Riccione
Comune in Emilia-Romagna, Italy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Riccione (Italian pronunciation: [ritˈtʃoːne]; Romagnol: Arciôn [arˈtsoːŋ]) is a comune in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.
Riccione | |
---|---|
Comune di Riccione | |
Nickname: La Perla Verde ("The Green Pearl") | |
Coordinates: 44°0′N 12°39′E | |
Country | Italy |
Region | Emilia-Romagna |
Province | Rimini |
Government | |
• Mayor | Daniela Angelini (PD) |
Area | |
• Total | 17.5 km2 (6.8 sq mi) |
Elevation | 15.2 m (49.9 ft) |
Highest elevation | 75 m (246 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (1 January 2023)[2] | |
• Total | 34,514 |
• Density | 2,000/km2 (5,100/sq mi) |
Demonym | Riccionese(i) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 47838 |
Dialing code | 0541 |
ISTAT code | 099013 |
Patron saint | San Martino |
Saint day | 11 November |
Website | Official website |
Riccione is centred on the Rio Melo, a minor river that flows into the Adriatic Sea.[3][4] In the decades following the construction of the Bologna–Ancona railway in 1861,[5] Riccione grew substantially with the development of tourism and the construction of elegant villas in the Liberty Style.[6][7] It became independent from the municipality of Rimini in 1922,[8][9] and was further popularised after the Mussolini family bought a seaside villa for its summer holidays.[9][10] As of 2023, Riccione had an estimated population of 34,514.[11]
Riccione's economy is dependent on tourism, especially catering to young people and families.[12]
Riccione's name is of uncertain origin.[13] It first appears as Arcioni in the Bavarian Code [it], a register of investitures of the church in Ravenna in 810-816 AD.[6][9] Several hypotheses have been advanced for its etymology:[13]
- A botanical explanation is offered by the plant Arctium, which would have grown along the banks of the Fontanelle, a minor stream in Riccione's south.
- From architecture, the name could refer to a fortress from the Latin arcis (stronghold, especially on a hill), or the arches of a Roman aqueduct.
- It may refer to a saddlebow (Italian: arcione), describing the depression of the land between the Rio Melo and the Fontanelle, a resting point for pilgrims on horseback, or referring to the legend of St Martin of Tours, Riccione's patron, dismounting his horse to share his cloak with a pilgrim.
- It may refer to a Roman 'Arcioni' family.
Since its modern development, Riccione has been nicknamed la Perla Verde (the Green Pearl), a reflection of its greenery and affluent villas.[14]
Early history
Riccione's oldest archaeological remains were found in the Villaggio Papini area, and date to 5,000 BC and the Bronze Age.[4]
Following the Roman victory at the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC, the region became important for the Roman's expansion against the Celts, leading to the foundation of the colonia of Ariminum (modern Rimini) in 268 BC and the construction of the Via Flaminia, running from Rome to Ariminum.[9][15] A Roman settlement in Riccione, officially a vicus, was centred in the area of the present-day San Lorenzo in Strada, where the Via Flaminia turned to a more northerly bearing.[16][12] Excavations near the present-day pharmacy revealed a necropolis and several buildings,[17] dating to the second century BC.[18][8] A single-arched Roman bridge over the Rio Melo survives next to the SS16 [it] state road.[12][15][17] The bridge was restored in the 17th century and used until the 1930s.[15][17] The Via Flaminia in Riccione was on a climb, requiring additional animals to help transport loaded carts;[18] from ancient times until the arrival of the railway, helping goods cross the area was a profitable local business.[19]
In later centuries, San Lorenzo in Strada was likely depopulated from swamping and incursions during the Gothic Wars.[8][9] Land grants are recorded in the "Arcioni area" in the Bavarian Code [it] in 810-816 AD, while the churches of San Lorenzo in Strada and San Martino in Arcione are first recorded in documents dated to 997 and 1177.[9][6][20] The latter church was located on Cavrèt d'Arvura, a hill in the area of the present-day Fontanelle, south of Riccione along an eponymous stream.[13][21]
In 1260, the area was settled by the Florentine Agolanti family,[8][12][18] who were linked to the Malatesta lords of Rimini.[6][12][18] The family built a castle on the hills in Riccione's outskirts.[8][12][18] A 1371 census records two residential areas,[9][6] numbering 150 residents.[6] In the 16th century, the main hamlet was known as Le Casette,[13] named after a stream running parallel to the Via Flaminia.[4]
In 1673, after decades of local campaigns,[22] the Papal States approved the building of watchtowers by the Torrente Marano and the Fontanelle to defend from Saracen and Usok pirate raids.[18][8][6][22] On 8 January 1889, Riccione became the site of the shipwrecking of the Dutch Zeepaard sailing ship, which ran aground as it sailed from Venice to Ancona.[22]
