Rimini - Notable Buildings

Notable Buildings

• 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. It was restored in the 18th century by Tommaso Temanza.
• 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 Augustus in 14 AD 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 Roman 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.
• Teatro Galli, originally dedicated to king Victor Emmanuel II and then to the musician Amintore Galli, it was designed by architect Luigi Poletti. It was inaugurated in 1857 with an opera by Giuseppe Verdi (Aroldo). The theatre was bombed during World War II. Since then it is still a ruin in the city centre. Many projects and plans have been made to restore it during the years, the latest having been announced in 2010.
• 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.