 Introduction
Coast navigation and fishing are traditional industries and, together with Riccione, it is probably the most famous seaside resort on the Adriatic Riviera, among Italians.
Arrival By Plane
Rimini is served by the Federico Fellini International Airport, airport of Rimini and
San Marino.
It connects Rimini with European capitals and the major Italian cities.
By Train
Rimini is provided with six railway stations (Rimini, Rimini Fiera, Rimini Miramare, Rimini Rivazzurra, Rimini Viserba and Rimini Torre Pedrera).
By Car
If you want to reach Rimini by car from the North of Italy, you have to take the motorway A14, the “Sea motorway” (autostrada del mare), and follow the exit sign Rimini Nord, or you can also take the main road 9, Emilia.
If you are coming from the North-East, you can drive along the main road 309 Romea, coming from Venice.
Finally, if you are coming from the South of Italy, you can take the main road 16 Adriatica while, from the centre, you have to take the clearway Orte-Cesena.
By Bus
Shuttle bus services are available from the airport and train station.
History and Culture
Up to 800,000 years ago, primitive man lived in the coastal area as far back as the hillside of Covignano.
In 268 BC at the mouth of the Ariminus river, in an area that had previously been inhabited by the Etruscans, the Umbrians, the Greeks and the Gauls, the Romans founded the colony of Ariminum (another version:Arminium), probably from the name of a nearby river, Ariminus (today, Marecchia). It was seen as a bastion against invading Gaul and also as a springboard for conquering the Padana plain. Rimini was a road junction connecting central Italy (Via Flaminia) and northern Italy (Via Aemilia that led to Piacenza and Via Popilia) and it also opened up trade by sea and river.
In the sixth century BC, it was taken by the Gauls; after their last defeat (283 BC), it returned to the Umbri and became in 263 BC a Latin colony, very helpful to the Romans during the late Gallic wars.
The city was involved in the civil wars but remained faithful to the popular party and to its leaders, firstly Marius and then Caesar. After crossing the Rubicon, the latter made his legendary appeal to the legions in the Forum of Rimini.
Middle Ages:
In the thirteenth century it suffered from the discords of the Gambacari and Ansidei families. The city became a municipality in the fourteenth century and with the arrival of the religious orders, numerous convents and churches were built, providing work for many illustrious artists.
The Malatesta family emerged from the struggles between municipal factions with Malatesta da Verucchio, who in 1239 was named podesta (feudal lord) of the city. Despite interruptions, his family held authority until 1528.
Carlo was one of the most respected condottieri of the time, enlarged the Riminese possessions to Lombardy and restored the port. Carlo died childless in 1429, and the lordship was divided into three parts, Rimini going to Galeotto Roberto, a Catholic zelot who turned totally unable to the role.
Sigismondo Pandolfo was the most famous lord of Rimini. In 1433 Emperor Sigismund soujourned in the city and for a while he was the commander-in-chief of the Papal armies. A skilled general, he often acted as condottiero for other states to gain money to embellish it (he was also a dilectant poet). He had the famous Tempio Malatestiano rebuilt by Leon Battista Alberti. However, after the rise of Pope Pius II he had to fight constantly for the independence of the city. In 1463 he was forced to submit to Pius II, who left him only Rimini and little more.
Modern History:
At the beginning of the 16th century, Rimini, now a secondary town of the Papal States, had a local government under an Apostolic Legate (temporal governor in a province of the Papal States). Towards the end of the 16th century, the municipal square (Piazza Cavour), which had been closed off on a site where the Poletti Theatre was subsequently built, was redesigned. The statue of Pope Paul V has stood in the centre of the square next to the fountain since 1614.
In the 16th century, the “grand square” (now the Piazza Tre Martiri in honor of three civilians hanged by the retreating Nazis at the end of World War II), which was where markets and tournaments were held, underwent various changes.
Until the 18th century, raiding armies, earthquakes, famines, floods and pirate attacks ravaged the city. In this gloomy situation and due to a weakened local economy, fishing took on great importance, a fact testified by the construction of functional structures such as the fish market and the lighthouse.
In 1797, Rimini, along with the rest of Romagna, was influenced by the passage of the French troops and became part of the Cisalpine Republic. In 1845 a band of adventurers commanded by Ribbotti entered the city and proclaimed a constitution which was soon abolished. In 1860 Rimini and the Romagna were incorporated with the Kingdom of Italy.