The beach was expanded between the 16th and 19th centuries, during which time it was used for rice paddies.[18][12] Riccione's population numbered 850 at the end of 1700, centred around San Martino.[9]
Post-unification
At the time of Italy's unification in 1861, Riccione numbered 1,800 residents.[23] It was a poor area, reliant on subsistence agriculture and, to a lesser extent, fishing.[9] Italy's unification accelerated the construction of the Bologna–Ancona railway, whose section between Rimini and Ancona was inaugurated on 17 November 1861,[5] though Riccione would only have a permanent stop from 1865.[19][24] The town grew in popularity soon afterwards: affluent Bolognese families constructed elegant residences, which functioned as second homes by the sea.[18]
During the same period, Don Carlo Tonini, the parish priest of San Martino,[8] proposed that the seaside could cure children living in the Po Valley of scrofula.[24] He organised summer holidays for afflicted children,[19] who stayed with host families in Riccione;[8][19] Tonini would collect them each morning, with farmers providing transport aboard their ox-drawn carts from the town to the seaside along Viale Viola.[19] The holidays were helped by supporting committees in cities across Emilia-Romagna;[8][19] Riccione's treatments were cheaper than regional alternatives.[8][9] In 1867, Tonini accommodated 106 children with the help of the Bolognese committee.[8]
At the start of 1872, Riccione numbered 111 families in 76 buildings; a further 213 families in 174 houses were scattered in its countryside. Its total population was 1,940.[19] At this time, Count Giacinto Martinelli, from Santa Colomba, bought 90,000 square metres (22 acres) of Riccione's seaside, north of the railway between Viale Viola and the present-day Viale Cesare Battisti,[25] which he developed with wide avenues and tree-lined roads, selling plots of land for the construction of villas.[25][26] In 1877, in partnership with Emilio Amati, Martinelli established Riccione's first marine hospice,[8][19] which was the second in Romagna for the treatment of scrofulus children after the Matteucci hospice in Rimini.[25] Three other marine hospices followed before the turn of the century, as well as a short-lived hydrotherapy establishment.[27]
Late 19th-century development
The first villas were built along Viale Viola in 1884.[8] By 1885, there were up to 12 villas owned by foreign residents.[9] In 1889, a mutual aid company for sailors was founded.[8] Riccione's beaches were developed into bathing resorts with lifeguards following the first state concessions in 1895.[8][6]
Particularly important to Riccione's development in the late 19th century was the American Maria Boorman Weeler.[18][8][12][23] Her husband, Giovanni Ceccarini, was a doctor from Cantiano; he fought for the Roman Republic, whose fall led him to exile in New York, where he met and married Maria. On their return to Italy, the Ceccarinis bought several properties in Riccione and Scacciano,[28] a village in Misano Adriatico by Riccione's border.[3][29] Following Giovvani's death in Scacciano in 1888,[28][30][31] Maria began a proliferous philanthropic relationship with the area, beginning with a 200 lire donation for its civic library.[28][32] She donated further funds for an annual winter soup kitchen from 1890,[28][32] and the construction of a kindergarten (1891), the city's hospital (1892-93),[8][9][28][32][33] whose generator powered streetlights along Via Flaminia and Viale Viola,[9][32][33] and Riccione's port (1901).[8][9][28][32] Maria died on 31 August 1903,[28] leaving a further 650,000 lire in her will for the hospital and a garden.[32][33] On 11 October 1911, Rimini's municipal council renamed Viale Viola to Viale Maria Ceccarini.[34]
Early 20th century
In 1901, Sebastiano Amati inaugurated the city's first hotel in Viale Viola.[6][8][9] In 1910, the Teatro Sghedoni was inaugurated;[35] the theatre was later renamed the Kursaal and the Teatro Dante.[36]
In 1905, Amati, Ausonio Franzoni, and Felice Pullè established a society to obtain more services from the municipality of Rimini.[9] In 1910, they presented a petition, signed by the majority of Riccione's residents, for the frazione's independence from the municipality.[9][23]
The outbreak of the First World War suspended the independence campaign.[9][23] Sixty-one names are recorded in the war memorial in Riccione's cemetery.[37] The war caused significant hardship in Riccione: its tourist industry collapsed; an agricultural crisis caused severe inflation and the rationing of flour and bread; and about seventy fishing families were hurt by a regulation that prohibited fishing beyond 500 metres (1,600 feet) from the coast. Additionally, because of the strategic importance of the railway, the town was bombed from the sea and sky by the Austrian-Hungarian army, and crossed by many Venetian refugees.[38]
