A walk in Milano Marittima - a journey within ourselves

There is a place, unique in the world, where we know we could spend the rest of our lives...feeling at home.
M I L A N O M A R I T T I M A <3

INTRO

There is a place, unique in the world that we call #home, as soon as we set foot on this land we finally feel inside our own world, surrounded by all the things we love, the memories.... everything that speaks of us.

Today my dear travelers I want to tell you about the city in which I lived half of my life.... Yes, half... because here I have been able to spend so many summers since I was born, it's Milano Marittima.

This city is very famous for the nightlife in the summer, in fact there are many places where you can drink and dance (when there was no Covid). It is a very popular and quite expensive resort, where people come from all over the world, enjoy the beach during the day and in the evening, dressed in all points go to dinner and dancing. But what I want to tell you about is another aspect of the city, characteristics that only those who have lived there for a while can understand. I'm also going to tell you about why I think this is my go-to place, because I'm so attached to it and I try to go there whenever I can.

WELCOME IN MY CITY

I can say that I was born in this city.

When I came into the world the first light I saw was that of the sun warming the sand on the beach, the first sound I heard was that of the #waves and the first smell I smelled was the one of the sea.

Today there is nothing that makes me feel more at home, in any condition and at any time of the year.

This city is complete: it gives you a way to relax on the beach umbrellas and sunbeds of the baths, to be treated like a king, to eat good food, delicious fish and to see many beautiful people, well dressed and in good spirits (at least apparently).

What you don't know is that this city as well as miles of beautiful beaches also has a beautiful **pine forest** with many paths, in which you can run, ride a bike or just walk breathing the smell of pine trees and the fragrance of resin that spreads in the shade of the paths.

Here is a photo of the sun's rays penetrating the thick pine forest vegetation.

Unfortunately the pine forest is not so beautiful anymore, in fact a very powerful storm devastated it a couple of years ago, all the old pine trees were destroyed, now they have been replanted, but it will take years for the pine forest to regenerate completely. This picture I took a few years ago, when the pine forest was still beautiful and lush, I hope very much that it will soon return to what it once was.

Every now and then in the summer I like to go for a run, and when I do I love to see the city in its entirety, through the pine forest until I get to the beach, here I usually arrive in the late evening, around sunset when the lights become dimmer, the most beautiful time of day.

Here we see a building in decay, it is an old fascist colony, the coast of Emilia-Romagna has many; this one in particular is called Colonia Varese and is a unique building of its kind: a fantastic architecture, which unfortunately is now in ruins.

There are redevelopment projects for these buildings, I participated in one of them, just for the Varese colony, but unfortunately the public administrations have no interest in preserving these places or redeveloping them, perhaps because of what they represent: a difficult Italian historical period.

There is a particular time of the day in a precise moment of the year where the atmosphere becomes fabulous, it is September, at sunset (around 19:00 - 19:30) when the lights on the sea become a gray-violet color and then change into orange and finally into red.

I love being on the beach at these times, even alone, to admire the manifestation of nature through incredible colors.

There are places that inexplicably capture our soul, places where we feel complete and don't need anything.

In this time it is increasingly difficult to find moments for oneself, and to justify needing a few moments to look inward... the hectic pace of our lives doesn't give us a chance to sit down and simply "exist," existing means being aware of what you are doing, the things you are looking at, and the thoughts that flow through your mind.

To exist means to stop and feel the freshness of the air that flows through our body and nourishes our tissues, the flow of the wind on our skin and the sound of the waves breaking on the shore... one after the other.

I could stay here a century, without ever getting tired, because this is where I can get in deep contact with myself and stop everything else.

And this is the place where I find my traces, my first memories, here I go back in my mind, to the magnificent sensations that I can still feel, from the discovery of nature, to the freedom of summer vacations after long months of school ... from the first outings with friends, to the summer love stories that I carried in my heart throughout the cold season... The warmth and sunshine that brings carefreeness, immersed in an atmosphere full of joy and peace.

Here you breathe freedom, a freedom you dream of all your life, the freedom to be who you want. There is no truth that lives up to our dreams, there is no such thing as something more beautiful than what remains impressed in our memories.

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CONCLUSION

Very often we find ourselves thinking about all the places we'd like to visit, the things we'd like to discover, and the cultures we'd like to encounter, and we find ourselves traveling with our bodies and minds...

We could also travel all our lives and see amazing things every day, but the farther we go the more we realize that the most incredible journey of our lives is the one we can take in every moment within ourselves.
...Outside is the world, inside is the Universe...

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