Romagna Part 1: Focus on the coast of Romagna, the well known “Riviera Romagnola”

Romagna Part 1: Focus on the coast of Romagna, the well known “Riviera Romagnola

Romagna is an Italian geographic area included mainly in the region of Emilia-Romagna. In this post we will focus on the coast of Romagna, the well known “Riviera Romagnola”, while next time we will move to the towns located in the valleys and in the mountains of the area.

The “Riviera” is a 90 kilometers stretch of coastline bathed by the Adriatic Sea. Its limits are marked at North by the mouth of the river Reno, and at South by the small town of Gabicce Mare.

It is one of the most renowned and glamorous seaside destinations in Italy. Every summer, tourists from all over the world move there to relax and have fun in its famous beaches and clubs, especially in the area around Rimini.

Founded by the Romans in the 3rd Century BC, Rimini’s urban plan still maintains many original characteristics, like Corso D’Augusto, the main road, and Ponte di Tiberio (Tiberio’s Bridge), built around 15 AD. Related to the Roman past of the area it is possible to visit the archeological site of “Domus del Chirurgo” (Surgeon’s house). Besides an important set of mosaics, in the complex have been found over 150 ancient medical tools belonged to the owner of the domus.

The central square, Piazza Cavour, hosts a variety of beautiful monuments. From the majestic palaces “Del Podestà” and “Dell’Arengo”, to the Renaissance style fountain “Della Pigna” and the old fish market.

Behind Piazza Cavour it is possible to admire the rests of the old Cathedral, Santa Colomba, and Sismondo castle, characterized by four huge squared towers.

The tour of the city can continue with the visit to the gothic church of Sant’Agostino, which accommodates precious frescos from the Riminese painting school of the 14th Century. Not to be missed the Malatesta temple, one of the masterpieces of Italian Humanism. Commissioned by Rimini’s lord Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and designed by Leon Battista Alberti, this place of worship was built around 1450.

Now is time to move to the ancient fishermen neighbourhood of Borgo San Giuliano, and have a nice walk around its strict alleys. This is among the most characteristic areas of Rimini, and offers many opportunities to have lunch or aperitivo in its traditional little bars and restaurants.

Rimini is also well known for being the birthplace of Federico Fellini. Regarded as one of the most important directors in cinema history, Fellini was awarded with four Oscar prizes to the Best International Feature Film for La strada, Le notti di Cabiria, 8 ½ and Amarcord. In 2020 it was celebrated the 100th anniversary of its birth.

But what characterizes the most the city of Rimini are its immense beaches and an amazing nightlife, especially during the summer months. It is possible to choose between amusement parks for families, clubs on the beach, exhibitions and cultural activities, and much more.

The main event of the year is the “Notte Rosa” (pink night). Held every year in the first half of August, the celebration is billed as “Summer’s New Year’s Eve Bash”. It consists of dinners by the sea, acoustic concerts and lounges, street artists performances, lights and firework shows.

Another summer travel destination near Rimini is Riccione. Villa Franceschi is one of the main points of interest of the city: built at the beginning of the 20th Century, the mansion has been restored to host the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery. In Riccione it is also possible to visit Villa Mussolini, the holiday house belonged to the dictator and his family, now converted into an exhibition center.

Street-art aficionados can’t miss the mural realized in 2015 from the international star artist Davide Salvadei, known as Eron. The work portrays, with a totally realistic effect, a seagull and a heron in their sequence to fly away.

Worth a visit is also the historic Villa Lodi Dè, among the oldest examples of seaside chalets in the region. It is now the venue of the Riccione Theater Association. The mansion hosts an important national theater award, the “Premio Riccione per il Teatro”.

Going towards the northern part of the Riviera, another well-known stop is Milano Marittima. The small sea-side is famous for its fun nightlife and glamourous shopping opportunities. But also people seeking a relaxing walk can enjoy Milano Marittima. The small town is surrounded by beautiful pinewoods which offer a great option for an immersion into nature. The reserve “Foce del Bevano” is a perfect escape from the hustle of Riviera’s nightlife.