During World War II, the city was torn apart by heavy bombardments and by the passage of the front along the Gothic Line but after liberation on September 21, 1944, impressive reconstruction work began, culminating in the explosive development of the tourist economy that created a new urban reality.
Churches and Museums
The Cathedral of Santa Colomba (St. Columban) was built over a temple dedicated to Hercules. The cathedral was consecrated in 1154 and dedicated to the French martyr, worshipped in the area.
After a number of restoration works during the Middle Ages, the building became the centre around which daily life revolved and its architecture made it the most prestigious building in the district.
The earthquake of 1672 brought the old building down and what is seen today are the remains, which include the 12th c. bell tower built to house the sacristy.
The form and style were Romanesque: the superb base of the red brick bell tower with pointed windows and the terracotta coping with intertwining arches are indications of the construction's beauty and majesty.
Of the cathedral today there is only the bell tower around which a building has been constructed that houses “La Colomba” restaurant.
Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie
Its origins are surrounded by myths and legends: in 1286, to while away the time, a shepherd sculpted a Madonna in the trunk of a tree but without managing to complete the face; this, instead, was terminated by angels. The miraculously finished statue somehow found its way to the sea and was taken to Venice where it is now worshipped in the church of San Marziale.
A chapel was built where the miracle took place on Covignano hill which was later expanded to become a church in the 16th c.
Chiesa di S.Agostino e S.Giovanni Evangelista
This is one of Rimini's oldest churches, built around 1200 in Romanesque-Gothic style. Today only the bell tower, the tallest in the city and the apse can be seen as the rest of the building is a reconstruction.
It was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist but, having been built by Augustinian hermits; it was always known locally as the church of St. Augustine and is still known by that name.
Chiesa di San Fortunato
The church dates back to 1418 and was originally known as Santa Maria in Scolca and it was a rich abbey of the Benedictine Olivetani, built on the ruins of a castle given to the hermit monks of Saint Paul's by Carlo Malatesta.
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
This church is one of the oldest in Rimini. It was built in the 1300s and was the home of the Carmelites until 1797 when their order was supressed. From 1767 to 1772 the church was rebuilt and restored following a design of Gaetano Cupioli.
Pieve di San Salvatore
This is a parish church which probably dates back to the twelfth century. It was perhaps built upon the ruins of a pagan temple dedicated to Venus.
Museo del Territorio
The most significant evidence of Riccione and its territory from the Prehistory to the Roman Age are preserved in this Museum. The exhibition is suitable for educational purposes and excellently arranged.
Museo della Civilta Contadina
This unique museum represents the rural civilization of the land close to Rimini. Located close to the town junior high school, the Museum exhibits a significant collection of utensils and equipment used in agricultural work in the past and recent years, when crop cultivation was the only activity for the people of Romagna and rural traditions were their very soul.
Museo Civico Archeologico Villanoviano
The museum is housed in the old 13th century Augustinian monastery. It displays some really unique findings from the Villanovian-Etruscan era, which is commonly dated between the 9th and 4th century BC.
Museo della Citta
Located beside the Piazza Ferrari, the City Museum displays more than 700 works of Rimini's 2000 years of history in 40 different galleries. The exhibition building has ancient origins itself: having been built in the 18th century as Jesuit monastery, it was used as a hospital, first military and then civilian.
Museo delle Grazie
Covignano hill, one of the most breath taking places over the town of Rimini, hosts one of the most singular Museums that puts together rare artifacts from different parts of the world, such as China and New Guinea. That's an extremely important testimony of Franciscan monks' presence around the world. Most of the sculptures and findings were collected over the past fifty years.
Historical buildings and monuments
Little remains of the castle built by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in 1437; today's visitor will see only a small part of the great fortification on the Piazza Malatesta, but the construction still has its large square towers and solid walls. The original plans were that the castle should look like a fort dominated by a large keep and surrounded by a deep dyke with drawbridges. It served as a prison under the rule of the papacy, then again during the bombardments of the last war.
Palazzo del Podesta
The Palazzetto del Podesta was built in 1334. It has undergone numerous transformations over the course of the centuries.
It was barbarously changed, along with the Palazzo dell'Arengo, and partly demolished when it was included into a seventeenth century building. The older building gothic shape was largely hidden by the newer Lombard lines.
