Rimini enjoyed a long period of prosperity and urban renewal during the early imperial period.
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| [Malatesta Temple,Rimini Italy /Wikimedia] |
A riminum, founded by the Romans in 268 BC, served as a crossroads for important communication routes between Northern and Central Italy: it was here that the Via Flaminia (220 BC) from Rome came to an end, where the Arch of Augustus was erected in 27 BC to honor the figure of Octavian, which was the city's main entrance at the time, which was surrounded by walls. The Via Emilia (187 BC) to Piacenza and the Via Popilia-Annia (132 BC) to Ravenna, Adria, Padua, Altinum, and Aquileia branched off from Ariminum, connecting the city to Ravenna, Adria, Padua, Altinum, and Aquileia. The great highways were important not only for trade and the mobility of the Roman army, but also for the population and the restructuring of the region.
The port, which no longer exists but has been identified as being near today's railway station, played an essential part in the city's economic growth. Agriculture was based on the production of grains, fruit trees, vineyards, olive trees, and vegetables to meet solely local requirements.
The city was embroiled in civil conflicts throughout the republican era's last century, although it always remained loyal to the Roman people. In Ariminum in 90 BC, Roman citizenship and the title of first Cispadan municipality were acknowledged as a result of this centuries-long allegiance to Rome.
Julius Caesar addressed his soldiers at the Forum of Rimini in 49 BC, following the passing of the Rubicon (which marked the beginning of Rome's municipal area, the Pomerium, and whose identity is still disputed), saying the famous line "Alea iacta est" - the dice is cast. A watershed moment in the Roman Empire's transition from republican to imperial rule.
Rimini enjoyed a long period of prosperity and urban renewal during the early imperial period, and was the focus of Emperors Augustus, Tiberius, and Hadrian, who encouraged the construction of large public works and monuments such as the Augustus Arch, the Tiberio Bridge, the theater, and the amphitheater. The aqueduct system, the sewer system, and the city streets were all rearranged, with certain portions being paved and elevated.
Ariminum was the royal VIII Aemilia's most southern colony, virtually precisely corresponding with modern-day Emilia-Romagna, with the Rubicon to the north and the Crustumius (Conca) to the south.
Following Constantine's edict (313) and the Roman political authorities' official recognition of Christianity, the first Christian places of worship were built, initially outside the city walls; later, numerous churches, including the cathedral dedicated to Santa Colomba, were built within the city walls. Rimini, which had been a bishopric since 313, convened a meeting of over 300 Western bishops in 359 to defend Catholic orthodoxy against Arianism, a religion practiced by numerous Germanic invaders.
San Gaudenzio, who came from Ephesus and was murdered by the Arians in 360, is said to have been the first bishop of Rimini.
There was a resurgence of commerce and mercantile traffic in the 11th century, as well as the construction of a new port at the mouth of the Marecchia river, which was susceptible to recurrent and devastating floods. The port's relocation paved the way for the creation of a new community nearby: Borgo San Giuliano.
According to legend, the body of St. Julian, who was tormented and eventually slain in the city of Flaviade, miraculously arrived on the Rimini coast from Greece by sea, enclosed in a marble tomb, where the Church's altar now stands devoted.
During the time of investiture battles between the Church and the Empire in the 12th century, the city became a free commune. A period of extensive urban planning and construction began in the thirteenth century. The Piazza del Comune (now Piazza Cavour) became the seat of civil power, and the Palazzo dell'Arengo and the Palazzo del Podestà were erected there. For decades, the old Forum housed the market, as well as tournaments and horse jousting.
Several religious orders established inside the city walls beginning in the 13th century, including the Eremitani di Sant'Agostino, the minor friars of San Francesco, and the preaching friars of San Domenico, who erected new convents and churches. Internal strife arose in this century as a result of the Patarini, who were branded heretics by the Church and whose name comes from the Pataro region. Sant'Antonio's modest shrine at Piazza Tre Martiri recalls a miracle performed by the saint in this plaza about 1230, when he had a Patarin heretic's mule prostrate before the consecrated host.
Illustrious painters worked in the city, including Giotto, who inspired the 14th century Rimini painting school, with Giovanni da Rimini, Giuliano da Rimini, and Giovanni Baronzio as its primary representatives. The Forlì-born Jacopo Allegretti created, in the fourteenth century, the first literary academy in Italy, in Rimini as an example of a particular cultural and creative liveliness.