The 1916 Rimini earthquakes razed about 80% of Riccione's buildings.[37] The 16 August earthquake destroyed the church of San Lorenzo in Strada,[8][17][37][39] and the Martinelli-Amati hospice.[8][37] No fatalities were recorded in Riccione, attributed to the 17 May earthquake.[37] The earthquakes worsened the living conditions of local people,[40][41] already depressed by the First World War.[42] Unemployment increased considerably.[41] In the exodus to leave Riccione, tourists were leaving their bags at the railway station in the hope that they could shorten their wait to board a train leaving the town.[43]
On 6 April 1921, Rimini's socialist municipal administration endorsed Riccione's request for independence.[23] The border between the comuni was established at the Rio dell'Asse; Rimini had unsuccessfully proposed that the border be further south at the Torrente Marano, to the disapproval of residents residing between the Rio dell'Asse and the Torrente Marano, including in the historic San Lorenzo in Strada. In return for being granted its desired border at the Rio dell'Asse, Minister Aldo Oviglio required Riccione to build a bridge over the Torrente Marano, to allow the completion of the coastal road between Rimini and Riccione.[44] With the border agreed, the Royal Decree 1439 was passed on 19 October 1922 to make Riccione a separate comune.[23]
Fascist Italy
Silvio Lombardini became the first mayor of Riccione following the inaugural municipal elections on 14 October 1923.[8][9][23] By then, Riccione had six hotels and three guesthouses.[9]
The bridge over the Torrente Marano was inaugurated on 24 August 1924.[44][45] A bridge over the Rio Melo followed on 16 August 1925, completing the coastal road between Rimini and Riccione.[45] Using the new bridges, the Rimini–Riccione tramway, the predecessor to the route 11 trolleybus, was extended from Miramare to Riccione on 26 June 1927.[45][46][47][48]
On 15 July 1929, Riccione inaugurated an aqueduct to bring water from Misano Adriatico along an underground pipeline. Prior to its construction, its water was sourced from the springs in the Fontanelle area, which produced non-potable mineralised water, or brought to the area using unhygienic wooden barrels. The aqueduct was inaugurated with the opening of a new seaside fountain at the end of Villa Ceccarini, constructed at the cost of 15,295 lire.[49]
From 1926, Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator, began to spend summer holidays in Riccione.[50][51][52][53] In July 1934, Rachele Guidi, Mussolini's second wife, purchased a seaside villa for the family's summer holidays.[50][51][52] Mussolini would conduct government business from Riccione during his stays and host notable guests: the family of Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss were guests of the Mussolinis during his assassination in July 1934,[51][54] and Mussolini learned of Operation Barbarossa during his stay at the villa in June 1941.[54] The villa was guarded by 150 soldiers, reaching 300 during Mussolini's stays.[51] Mussolini would arrive in Riccione aboard a seaplane, and a 75-metre (246-foot) ship would be stationed off Riccione's coast.[9] In 1940, the villa was renovated and its grounds expanded.[52][55][56]
As a result of his association with the area, Riccione's development is cliched as dependent on Mussolini's patronage.[9] Mussolini called Riccione a "land of heroes, most fascist since birth".[57][58] In 1928, the Azienda di Soggiorno was founded to promote tourism.[6] By 1933, Riccione numbered 1,300 villas, 84 establishments including hotels and guesthouses,[8][9][6] and 12 children's summer camps.[8][6] Riccione attracted 30,000 tourists a year during the 1930s,[18] reaching a peak of 41,000 tourists in 1937.[9]
Second World War
Following Italy's racial laws, seven Jewish families were evicted from Riccione in 1944,[59] most notably the family of Nissim Matatia, who lived within eyesight of Villa Mussolini.[60][61]
In early September 1944, during the Italian campaign, Riccione was largely spared the brunt of military movement along the Adriatic Front: most fighting took place in the surrounding hills.[62] Nevertheless, its beaches had been mined.[63] From the evening of 2 September, the Germans retreated to a defensive line at the Rio Melo, defended by a single tank, allowing forces of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to enter the city; by 12 September, they were reinforced by the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade, notorious for their poor behaviour towards locals, who were consequently ordered not to pass underneath the railway.[62] The Hotel Adria, no longer extant, was requisitioned for soldiers engaged in the Battle of Rimini to take four days' leave on the beach.[64] The area between Viale Ceccarini and the Rio Melo remained a no man's land until the surrounding hills had been cleared by 18 September.[62]