Palazzo dell'Arengo
The Palazzo del Arengo forms part of the town council buildings together with the Palazzo del Podesta (to its left) and Palazzo Garampi (to its right). The building was constructed in 1204 under the instructions of Madio Carbonesi in Bologna. This became the Rimini's city council building in the late medieval period.
It is an impressive Romanesque-gothic style building, topped with battlements. The front has large windows and large early gothic arches.
Tempio Malatestiano
This is considered one of the most honorable most works of the Renaissance. In reality the works for the construction of this amazing monument were based on the preceding structure of the 14th century Romanesque-Gothic church of San Francesco.
Places of Interests
The uprooting of a tree led to the discovery of the remains of a Roman house probably from the 2nd c. AD which was burned down at the end of the 3rd c.
The house was hidden below Piazza Ferrari and is now on show during the summer months next to the gardens where children play on the swings. Excavation has unearthed decorated plaster, vases, oil lamps, decorative statuettes, bronze decorations and a treasure of about 90 coins. A room with a polychrome mosaic showing Orpheus in the centre can be seen.
The house has also revealed the largest collection of medical instruments from the Roman world plus mortars, scales, measures and vases for the preparation and conservation of medicines. The building takes its name from these findings.
Palazzo Gambalunga
Today Palazzo Gambalunga houses the rather overcrowded town library. Inside there are some 1350 manuscripts, including some very old and precious items: two signatures by the humanist Basino da Parma and De Civitate Dei which was written for Pandolfo Malatesta (the so-called “gradenighiano” from Dante's Divine Comedy).
Tempietto di Sant'Antonio
The tempietto di Sant'Antonio, dated between 1575 and 1578, has a unmistakable octagonal form, and was erected in honor of the Saint who came here to evangelize the citizens, who did not want to listen and made fun of him.
Events
A festival dedicated to all the products provided by the breeding of pigs - especially the dish “porchetta” (roast sucking pig) - is held in the medieval suburb of Saludecio.
Sagra della Patata - First Sunday of August
Homage to the humble potato is paid at Montescudo about 15km inland from Rimini. In addition to the traditional food stands in the square of Montescudo, there are also stands offering a starter, first course, second course, vegetable and dessert all based on the potato.
Sagra della Noce - The first Sunday in October
The unusual Walnut festival in the ancient suburb of Saludecio is a sort of welcome to the colors and fruits of autumn but it has significance as it is related to the religious figure of Christ.
Sagra della Ciliegia - End of June and start of July
This unusual festival is dedicated to cherries at Villaggio Argentina about 5km from Riccione. The event is very local and based on local traditions. Besides the stands that offer quantities of cherries and other summer Romagnolo products, music and other sorts of entertainment are provided for the visitors.
Sagra della Castagna - Every Sunday in October
The Chestnut Festival is held each year in the pretty little medieval hamlet of Monte Fiore Conca, less than 20 kilometers from Rimini. It is a well-known festival for all, locals and those who come in from further field.
The festival is visited by thousands of people interested in trying the latest accompaniments and recipes of this nut or in seeing its latest uses.
Meeting per l'Amicizia fra i Popoli - End of August
Since 1980, the “Meeting of Rimini”, has been an important occasion for meetings and cultural provocations. In a few years it has become the most attended event of the Riviera, counting over five hundred thousand people in the latest editions.
The themes debated during these twenty years have been: work, justice, education, school, ecumenism, immigration, National debt of poor Countries, health, information and communication.
I venerdi del centro - Every Friday from June to September
The traditional antiques and bric-a-brac market is held in Piazza Cavour. There are items of furniture and all kinds of relics, both old and new, through which you can browse, and you are sure of discovering several unbelievable, unimaginable items, or which hold vestiges of the past for you.
Gradisca - The last weekend in June
Founded in 1993 as a unique occasion to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first bathing resort in Rimini, “Gradisca” is an event not to be missed, for tourists and locals alike. It is seen as the official welcome to summer, the beginning of the bathing season.
The party begins at the setting of the sun. Every beach spot, from Viserba to Miramare, adds to the immense table, almost 15km long, known as “La Rustida”. On it are served typical Romagna dishes from grilled piadina with saraghina or sliced ham, to doughnuts, all washed down with abundant Sangiovese wine.
Giornate Internazionali di Studio Pio Manzu - End of October
This is without doubt the most important cultural event in Rimini's calendar, which takes place every year at the Novelli theatre. The indisputable value of the event stems from the importance of the themes tackled during the four days of workshops and meetings, and from the profile of the international actors called on to participate.
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