Following the Music: Cattolica, Italy

Though I like to consider myself adventurous, my travels in Europe have generally been limited to the Rick Steves-approved tourist spots, the ones teeming with other American sightseers. Michelangelo's cupola, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City But last summer while I was teaching a study abroad course in Rome, I let myself be lured off the beaten track, to an Italian seaside town called Cattolica. Just south of Rimini on the Adriatic sea, Cattolica has beach resorts, charming pedestrian walkways, and restaurants like this one : What it doesn't have a lot of is English speaking visitors. At the hotel where I stayed, my warm and welcoming hosts were thrilled to be able to practice their English on me. Claudia and Massimo at the Hotel Jupiter To be honest, I'd never even heard of Cattolica before last summer. I travelled there only because I wanted to see a concert by MIKA, a multi lingual British pop star with a five-oc tave rang e and a