Prato della Rosa and via Madonna della Neve - The first human settlement from which Cervia originated was Ficocle, which was to be located at the level of Prato della Rosa, inside the salt pan.
The settlement probably dates back to the Roman period, as evidenced by the many finds found, although further studies would like to prove its existence from the Etruscan period.

Of particular interest is the completely accidental discovery, in May 1989, of the remains of a religious building of the sixth century, called “S. Martino Prope Litus Maris ".
Equally interesting is the discovery of the so-called "Roman Ship", found in 1956 in a quarry of the Bassona farm near the Adriatic road, partly coinciding with the coastline of the Roman Imperial and Byzantine period. In 709 Ficocles was completely destroyed by the exarch Theodore, outraged against the city that had joined the archbishop of Ravenna in the fight against Constantinople. It seems that the inhabitants found refuge near the old port of Ficocle, which was called Cervia. The first document in which the name Cervia appears dates back to 997. From this moment on, the history of Cervia has as its guiding thread the production of salt, first in Cervia Vecchia and then, from the end of 1600, in Cervia Nuova.
The city was divided into 3 bands: the first one close to the coastal strip covered by the pine forest; an upstream strip with marshy land that included the salt marshes area; an internal belt with agricultural land, coinciding with the easternmost part of the original Roman centuriation of Cesena.
The city was surrounded by walls, with public and religious buildings. With the seventeenth century begins the decline of the city, a prerequisite for the construction of Cervia Nuova.

The façade of the church of the Madonna della Neve also remains in old Cervia, and today it is a private home.