Outside the city, San Lorenzo in Strada was heavily fortified by General Richard Heidrich's 1st Parachute Division, who barricaded themselves in the church with instructions to fight until the end.[62][67] On 3 September, the 1st Parachute Division engaged the Canadians, who had then reached Abyssinia, during their retreat to San Lorenzo. The battle in San Lorenzo, which included sword-fighting in the church, claimed 31 soldiers and 124 wounded or missing, with the Canadians reduced to 18 men before they reorganised on 6 September. A second attack on the night of 12–13 September, supported by the 3rd Greek Battalion and the 20th New Zealand Armoured Regiment, claimed the church after four and a half hours.[67] The church was destroyed.[39][62] On 13–14 September, a further notable engagement took place in the agricultural hamlets of Monaldini and Monticelli, 500 metres (1,600 feet) southwest of San Lorenzo in Strada;[68] the engagement killed almost 100 troops of the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade.[64] Riccione was liberated on 20 September, a day before Rimini.[39]
Postwar Italy
After World War II, Riccione was further popularised by visiting celebrities, including Brazilian footballer Pelé,[18][69][70] Mina, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio De Sica, and Gina Lollobrigida.[18] Between 1954 and 1967, the city hosted the Winter Rose (Rosa d'Inverno), an annual socialite party by invitation only, first at the Teatro Dante and,[71] following its demolition in 1956,[36] at the Grand Hotel Riccione. The party included beauty pageants, and was followed by a public party for residents, known as the Rosetta.[71] Organised by the municipal government with the Moto Club Celeste Berardi, guests included Sophia Loren, Fred Buscaglione, and Mina.[72]
Riccione's growth as a tourist destination was assisted by the construction of the A14 tolled highway,[8] which reached Riccione in 1968,[73][74] and Fellini Airport, which ranked among Italy's busiest airports during the 1960s, supported by international tourists visiting Rimini's beaches.[8][75] Riccione was considered more upmarket and conservative than over resorts along the riviera romagnola.[76][77] It was especially popular among German tourists,[78] and frequented by Italian workers and farmers as well as employers and aristocrats.[76]
In 1989, Cocoricò opened in front of the Agolanti Castle on Riccione's outskirts.[79][80] The nightclub, with its distinctive pyramid shape, became an iconic brand and symbol of Riccione's nightlife and youth tourism.[79][81] It gained notoriety for its provocative and transgressive clubbing,[82][83][84] and attracted world-famous disc-jockeys and performers.[85][86][87][88][89]
Location
Riccione sits beside the Adriatic Sea at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to its northeast,[3] with which it has a 6.3-kilometre (3.9-mile) coastline,[90] Rimini to its northwest, Coriano to its southwest, and Misano Adriatico to its southeast.[3] Riccione's municipal area is 17.5 square kilometres (6.8 square miles).[91]
Natural features
The city is centred on the mouth of the Rio Melo,[3][4] a 16-kilometre (9.9-mile) river that flows northeast from the hills of Montescudo and Monte Colombo, with a tributary on each side: the Rio Pedrolara on its left and the Rio Raibano,[4] also called the Rio Grande,[3] on its right. The river was formerly known as the Maranello; the Maltatesta called its valley Valle dei Meli (Valley of Apples), leading to its present name.[4]
Riccione includes several other streams. The Rio dell Asse forms Riccione's northwestern border with Rimini;[44] the Torrente Marano southeast of it is Riccione's largest river.[4] Past the Rio Melo was the Rio Pedroso,[3] which no longer exists, that followed Viale da Verazzano to flow into the Adriatic at the present-day Piazzale Marinai d'Italia.[3][4] The next stream southeast is the Rio Costa, also known as the Fontanelle.[3][4][13] Finally, the Rio Alberello forms Riccione's boundary with Misano Adriatico.[4]
Riccione's principal hill, to its south, is known as Cavrèt d'Arvura.[21][4] Riccione's maximum elevation is 75 metres (246 feet) above sea level, with a mean elevation of 15.2 metres (50 feet).[91]
Districts
Riccione's urban area comprises a number of hamlets, some of which were formerly villages. The northernmost hamlets are Marano, at the mouth of the eponymous river, and Spontricciolo, by the Via Flaminia.[3][13][29] The north bank of the Rio Melo is called Alba by the coast, while inland, San Lorenzo in Strada on the Via Flaminia is Riccione's oldest settlement.[3][15][29] Viale Veneto runs parallel to the Torrente Marano and the Rio Melo between them, providing a discontinuous suburban area between San Lorenzo in Strada and Via Coriano, Riccione's westernmost point at the border with the municipalities of Rimini and Coriano.[3][29]
