Capital of the province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna.
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Population: 150,075 (2022)
Specialities: piadine, piada (bread), egg pasta, passatelli, strozzapreti (priest's stew, pasta), spit-roasted cockerel, mora romagnola (salami), ciambella (cake), piada dei morti (dried fruit brioche), fiocchetti (cheese-stuffed pasta), pagnotta (bread ball).
Personalities: Federico Fellini (film director), Marco Pantani (cyclist), Hugo Pratt (comic strip artist), Giovanni Evangelisti (athlete).
Sport: Rimini FC (football), Rimini Crabs (basketball). Competitions: European artistic gymnastics championships. Misano motorbike circuit. Italian Bike Festival.
Culture and festivals: Fellini events / Chocolate Festival (November) / Borgo Sant'Andrea and San Gaudenzo Festival (October) / Al Meni (gastronomy, June) / Sagra Musicale Malatestiana / Misano Piano Festival (October) / Flavours of France (October).
Motto: Rimini, 365 days a year
Economy: seaside tourism, congresses, cinema.
Website / FB / Twitter / Insta : www.riminiturismo.it / wwwww.visitrimini.com / www.regione.emilia-romagna.it / (4) Regione Emilia-Romagna (@RegioneER) / X (twitter.com)
RIMINI AND CYCLING
Rimini is the seaside resort where Marco Pantani (see next stage) died. The winner of the 1998 Tour de France, one of the most spectacular climbers in history, was found lifeless in a hotel room on 14 February 2004. Les Wampas, whose lead singer is a great cycling fan, named one of their songs Rimini in tribute to Pantani. The Giro has visited Rimini twelve times, most recently in 2020, when Frenchman Arnaud Démare won. Among the riders born in Rimini is Marco Magnani, who took part in the Giro and the Vuelta in the early 2000s.
SIGHTS:
- The Arch of Augustus
Built: 27 BC
Style: Roman triumphal arch.
History: although the monument now stands alone, for a very long time it served as the city's gateway and was therefore flanked by two towers, forming an integral part of the city walls. The axis led to the forum and Tiberius' bridge. The gate continued to be used after Antiquity, with a few modifications. The upper part dates back to the 10th century, when the city was under Ghibelline control. The arch remained one of the city's gates until the Fascist era, when the walls were demolished, leaving the arch isolated. Like Tiberius' bridge, it is one of Rimini's symbols, appearing on its coat of arms.
Features: the Arch of Augustus in Rimini is an Istrian stone structure 14.90-metres long, 8.84-metres deep and 17.50-metres high, built in honour of Augustus for restoring the Via Flaminia, the entrance to which it marks, and the main roads in Italy. It is the oldest preserved triumphal arch in the world.
- Tiberius Bridge
Construction: 14 to 21 BC
History: although named after Tiberius, who completed its construction, the bridge was actually begun under Augustus. The keystones bear bas-reliefs alluding to the emperor's powers and merits.
Features: the five-arched structure of Istrian stone spans the Marecchia, the ancient Ariminus, the river that gave the town its name. It marked the beginning of the Via Aemilia, which led from Ariminum to Piacenza via Bononia (Bologna), Mutina (Modena) and Parma (Parma).
- Malatesta Temple
Construction: 15th to 18th centuries
History: the first Benedictine church, Santa Maria in Trivio, existed as early as the 9th century. It was replaced in the 12th century by the conventual church of San Francesco (dedicated to Saint Francis) in Gothic style. In the fifteenth century, Sigismund Malatesta (1417-1468), condottiere and lord of Rimini, decided to rebuild the church of San Francesco, in which his ancestors were buried but which no longer suited his desire for grandeur, to make it a veritable mausoleum for his dynasty. The death of Sigismund Malatesta on 9 October 1468 brought the work begun by Alberti to a definitive halt.
Features: architect Leon Battista Alberti transformed the old Gothic church into a manifesto of the new art, which looks more like an ancient temple than a church. Alberti's plan consists of a single nave and eight chapels. The architect was Matteo de' Pasti, an illuminator and medallist, while Agostino di Duccio, a Florentine banished since 1441, came from Venice in 1449 to work on the sculpture.
Special feature: the Malatesta temple is the name commonly given to Rimini's cathedral, known as Santa Colomba. It houses the tombs of the Sigismund Malatesta family.
Listed as: Italian cultural asset.
- Palazzo dell'Arango
Construction: 13th century
History and features: surmounted by ramparts, Rimini's People's Council used to meet here in the late Middle Ages. The palace's loggia was erected by the will of Rimini's podestate, Mario de Caronesi, in 1204, as mentioned in an epigraph on one of the pillars of the loggia itself. Upstairs, frescoes by the Rimini school date back to 1300. The palace has been restored several times, in 1562, 1672 and between 1919 and 1923. The large loggia on the ground floor rests on powerful colonnades that support pointed arches; on the first floor there is a large hall with mullioned windows. The building also features a bell tower, originally used as a place of detention.
Trivia: tradition has it that in the loggia at street level, a place where notaries held a bench and justice was administered publicly, stood the large rock, called lapis magnum, on which insolvent debtors were condemned to beat their bare buttocks three times, pronouncing aloud the formula "cedo bonis" (I give up my property).
Listed as: Italian cultural asset.
- Palazzo del Podesta
Construction: 1334
Style: medieval.
History: built in 1334, the palace underwent considerable alterations over the years until it was restored in 1912-22 by architect Gaspare Rastrelli.
Features: The ground floor features an elevation with three frontal Gothic arches. The rope used to hang the guilty hung from the central arch. On the crenelated upper floor there are further small windows. The building is located next to Palazzo dell'Arengo, in Piazza Cavour.
Current use: used for exhibitions and presentations, the Palazzo del Podestà and the adjacent Palazzo dell'Arengo have now undergone architectural enhancement and technical and facilities modernisation work to house the new Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art.
Listed as: Italian cultural asset.
- Fellini Museum
Federico Fellini was born in Rimini on 20 January 1920, and it was here that he drew his inspiration and returned with his memories to create many of his masterpieces. The city wanted to dedicate a very special work to him, the Fellini Museum, a diffuse museum that touches on three of the most evocative places in the historic centre, the Castel Sismondo, the Cinema Fulgor and the Piazza dei Sogni: a unique and magical itinerary that accompanies visitors through the dreamlike and visionary world of the Maestro of world cinema.
- Beaches of Rimini
Rimini's 15 km of coastline is lined with mainly private, fee-paying beaches. You are allowed to set up on these beaches with your towel, but payment gives you access to the beach services: toilets, restaurants, mattresses and parasols.
On the Misano circuit (17 km):
- Italian Bike Festival
Every September since 2018, the Italian Bike Festival has become the main event dedicated to cycling in Italy. More than 500 brands in the sector exhibit at each edition, and dozens of famous cyclists (in 2022 Vincenzo Nibali, Sonny Colbrelli, Mario Cipollini, Gianni Bugno and Francesco Moser) are present on the stands to meet the public. The festival is accompanied by a programme of cycle-touring and gravel races, the Gialla Cycling, at the Misano motorbike circuit.
TO EAT:
- Rimini piadina
Piadina is a type of flat bread, similar to tortillas, pancakes or pita, and is one of Romagna's main culinary specialities. It is filled with all kinds of fillings: cold meats, vegetables, anchovies, olives and cheese. The Dalla Lella bakery is the oldest in the city to offer piade and piadine. There is even a museum, the Piadina Experience, dedicated to this recipe.
