Rimini Hotels Rimini Travel guide, accommodation, Rimini vacation packages, holidays, Italy

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Rimini Travel guide, Rimini hotels, vacation

Rimini Travel guide, Rimini hotels - holidays in Italy

Rimini Travel information

Rimini is the capital of Rimini provincia, in the Emilia-Romagna regione of northern Italy. The town is located along the Riviera del Sole of the Adriatic Sea at the mouth of the Marecchia River, just northeast of Mount Titano and the Republic of San Marino.

The Romans called it Ariminum, from Ariminus, the old name of the Marecchia. It originally belonged to the Umbro-Etruscan civilization. The site was occupied in 268 B.C. by the Romans, and a Latin colony was established there on the boundary of Aemilia and Umbria. As the junction of the great Roman roads the Via Aemilia and the Via Flaminia, it became a Roman municipium (community) and was later sacked by the dictator Sulla. In 359 A.D. the town was host to the Council of Rimini, which failed to resolve the Arian controversy over the divinity of Christ. Rimini passed to the Byzantines and from them to the Goths, from whom it was recaptured by the Byzantine general Narses, and then to the Lombards and Franks.

Roman remains in Rimini include the Arch of Augustus, erected in 27 B.C. and completed in 22 A.D. by the emperor Tiberius; the bridge built by Augustus over the river and also completed by Tiberius (21 A.D.); and the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.

The town was long an object of papal-imperial rivalry, particularly after it became an independent commune in the 12th century. The Guelf (papal) leader Malatesta da Verucchio was made podestà ("mayor") in 1239, but internal strife prevailed until members of the Malatesta family were recognized as lords of the town in 1334.

The most renowned of the Malatesta lords was Sigismondo Pandolfo (1417-68), a soldier and arts patron who was responsible for Rimini's 15th century fortifications and for its best-known monument, the Malatesta Temple, designed to glorify his love for Isotta degli Atti. He was succeeded by his illegitimate son Roberto, who got rid of the legitimate heirs and later was reconciled with the pope, becoming the commander of the papal army. Roberto's son Sigismondo failed to defend his lands against Cesare Borgia, and Rimini passed to the Papal States in 1509. Except for brief French domination during the Napoleonic Wars, the city remained under papal control until it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

In the 19th century Rimini expanded beyond its walls and became a beach resort, a development accelerated by the establishment of seaside suburbs south of the city after 1920. Despite heavy damage from Allied bombardment in World War II, the city recovered. Its coastal resorts stretch for nearly 10 miles (16 km) between Torre Pedrera and Miramare.

Rimini is in a privileged location: not only is it on the coast, but it is a crossroads for important lines of communication. The main source of income in Rimini is tourism. The gently sloping beaches backed by promenades and hotels attract tourists, as do Rimini's international shows, sporting events, and concerts.

Rimini Sights, sightseeing, culture:

Rimini is part of a coastal recreation area that stretches 70 mi/120 km north-south from Porto Garibaldi to Cattolica. It is the archetypal seaside city with a reputation for good fun. Of all the resorts on the Adriatic Riviera, Rimini's versatility makes it the most popular holiday destination for different types of tourism. Rimini is a seaside resort famous for entertainment and long sandy beaches. It is certainly a good place to spend your summer holidays and enjoy the nightlife.

Rimini is divided into two parts. In summer most activity is concentrated on the main seafront drag of souvenir shops, restaurants and video arcades, which stretches 9km north to the suburbs of Viserba and Torre Pedrera and 7km south to Miramare. Out of season, though, you'll find most life a little way inland in the older part of town, clustered around the main squares of Piazza Tre Martiri and Piazza Cavour. The centre offers the best monuments; the Palaces of the Podestΰ and Arengo, the old Fish Market and the Fontana della Pigna are all to be admired in piazza Cavour. Castel Sigismondo in the adjoining Piazza Malatesta holds a museum of ethnography, the Museo delle Culture Extraeuropee "Dinz Rialto" is worth a look for its fine collection of Oceanic and pre-Colombian art. Interesting are also the Roman Ponte di Tiberio and Arco d'Augusto, just inside the old town ramparts. Rimini's best-known monument, however, is the strange-looking Tempio Malatestiano on Via 4 November, one of the masterworks of the Italian Renaissance.

On the promenade, there are plenty of places to have a good meal, a pizza or just a drink without spending a lot of money. By contrast there are elegant places to eat in the old town, where formal dress is obligatory. Rimini's nightlife happens along the seafront, which is where you find the best clubs. It is a favourite holiday spot with European and Italian, and today Rimini has become something like Ibiza. Clubbing begins about 10 in the evening.

After a day at the seaside or after a hard day's work at a convention a little shopping can provide a welcome distraction. There are the small shops where the decorative items, hand-printed with rust-coloured patterns, that are so characteristic of Romagna can be purchased, and there are the high fashion boutiques and the many other shops that cater to every taste. For those who want to lose themselves in the cheerful colours of market stalls where original items can be discovered, there is the town market.

In summer Rimini becomes an open-air gym for young and old. Every morning on the beach free lessons in gymnastic exercises are given; a singular opportunity for anyone interested in fitness who does not want to miss a single ray of sunlight and wants to enjoy the morning breezes. Every bathing establishment has courts for beach volleyball. Every summer tournaments are organized and the finals are always exciting. Basketball is another sport that is often played on the. For those who love slow, measured movements the game of Italian bowls is ideal. Then there are courses in swimming, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, scuba diving, canoeing or even a healthy row in a catamaran or a pedal-boat. One may go jogging or hiking, even in the city, through the vegetation of the parks and the sand of the seaside. Last but not least, there is tennis, golf, skating and clay pigeon shooting. Your holiday thus becomes a chance to regenerate the body and relax in pleasant company.