The same can be said about Cervia, where it is possible to spend a restful day at the local Spa resort. The “Terme”, which activity started more than 60 years ago, offer therapeutic treatments like balneotherapy and mud baths.

Cervia is also famous for its salt pans, which are celebrated every September during the event “Sapore di Sale”. This is the occasion to taste the typical products of the region, readapted by great chiefs from all over the world.

Finally, we can move to Ravenna. It is the biggest city of the whole Riviera Romagnola, and also the richest in artistic sightseeing. Called the city of the mosaics, Ravenna preserves eight Unesco’s World Heritage Sites. The monuments included in Unesco’s list are chapels, churches and mausoleums built in the paleochristian and in the byzantine eras.

Ravenna also hosts the mortal remains of Dante Alighieri, the author of the Divine Comedy. The tomb is located in a small temple inside the complex of the San Francesco basilica.

Apart from its historic legacy and the amazing plethora of important monuments and mosaics, Ravenna awakes stupor and joy in the minds of the visitors at every corner. It is a pleasure just to walk around its central streets, starting from Piazza del Popolo.

And if you have time to ride the second highest observation wheel in Europe, Italy’s biggest amusement park, Mirabilandia, is just some kilometers away from Ravenna.

Gastronomy

Amazing ingredients, sincere flavours and traditional recipes: Romagna’s cuisine is synonymous with good gastronomy. People from this region have always shown a great passion for food and wines, creating a variety of wonderful dishes.

Among them, the most famous are the cheeses, with many types that can only be found here. The main example is the Squacquerone: a fresh creamy cheese with a really short maturation process, that has been awarded with the DOP certification (protected designation of origin).

Or the formaggio di Fossa, a cheese manufactured mostly in the towns of Talamello and Sogliano. The producers still use the traditional method, putting the cheeses to age in an underground pit for several months until it is ready.

These cheeses are the perfect companions, next to some rocket and hams, to the most famous icon of the region: the “piadina”. It is a flatbread used as a pocket to contain many different ingredients. Now it is eaten in the whole of Italy, and known all over the world. Its recipe can slightly change from town to town: it may be thinner or thicker; it can be prepared with olive oil or strutto, pig fat. But in the end is just an amazing and versatile product that can represent at its best Romagna’s simple but tasteful gastronomy.

As in the Riviera there is a great fishermen tradition, one of the most common dishes of the area is the fish broth, or “Brodetto”. It is a tasty and nutritious meal, which recipe varies on a seasonal basis according to which type of fish is available at the moment. To cook a perfect “brodetto” it takes at least 45 minutes of boiling, but the result is surely worth it.

But Romagna is also the reign of fresh pasta, rigorously prepared in the traditional way using just flour and eggs, and no water. From the dough, that must be rolled by hand with a rolling pin, it is possible to obtain different shapes of pasta like tagliatelle, tagliolini, cappelletti, strozzapreti, etc. The traditional sauce to accompany pasta in the region is ragù, a seasoning prepared with meat and tomatoes, but the options are almost endless.

And to go along with an amazing dish of pasta, why not to taste a great glass of Sangiovese, a typical red wine produced in the area. The first stories about the production of this red wine date back to the 17th Century. It is now a symbol of Romagna, and has received many awards and the DOC, the controlled designation of origin certificate granted by the Italian government to denote high quality products.

A typical dessert of Romagna, that can be seen everywhere in the beaches, is the Bombolone. It is a fried pastry similar to american doughnuts, covered with powdered sugar and filled with cream or chocolate.

In the area there are also different restaurant (insigniti with a Michelin star, like l’Osteria del Povero Diavolo, Il Piastrino and Abocar Due Cucine, in Rimini, and restaurant Magnolia in Cesenatico.