Rimini is considered the largest resort in Northern Italy. Rimini's population is under 150,000, but it is the administrative centre of the province of Rimini, which encompasses a number of picturesque resorts.
They are scattered along the Adriatic coast and play a leading role in the life of the so-called Riviera Romagna, where many kilometres of sandy beaches are washed by the turquoise waters of the gentle sea. Rimini is over 300 kilometres from the Italian capital, but it is just a few kilometres from the state of San Marino and about 100 kilometres from Bologna, the famous tourist centre and capital of the Emilia-Romagna region.
Ancient tribes have been settling in the area since a thousand years before Christ, but Rimini is officially considered to have been founded in 268 BC when the Roman colony of Ariminum appeared at the mouth of the River Ariminus.
For centuries, the city was part of the Roman Republic and the Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Papal State (papal legates ruled the city until the second half of the 19th century, except from 1797 to 1815, when Rimini was occupied by Napoleon's troops).
In 1860 the city joined the Kingdom of Italy, which became a Republic after the Second World War. Rimini began to develop as a popular holiday destination in the mid-19th century.
Today Rimini is the number one resort on the Italian Adriatic.