Southeast of the Rio Melo is Riccione's city centre. The old town is centred inland on Corso Fratelli Cervi, while the new town is centred on Viale Ceccarini, which connects the Via Flaminia to the coast. South of the Via Flaminia is Villaggio Papini, enclosed by the Rio Melo, the state road, and Viale Enrico Berlinguer. The area by Riccione's A14 tolled highway is called Raibano, and includes several industrial estates.[3][29] Further southeast of Riccione's city centre are the districts of Fontanelle (inland) and Abissinia (coastal).[3][29] The Martinelli, a minor stream that ran near the present-day Viale Cesare Battisti,[25] was the boundary between Count Martinelli's subdivision and Abissinia.[4]
Riccione's historic districts were renamed by Rimini's municipal council in 1912. Among the forgotten names are Siberia,[4] which was centred around the present-day Viale Ugo Bassi, between the centre and Abissinia.[92]
As of 2023, Riccione had an estimated population of 34,514,[11] constituting approximately 10% of the Province of Rimini's population.[93] This implies a population density of 1,972 people per square-kilometre.[91][11] In 2022, Riccione was estimated to have 689 European Union (EU) citizens (excluding Italian citizens) and 2,599 non-EU citizens. Its population included 546 nonagenarians and 17 centenarians.[94]
Riccione is a comune, administered by the municipal council. As of 2023, the municipal council numbers the Mayor and twenty-four councillors.[95]
Until 19 October 1922, with the passing of Royal Decree 1439, Riccione was a frazione of the municipality of Rimini.[23] On 16 April 1992, the municipality transferred from the Province of Forlì to the newly-created Province of Rimini.[96]
Tourism
In November 1926, Riccione was officially designated as a tourist resort, with the power to run its own tourist agency.[97][98] Since then, the city has been one of the principal seaside resorts on the riviera romagnola, known for its wide, sandy beaches. Of its 6.3 kilometres (3.9 miles) of coastline, only 233 metres (255 yards) are prohibited for bathing by the mouths of the Torrente Marano and Rio Melo.[90] In 2020, Riccione numbered 432 hotels, residences, and other accommodation facilities, and 383 restaurants, bars, and chiringuitos, of which 109 are seasonal.[99]
Riccione is particularly popular among young tourists, who are drawn by its nightlife.[12] Cocoricò, one of Italy's most famous nightclubs, opened in 1989.[23] There are several camping sites in Riccione's southwest, on its border with Misano Adriatico.[3][29] Riccione also attracts families for its beaches and amusement parks,[12] including Aquafan [it], a waterpark opened in 1987.[23]
Industry
Riccione has industrial zones near Raibano.[3][29] In 2013, Riccione's municipal government approved plans for a new industrial zone next to the airport. The zone includes warehouses and artisanal workhops, such as dry cleaners, carpenters, glassworks, printing plants, and metalworking shops.[100] Among Riccione's notable companies is PhotoSì, a photographic printing company that developed from Riccione's tourism.[101]
The summer touristic season in Riccione includes the annual Notte rosa [it] (Pink Night), a weekend cultural festival held in early July that includes exhibitions, music concerts, and firework displays.[102][103] The festival is held across the riviera romagnola,[103][104] over which it is estimated to attract two million visitors and revenues exceeding €200 million.[103]
Several venues in Riccione are dedicated to art and culture:
- Built in 1938 as the first structure on the Adriatic dedicated to the promotion of tourism,[9][105][97] the Palazzo del Turismo hosts conferences, exhibitions, and other events.[105][106] It is the site of the annual Convegno filatelico numismatico (Numismatic-Philatelic Conference), first held in 1950.[107][108][109]
- Since 2004,[110] the Villa Franceschi on Via Gorizia has hosted a gallery dedicated to modern and contemporary art.[6][7][111]
- Villa Mussolini, belonging to the Municipality of Riccione, has hosted cultural events and exhibitions since its reopening in 2005.[54][56][112] It hosts the annual DIG Award, a prize for documentary film investigative journalism that was dedicated to Ilaria Alpi until 2014.[61][113][114]
- Launched in 2021, Cocoricò's Museo Discocratico (Discocratic Museum, or MUDI) is the first digital museum hosted in an Italian nightclub, with immersive experienecs in NFT and three-dimensional art.[115][116][117]
Riccione Theater Award, biennial, last week of June.[118] Riccione TTV - Theater Television Video, biennial, last week of May.[119]
Several films are set in Riccione, including Estate Violenta (1961), Girl with a Suitcase (1961), and Weekend, Italian Style (1966).[citation needed]