Rimini is best of both worlds
A beach-lover’s dream... and a beguiling old town
IVE found a place. A place to make you smile. It’s so sundrenched, charming, culturally ancient and box-ticking that I almost don’t want to tell you…
I’m talking about the Adriatic Coast, in particular Rimini, in northern Italy.
An underrated strip of coast that caters to, well, everyone, from families with small children, to girlfriends looking for a break away, to couples celebrating that milestone anniversary.
The Adriatic Coast itself is not large – about 800km – taking in Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.
And the beaches along Rimini are compact enough for you to feel like you’re in your own secluded spot, albeit just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of a strip of disco bars and pizzerias.
You won’t find vast open spaces with sand dunes where you can walk hand in hand staring lovingly into your partner’s eyes; the beach is lined with hundreds of sunbeds for tourists and play areas for children.
There are table tennis areas and beach volleyball courts, and jungle gyms and cocktail bars.
Sunbeds will cost you between €5 and €10, and some come with Wi-Fi.
But think less leery British men with their tops off and tatts out in Benidorm, you get more of a classier bunch around here.
This is where Italians come to vacation, because they really can have the best of both worlds.
AS you drive along the coast, you are boxed in by hundreds of hotels, many of which were constructed in the 60s and 70s. The original buildings really are a feast for the eyes, with flat roofs, shuttered windows, and brightly painted walls in pinks or yellows.
The charm of the beach area is that while many of the hotels have been refurbished inside, they haven’t lost their authenticity on the outside. You can almost envision an Italian family making it their home for a week back in the 60s – the mother making pasta in the neat kitchen, the father smoking a cigar on the ornate balcony. The children running the short distance from the hotel to the beach.
Rimini can reach temperatures of high 30s in peak season (June to end of August).
Today, you’re better off spending your mornings on the beach with the other sun worshippers, tiring the children out on the amuse- ments, until it’s time to explore the old town.
Our guide informs us that the Arch of Augustus is where all the locals meet – think of it as the clock at Clerys, only it was built in 27BC, and is packed with carvings of Jupiter, Apollo and Neptune, and Mussolini tore the walls down on either side to make it more dramatic. Not quite the same as a vulture fund taking over a 1922 building on O’Connell Street, but you get my drift.
The Arch will lead you to the Piazza Cavour, the town’s main square, which is recognisable by the distinct Pigna Fountain, constructed by Giovanni da Carrara in 1543, and later copied by Leonardo da Vinci elsewhere. Da Vinci’s quote is engraved on the fountain: ‘Make harmony with the different falls of water, as I saw in the fountain in Rimini.’ A statue of Pope Paul V sits atop of the fountain, which is lined with cafes, where locals sit outside sipping cappuccinos – but not after 11am (I learned this the hard way) with designer dogs by their feet. Piazza Cavour is the perfect place to catch your breath and people-watch over an espresso… after 11am! Further into the old town of Rimini you can walk through the old fish market. Famous fishermen can be seen painted on murals on the sides of houses which themselves are painted in a kaleidoscope of colours: terracotta, pink, lime, green, sky blue. Walking these ancient cobbled streets, you could be a world away from the tourist strip that is in reality only a 20-minute drive.
Film-maker Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita, Armarcord), Rimini’s most famous son, and his actress wife Giuletta Masina, is also honoured thus.
Most of the restaurants close at midday and open again at around 4pm in this area. While you’re waiting to eat, why not go to church... it is Italy, after all, and of course, the churches are beautiful and always have a rich history to match.
Take Leon Battista Alberti’s refurb of the Tempio Malatestiano, which local politician Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta commissioned in honour of his mistress in 1450. Alberti redesigned the outside, bar one Gothic feature right at the very top, but left the inside largely alone.
It still retains its Gothic design with beautiful frescoes, with one notable difference, Malatesta wanted gold elephants on the col- umns flanking the pews, and what Malatesta wanted Malatesta (or maybe his mistress) got.
You’ll forget your hunger exploring Rimini’s buildings.
‘The Surgeon’s House’ on the Piazza Ferrari was built in the second half of the 2nd century AD but was only discovered in 1989. The site covers more than 700sqm, and shows almost entire rooms from the period, with original floor mosaics. The original has been excavated and is visible to the public via a glass wall.
For eats, we went to the seafood specialist Ristorante Dello Zio, which is close to the Arch.
We started with bread soaked in cuttlefish ink (see, I told you it was a fish-lover’s dream) and the traditional Piadina which is a salty thin flat bread, made from flour, lard and olive oil.
For mains we ate tagliatelle with clams washed down with a variety of white wine with a side of seafood, from prawns in batter to calamari. To clean your palate
there is nothing better than a lemon sorbet dessert.
A three-course meal will set you back around €70 here, minus wine.
Still on the food theme, visit Santarcangelo di Romagna, a town on the Via Emilia, a road which stretches from Rimini Piacenza on the River Po.
Here you will be inundated by artisans, from pasta makers, to cobblers, to florists, to butchers to wineries.
We had the pleasure of being wined and dined at Collina dei Poeti which is set in an olive tree grove of 1,100 trees, (a lot of olive oil there) and rows upon rows of grapes and mulberry bushes for wine and jam.
This winery mainly produces Sangiovese, a sparkling and still variety from Romagna.
We also tastee the Reserva – which is best when kept in an oak barrel for two years.
We sipped these with Piadina which I’ve developed a taste for now. It is served hot with the most mouth-watering ham.
At night-time, scores of young people hang around the strip at the gelato joints and amusement arcades.
I try to blend in, but I’d really need to work on that tan which is my excuse for making sure I come back.