The Tiberius Bridge, the Arch of Augustus and the Tempio Malatestiano in the morning, Santarcangelo with its caves and Montebello castle in the afternoon.
Two thousand years of history in a single day. In the morning, Roman and Malatesta Rimini, on foot from the Tiberius Bridge to the Tempio Malatestiano. After lunch you head up to Santarcangelo, the town of Tonino Guerra, with its caves carved into the tufa and its hand-printing workshop, and finish at Montebello castle, home to the legend of Azzurrina.
Times are a guide: driving times are worked out without traffic, then come the visits and ten minutes at every stop to park. In summer towards the coast and at rush hour allow extra time.
Begun under Augustus in 14 AD and completed under Tiberius in 21 AD, it is built of Istrian stone and has five arches. For almost two thousand years carts, armies and cars have crossed it: in 1944 it even withstood the mines laid by the retreating Germans. Today it is pedestrianised and overlooks the Piazza sull'acqua, the basin of the old port, with walkways over the river.
Always accessible, free admission.
The fishermen's quarter, just beyond the bridge: low, colourful houses, narrow lanes and little squares. On the walls are murals dedicated to Federico Fellini and the characters from his films, from Amarcord to La dolce vita. Every two years, in September, the neighbourhood holds its festival, the Festa de Borg.
This was the forum of the Roman city, where the cardo and decumanus intersected. The little temple of Sant'Antonio marks, according to tradition, the miracle of the mule that knelt before the host. The square's name comes from the three partisans hanged here in August 1944.
Built in 27 BC to celebrate Augustus, who had the Via Flaminia restored, the road that came here from Rome: it is the oldest surviving Roman arch. On both sides are medallions with deities; the crenellations at the top were added in the Middle Ages. It was the city's entrance gate.
Always visible.
Discovered in 1989 in Piazza Ferrari, this is the house of a third-century AD doctor, possibly named Eutyches. You walk above the mosaic floors thanks to a glass covering. The unique piece is his collection of over 150 surgical instruments, the richest to have come down to us from the Roman world, displayed in the nearby Museo della Città.
Combined ticket with the Museo della Città; closed on Mondays: check opening times.
This is Rimini's cathedral. Around 1450 Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta asked Leon Battista Alberti to encase an old Gothic church with a façade like a Roman arch: it remained unfinished, but is one of the manifestos of the Renaissance. Inside are sculptures by Agostino di Duccio, the Crucifix painted by Giotto and the fresco by Piero della Francesca showing Sigismondo kneeling before Saint Sigismund. The tombs of Sigismondo and Isotta degli Atti are here.
Free admission, outside service times.
The town hall square, with the Palazzo dell'Arengo from 1204, the Palazzo del Podestà, the Teatro Galli reborn in 2018 and the Fontana della Pigna, which Leonardo da Vinci noted in his notebooks in 1502. A short walk away is Castel Sismondo, the fortress that Sigismondo Malatesta had built from 1437, now part of the Fellini Museum.
On Wednesday and Saturday mornings there is a market in the surrounding streets.
The town's main square, with the Sferisterio where pallone col bracciale was played. The triumphal arch was built at the end of the eighteenth century for Lorenzo Ganganelli, born in Santarcangelo and who became Pope Clement XIV.
Beneath the hill are more than 150 caves carved into the sandstone: corridors, round chambers, niches and stairs descending into darkness. It is still not known for certain who carved them or what they were originally for, perhaps places of worship; over the centuries they have been cellars, ice houses and shelters during the war. The Grotta Monumentale is the largest and most evocative.
Guided tour, to be booked at the town's tourist office (IAT).
A workshop opened in 1633 where fabrics are still hand-printed with carved wooden blocks and 'rust' colour, made with vinegar, flour and iron. Inside is the mangano, an enormous wooden machine for pressing fabrics, with a large wooden wheel turned by hand: it is still set in motion for visitors.
It is a shop with workshop: if you are a large group, give advance notice.
You climb through narrow streets to the Campanone, the clock tower, from which you can see the plain all the way to the sea. At the top is the Rocca dei Malatesta, still privately owned. Along the way are shops, taverns and verses by dialect poets written on the walls.
The Rocca only opens on certain dates with guided tours.
A castle on a rocky spur above the Valmarecchia, inhabited by the Guidi di Bagno family. The guided tour passes through rooms with furniture and weapons from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century and descends into the ice house where, according to legend, in 1375 Guendalina disappeared, the albino daughter of the lord of the castle, called Azzurrina for the reflections in her dyed hair. Children love it, and everyone loves the view over the valley.
Only guided tours at set times: check opening times and book for groups.
How long it takes from each town, the drive back included. Tap a town to see the plan from there.
Almost every old town has a limited traffic zone (ZTL) with cameras: park outside and walk in. The fine reaches your home, abroad too. ZTL and car parks town by town
Romagna Transfer picks you up at your hotel, drops you in front of every stop and brings you back: no parking, no ZTL, and the wine is yours to enjoy.
The fortress of San Leo on its crag, then Urbino with the Ducal Palace and Raphael's house.
9 h 35 from Cesenatico Full day
The plan
The fortresses of the Malatesta and Montefeltro families and the places of Tonino Guerra, travelling up the Marecchia valley.
11 h 00 from Cesenatico Full day
The plan
The three towers on Monte Titano in the morning, then the castles of Gradara and Montefiore Conca.
9 h 30 from Cesenatico Full day
The plan
San Vitale, Galla Placidia and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in the morning, the Castello Estense, the Cathedral and Palazzo dei Diamanti in the afternoon.
10 h 30 from Cesenatico Full day
The planTrips written by our editors from the facts of our monument pages and the official sites. Opening days and hours change: the note under every place tells you what to check before you leave. No prices: you find them on the museums' sites.
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