San Marino, Rimini and Santarcangelo

We stayed at our hotel in Rimini for 3 nights. There were other guests, but the hotel was by no means, full. Our group received a very warm welcome. The owners were very much involved in the day to day running of the hotel and were anxious to speak English to us. They have been in the hotel for 50 years and have owned it for most of that time. They had seen good times, when they were full with UK package tours, but now, times are hard and visitors are few. The food in the hotel restaurant was very good Italian home cooking but on the other hand, the rooms were in need of an upgrade for today's tourists. It was sad to see a business that would not recover for the 75 year old owners.

After a long day in Ravenna, our Sunday schedule was lighter: a short drive to San Marino, return to our hotel for lunch then a visit to Santarcangelo in the
late afternoon. The owner of the hotel suggested that we should fit in a short visit to the old centre of Rimini and the group was happy to fit in another excursion.

The clouds arrived with a little rain and the temperature had dropped to the mid 20s, so much better for sight seeing.

San Marino is country entirely surrounded by Italy. It has a population of 30,000 people and is about 60 sq kilometres on a mountain, Mount Titano.

We had a guided tour through the town and up to the castle, then left to our own devices.



Entrance to the town











Narrow streets. San Marino is a tax haven, so somewhere to shop (maybe).










Guard of the Rock outside the palace.










Basilica di San Marino











There is a tower on each of the three peaks, Guaita, Cesta and Montale. This is the oldest, Guaita, which was built in the 11th century.








The view towards the Adriatic Sea.









After lunch, we had time free in the old town of Rimini which was founded by the Romans in 268BC and was an important point in the system of Roman roads.



Remains of the roman road.










Tiberius bridge, completed in 20AD










Arch of Augustus, 27BC











Piazza Cavour












Palazzo dell'Arengo











Fontana del Pigna. Leonardo da Vinci was here in 1502.










Then it was on to Santarchangelo for. 4pm appointment with a guide. Santarcangelo is a small town about 15 minutes drive from Rimini.




It has a triumphal arch built in 1772








A button museum.











A church (but we were all churched out )










A bell tower










A fortress that is private










And an ice cream festival in progress - there was more interest here

















On the way home, it was time for an apero in a park where a wedding reception was taking place.

















- Pat and John on tour