Rimini beyond the beach: two thousand years of stone and Fellini's home town

For most people heading to San Marino, Rimini is a platform. They arrive by train or plane, cross to the bus stop and 55 minutes later they’re on top of Mount Titano. I think that’s a pity, because between the station and the Arch of Augustus lie two thousand years of Roman history, a Renaissance cathedral that was never finished and the town Fellini kept rebuilding in his films.

Tiberius Bridge, where I’d start

The walk the council itself suggests in its free audio guide starts at Tiberius Bridge, and I agree. Augustus began it in AD 14 and Tiberius finished it in 21, as the inscription on the parapets says. It’s 70 metres long, has five arches of Istrian stone, and its piers are set at an angle to break the force of the river. It has survived earthquakes, floods, an attack by Narses in 551, whose marks are still visible on the last arch, and an attempt by retreating German troops to blow it up. And it’s still open to traffic.

On the far side is Borgo San Giuliano, the old fishermen’s quarter, with low pastel houses and murals dedicated to Fellini and Giulietta Masina. It’s the most photographed corner of the town, and rightly so.

From the Tempio Malatestiano to the Arch of Augustus

From the bridge, Corso d’Augusto, once the main street of the Roman town, runs through the centre to the arch. On the way I’d stop at the Tempio Malatestiano, now the cathedral. Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Rimini from 1432 to 1468, had Leon Battista Alberti turn a Franciscan church into a Renaissance temple. Work began in 1447 and stopped around 1460, when Pope Pius II excommunicated and defeated him. That’s why it looks unfinished, and for me that half-built façade says more than many complete ones. Inside are a crucifix by Giotto and a fresco by Piero della Francesca.

The Arch of Augustus closes the walk. It went up in 27 BC to honour Augustus where the Via Flaminia from Rome reached the town, and it’s the oldest surviving Roman arch in northern Italy. The battlements on top are medieval. The San Marino bus stops here too, so it’s the perfect place to end the morning.

The surgeon’s house and Castel Sismondo

The Surgeon’s House is my favourite find in Rimini. It’s the home of a 3rd-century doctor, excavated from 1989 and open since 2007, where archaeologists found a set of surgical instruments the council describes as unique in the world. Together with the City Museum, which holds more than 1,500 works, entry is €7. They open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 13:00 and 16:00 to 19:00, and on your birthday you get in free.

Castel Sismondo is Sigismondo’s other mark on the town, a fortress begun in 1437 with advice from Filippo Brunelleschi. It was a prison until 1967 and is now one of the venues of the Fellini Museum, opened in 2021. If cinema is your thing, the ART CARD covers all three museums for €14.

Fellini, in the town he rebuilt in Rome

Federico Fellini was born in Rimini in 1920 and asked to be laid to rest there. His tomb, shared with Giulietta Masina, is a ship’s prow by Arnaldo Pomodoro at the entrance to the cemetery. The curious thing is that he nearly always filmed his Rimini somewhere else. The square in Amarcord is modelled on Piazza Cavour and Piazza Tre Martiri, and the Fulgor cinema from his films really does stand on Corso d’Augusto. The Grand Hotel at Marina Centro, where he kept a suite, completes the trail.

Combining Rimini and San Marino

Rimini has 15 kilometres of beach, more than 1,000 hotels, a railway station and Federico Fellini Airport, about 8 km to the south. That makes it the logical base for a seaside trip with San Marino as the outing. The Bonelli shuttle leaves from the station and stops at the Arch of Augustus, takes 55 minutes and costs €7. Times and tickets are in Rimini to San Marino.

If you’d rather sleep up top and come down to Rimini for the day, my guide to where to stay in San Marino sorts out the areas. And with a spare day and a car, two fortresses I love are within reach, San Leo and Verucchio. I compare them with the rest in day trips from San Marino.

For food, try the Rimini piadina, thinner than elsewhere in Romagna, and if you want a starred dinner, it’s here and not in San Marino.