Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea near the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient Ariminus) and Ausa (Aprusa). 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.


History


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, 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.

Rimini, which drew the attention of many emperors, Augustus who did much for the city and Hadrian in particular, was experiencing a great period in its history, embodied by the construction of prestigious monuments such as the Arch of Augustus, Tiberius' Bridge and the Amphitheatre and Galla Placida built the church of San Stefano.

Crisis in the Roman world was marked by destruction caused by invasions and wars, but also by the testimony of the palaces of the Imperial officers and the first churches, the symbol of the spread of Christianity that held an important Council in Rimini in 359.

When the Goths conquered Rimini in 493, Odoacer, besieged in Ravenna, had to capitulate. During the Gothic War Rimini was taken and retaken many times. In its vicinity the Byzantine general Narses overthrew (553) the Alamanni. Under Byzantine dominion it belonged to the Pentapolis, part of the Exarchate of Ravenna.

In 728 it was taken with many other cities by the Lombard King Liutprand but returned to the Byzantines about 735. King Pepin gave it to the Holy See, but during the wars of the popes and the Italian cities against the emperors, Rimini sided with the latter.

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. In fact, Giotto inspired the fourteenth-century School of Rimini, which was the expression of original cultural ferment.

The Malatesta family emerged from the struggles between municipal factions with Malatesta da Verucchio, who in 1239 was named podestà (feudal lord) of the city. Despite interruptions, his family held authority until 1528. In 1312 he was succeeded by Malatesta II, first signore (lord) of the city and Pandolfo I, the latter's brother, named by Louis the Bavarian imperial vicar in Romagna. Ferrantino, son of Malatesta II (1335), was opposed by his cousin Ramberto and by Cardinal Bertando del Poggetto (1331), legate of John XXII. Malatesta III, Guastafamiglia (1363), was also lord also of Pesaro. He was succeeded by Malatesta IV l'Ungaro (1373) and Galeotto, uncle of the former (1385), lord also of Fano (from 1340), Pesaro, and Cesena (1378).

His son 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. The Pesarese line of the Malatestas tried in fact to take advantage of his weakness and to capture the city, but Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, a nephew of Carlo who at the time was only 14, intervened to save it. Galeotto retired in convent and Sigismondo obtained the rule of Rimini.

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; Roberto Malatesta, his son (1482), under pope Paul II nearly lost his state but under Sixtus IV became the commanding officer of the pontifical army against Alfonso of Naples, by whom he was defeated in the battle of Campomorto (1482). Pandolfo IV, his son (1500), lost Rimini to Cesare Borgia, after whose overthrow it fell to Venice (1503-1509), but later was retaken by pope Julius II and incorporated in the Papal States. After the death of pope Leo X, Pandolfo returned for several months, and with his son Sigismondo held a rule which looked tyrannous even for the time. Pope Adrian VI expelled him again and gave Rimini to the Duke of Urbino, the pope's vicar in Romagna. In 1527 Sigismondo managed to regain the city, but the following year the Malatesta dominion died forever.

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. For example, a small temple dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua and the Clock Tower block were built, giving the square its present shape and size.

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. The Napoleonic government suppressed the monastic orders, confiscating their property and thus dispersing a substantial heritage, and demolished many churches including the ancient cathedral of Santa Colomba. On 30 March 1815, Joachim Murat launched his proclamation to the Italian people from Rimini, inciting them to unity and independence. 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.

An idea of what the city was like in the 19th century is provided by the palaces built along Corso Augusto and in particular by the theatre, which was designed by Luigi Poletti and succeeded in translating into Neoclassical form the ambitions of the ruling classes.

However, the biggest revolutionary element for the city was the foundation in 1843 of the first bathing establishment and the Kursaal, constructed to host sumptuous social events, became the symbol of tourist Rimini. In just a few years, the marina underwent considerable building work making Rimini 'the city of small villas'. At the beginning of the twentieth century, The Grand Hotel, the city’s first important accommodation facility, was built near the coast and soon became the emblem of a new kind of tourism.

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.


Main sights


- The 13th century Cathedral (San Francesco, best known as Tempio Malatestiano) was originally in Gothic style, but was transformed by order of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta according to the designs of Leon Battista Alberti and never completed. In the cathedral are the tombs of Sigismondo and his wife Isotta.
- The Arch of Augustus. Built in 27 BC, it has a single gate 9.92 m high and 8.45 m wide. The merlons were added in the Middle Ages.
- the church of San Giuliano Martire (1553-1575), housing the great picture of Paul Veronese (1588) representing the martyrdom of that saint. It includes also pictures of Bittino da Faenza (1357) dealing with some episodes of the saint's life (1409).
- The Tiberius Bridge As the inscription on the internal parapets recalls, the bridge over the Marecchia River, then known as Ariminus, began under the Emperor Augustus in 14 and was completed under Tiberius in 21. The bridge still connects the city centre to Borgo San Giuliano and leads to the consular roads Via Emilia and Via Popilia that lead north. Built in Istria stone, the bridge consists of five arches that rest on massive pillars with breakwater spurs set at an oblique angle with respect to the bridge’s axis in order to follow the current. The bridge’s structure on the other hand, rests on a practical system of wooden poles.
- The amphitheater (2nd century). It was erected alongside the ancient coast line, and had a two orders of porticoes with 60 arcades. It had elliptical shape, with axes of 117,7 x 88 meters. The arena measured 73 x 44 meters, not far from the greatest Roman amphitheatres: the edifice could house up to 15,000 spectators.
- The Castel Sismondo or Rocca Malatestiana of Sigismondo Pandolfo was later used as a prison.
- Palazzo dell'Arengo e del Podestà (1204), seat of the judiciary and civil administrations. On the short side in the 14th century the podestà residence was added. It was modified at the end of the 16th century.
- The church of St. John the Evangelist (also known as St. Augustine)
- The church of San Giovanni Battista, erected in the 12th century. It has a single nave with rich stucco decoration from the 18th century.
- The town hall has a small but valuable gallery (Perin del Vaga, Ghirlandajo, Bellini, Benedetto Coda, Tintoretto, Agostino di Duccio); the Gambalunga Library (1677) has valuable manuscripts.
- Church of San Fortunato (1418). It houses the Adoration of the Magi (1547) by Giorgio Vasari.
- The bell tower of the former Cathedral of Santa Colomba.
- Archeological museum .
- Bronze statue of Paul V.

