cutter, a fast and elegant sailing boat, took tourists out for sea trips. “We are deeply tied to tradition,” Mirco explains. “Even today we take our guests out to sea on Sundays with a cutter. We must thank our loved ones for what they handed down to us; for us, it is the culture of the sea.”
THE TRAGEDY OF THE SHIPWRECK OF THE “BRUNA”
But “you must always treat the sea with respect,” Grandfather Augusto used to say. He was the protagonist of the tragic shipwreck of the “Bruna,” the family’s flagship. It was January 17, 1929, the year of the great snowfall, when the Tomassini boat was sailing “in pair” with the “Nuovo Pietro” of the Arduini family from Cattolica. Suddenly, due to bad weather, it sank. Among the fishermen who lost their lives were Secondo, Augusto’s older brother, and Giulio Gennari, whose son Merico, during World War II, saved the life of Gino, Augusto’s son, when he was imprisoned in a labor camp in Prussia.
THE KEY TO HOSPITALITY
Everything is based on human relationships, Mirco says: “We make use of everything we were taught. I am a hotelier, but when I travel, I am a tourist—and everything that makes me feel good, I adopt. Guests need services, human connection, cleanliness, good food and good sleep. We have maintained relationships with our customers for years, and if you feel genuine joy in working and making them happy, the job becomes almost fun. The key to our success lies in the quality of the teachings handed down to us. We observed what our ancestors did. My father, for example, looked after the boats of various ‘important gentlemen’ who stayed in Riccione, such as Enrico Mattei, and he would say: ‘If I asked him for 100 lire, he would give me 300—give me what I have earned.’ Money did not hold the same value for him as human relationships.”
WHERE DOES THE NAME HOTEL MARILENA COME FROM?
Marilena was the eldest of the three siblings, and the hotel was named after her. A woman of great work ethic and true human values toward clients and relatives, she was, together with her mother Albina, a key figure in managing the hotel kitchen until the end of her life. She then passed the heavy responsibility to her daughter Clea, who carries on a cuisine that blends history and modernity, thanks to the knowledge she inherited.
In short, a story of values: family, hospitality, care and dedication to one’s work. Qualities that, despite everything, still remain strong in some realities and are worth telling.
Maria Assunta (Mary) Cianciaruso (Altarimini)