The Gambacerri Guelphs and Parcitadi Ghibellines, the most prominent aristocratic families of Rimini, fought for the civic authority of the 13th century. With an initial phase in which the town spent the cause of Ghibellina, Rimini turned Guelph, following the entrance of the Family Malatesta da Verucchio, whose ancestor was Malatesta, the Elder also known in the Divine Dante's Divine Comedy as the Mastin Vecchio.
The Malatesta, the capital of the lordship, seized Rimini in 1295, which was ultimately vanquished by Parcitadi. The town enjoyed hegemony for almost two centuries over a wide region stretching beyond Romagna's physical limits into Sansepolcro (1370 - 1430), Sestino and Senigallia.
When Malatestino died (1317), Rimini's lord became Pandolfo Malatesta; following his death Ferrantino became the lord of the city, and the Marche territory included his sons Galeoto and Malatesta. Galeotto and Malatesta themselves came to power in Rimini in 1343 after a lengthy period of conflict and struggle amongst the family. In the endeavour, Cardinal Egidio Albornoz had despatched to take over the castles of ultra-Malatesta and awarded two Brothers the vicariate of Rimini, Pesaro, Fano and Fossombrone, legitimizing and subordinating the Malatesta domination to the Church's authority.
The domination of Galeotto I (1364), and then of Carlo (1385), first of all, over Rimini, distinguished for political and diplomatic ability, opened a dynastic crisis in his death in 1429 due to the absence of male heirs, apart from the three natural children of Pandolfo III, lord of Fano: Galeotto Roberto, Sigismondo and Domenico. Galeotto Roberto was Lord of Rimini who resigned to the monastic life after three years only.
The unscrupulous Captain of fortune and at the same time a magnificent patron was Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, who came to power in 1432. Sigismondo was fighting against the Visconti initially on papal wages, then against the Pope alongside Francesco Sforza, the Florence-Venice League, the Sienese, and then eventually Pius II. In the wake of the meticulous marriage preparations, he gained status through his dynastic marriage, married Ginevra d'Este (who died in 14 40), Polissena Sforza and, in 1456, Isotta degli Atti. In 1463 the Papal army headed by the Duke of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro and his hated adversary defeated Sigismondo.
After Sigismondo's death (1468), there started a period of dynasty between his children Sallustio and Roberto, called the Magnificent. Roberto was a competent leader and diplomat, who, at the direction of Sigismondo, was expelled from the city government but managed to take over Rimini on charge of his brothers and mothers-in-law Isotta's death. The final rulers of the Malatesta dynasty who had now achieved a definite degradation before being annexed to the State of the Church were Pandolfo IV, hostile to the local aristocracy (those that surnamed it "Pandolfaccio"), and his son Sigismondo II.
In 1509 the Papal Government of the city started following the fall of the Maltese and the short period of Venetian rule, which for over three hundred years was included into the Legation of Ravenna.
The Rimini bathing business was founded during the papal authority. Following 30 July 1843, on the model of the already well-known French and Central European resorts, was launched the first "Privileged Establishment of the Maritime Baths." The owner was Claudio Tintori, the new doctor, and Alessandro and Baldini, counts. [44]. The three, joined together in a company, received the 2000 scudi loan from the Faenza Risparmio Cassa. This effort was the start of a new economic activity, which was essential to the growth of the city: tourism.
The building of the Kursaal and Hydrotherapy establishment (1873) was followed by the growth of the tourism offer in Rimini (1876). Paolo Mantegazza was invited to lead the Kursaal by renowned physiologist and hygienist. The sea bathing, initially designed as a curative pastime, soon became part of the aristocratic and cosmopolitan middle class residence and lost its meaning.
The magnificent Grand Hotel was established in 1908, which also helped to reinforce the reputation of the town as a trendy beach resort, for rich tourists in the Lido di Rimini, Italy, Switzerland and all of Europe. His popularity has become international following the film Amarcord, made by filmmaker Federico Fellini, after which the park is called in front of the cinema.
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Population of Rimini province, Italy.
As of 2021, Rimini has population of only 335, 478 with the land area of 861. 8 square kilometers. The population density of Rimini is 389.3 per square kilometers.