Rimini un comune di circa 130mila abitanti, capoluogo dell'omonima provincia romagnola, istituita nel 1992, distaccandone il territorio dall'allora provincia di Forl. Solo nell'aprile del 1995 fu resa effettivamente operativa con l'attivazione della prefettura.

Assieme a Riccione e Cattolica una meta molto importante del turismo balneare italiano e, pi in generale, europeo (in modo particolare grazie ai turisti di provenienza tedesca e negli ultimi anni dall'Europa dell'Est).
Le fortune turistiche di Rimini inziano nel XIX secolo.

Rimini situata in una zona pianeggiante sulla costa adriatica, nella parte sud-orientale della regione Emilia-Romagna. bagnata da due fiumi: l'Ausa e il Marecchia, che d il nome a parte della provincia (Valmarecchia; l'altra area detta Valconca, dal nome di un altro corso d'acqua). Il corso del Marecchia stato deviato in epoca recente per eliminare le periodiche inondazioni. La parte terminale del fiume stata interamente bonificata: una volta paludosa (pur all'interno della cittadina) ora un immenso parco verde attraversato da piste ciclabili, dotato di aree ricreative per bambini e con un lago artificiale che incornicia il Ponte di Tiberio, mentre la foce stata mantenuta allagata, anche se sotto forma di canale "cieco" lungo circa 500mt, per far continuare a vivere il Porto Canale della Citt.

la citt italiana pi vicina alla Repubblica di San Marino, alla quale collegata con una superstrada costruita con fondi americani dopo la seconda guerra mondiale sul tracciato della vecchia via consolare, che attraversa il territorio comunale di Coriano, prima di giungere a Dogana (RSM), prima localit dopo il confine di Stato. La costa si presenta come una larghissima spiaggia, le cui acque sono molto basse e quindi particolarmente adatte alla balneazione.


Storia


La storia di Rimini ha avuto inizio dalla spiaggia. Dal paleolitico, l'uomo primitivo ha abitato la zona tra la costa e il colle di Covignano. Dalla preistoria, la strada della civilizzazione ha portato Rimini fino a diventare una delle citt pi importanti dell'Impero Romano.

Rimini era di particolare importanza anche per il traffico di merci grazie al porto.
La citt venne coinvolta anche in diverse guerre civili, ma rimase sempre fedele al popolo romano, in particolare a Mario e a Giulio Cesare, che dopo il passaggio del Rubicone (oggi Pisciatello, nel vicino paese di Savignano sul Rubicone, pronunci il suo leggendario appello Alea iacta est (il dado tratto) alle legioni, nel Foro di Rimini.
Rimini, che attir l'attenzione di molti imperatori, soprattutto Augusto e Adriano, attravers un periodo di splendore sotto Roma, vi si costruirono prestigiose costruzioni, come il Ponte di Tiberio (ancora oggi utilizzato dalle automobili), l'Arco di Augusto, e l'anfiteatro.
Nel 359, a seguito della crisi dell'Impero Romano causata da invasioni e guerre interne, la nascente comunit Cristiana tenne un importante Concilio a Rimini.

La citt divenne un Comune nel corso del XIV secolo, e a seguito dei crescenti ordini religiosi, vennero edificati numerosi conventi e chiese. Conseguentemente arrivarono in citt anche illustri artisti per progettare e decorare questi edifici. Il grande pittore Giotto fu l'ispiratore della scuola pittorica riminese del quattordicesimo secolo.

Dal 1295 divenne una signoria con Malatesta da Verucchio, patriarca della famiglia Malatesta.

Dal punto di vista letterario, si pu rammentare che il forlivese Jacopo Allegretti fond a Rimini, nel XIV secolo, quella che molti considerano la Prima Accademia letteraria d'Italia.

Uno dei monumenti pi celebri della citt romagnola il Tempio Malatestiano, progettato da Leon Battista Alberti intorno al 1450 per volere di Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta e mai completato.

Sempre del XIV secolo, nell'attuale piazza Tre Martiri (allora piazza Giulio Cesare), venne eretto il Tempietto del Bramante, nel luogo dove si narra avvenne il miracolo della mula ad opera di S. Antonio da Padova.