A Rimini, c'e` sole

Finally, something exciting for a change! I wasn't about to let the new-fallen snow keep me down for long. While I was sitting around the house last Wednesday (because I skipped class in protest of the snow, of course), I decided I needed to get out of town and go someplace a little warmer. So Thursday I finished up a group project for school, and I spent all day Friday researching and planning a trip to Rimini the next day. It's a seaside resort town of about 150,000 people, more or less 75 miles south-east of snowy Bologna. It's one of the most popular sea resorts in Europe, but of course there is no one going for a dip this time of year, which makes it the perfect time to go and do a little sightseeing. The city itself was founded as an ancient Roman colony around the 1st century BC, so there are quite a few Roman monuments to visit. One of the main reasons I wanted to go was because a museum there is hosting an exhibit of masterpieces by uber-famous painters from the 16th-20th centuries. The  items were on loan for a time from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts while it completes renovations, and after the 21st of March the exhibit will be returning to Boston, so it was pretty much now or never if I wanted to see the show. It ended up being a really great day, both weather-wise and adventure-wise, and I had a really good time. The city itself was beautiful, quiet, clean, and had a compact little downtown area that made getting around easy (although I still ended up walking almost 9 miles that day). Needless to say, I was pooped by the time I got home that night, and I am still feeling it in my legs even today! I'm getting too old for this shit. Anyways, without further ado, I'll let the pictures do the talking:   (PS-if you didn't know, you can click on the pictures for a larger version)

The trip from cold, snowy Bologna began by train, passing through the snow covered fields outside the city:

But as we approached Rimini and the coast, things started to brighten up quite a bit:

After a 1.5 hour train ride, I arrived in Rimini right after 9am. Just outside the station, there was a tourist office where I planned on picking up a map of the city, as my Italy travel book didn't contain one since it's not a huge tourist destination. Well, there was a handwritten sign on the door saying the office wouldn't open til 1pm that day. I have been in Italy too long to be surprised by this. Luckily, I had a decent mental map of the city from spending the previous day researching everything I wanted to see. I headed off in the direction of my first destination, Chiesa San Nicolo (Church of St. Nicholas).

A pretty plain looking facade. But inside lay my reason for visiting the church. As its namesake suggests, the church is home to some relics of St. Nicholas.... aka St. Nick.... aka, Santa Claus. Yes, gentle readers, inside this church are some of the earthly remains of the beloved fat man in the red suit. Much to my disappointment, however, the church had closed to the public just minutes before I arrived, even though the city's tourist website stated the public hours were 9am til 11am. I'd been in Rimini about five minutes and already been thwarted twice. Thankfully, my luck would improve throughout the day.

Heading towards the city center, I first passed through Piazza Tre Martiri (Three Martyrs Square). The current name derives from an incident in WWII where three Italian partisans were executed in the square by occupying Nazis. However, in antiquity, this piazza was the center of ancient Rimini and was the town's forum. It was known as Caesar's forum, as tradition holds that Julius Caesar stopped with his army here in Rimini after the famous crossing of the Rubicon. If you've heard the phrase "the die has been cast", it was originally uttered here in this square by the man himself. Here is a stone engraving commemorating the situation (albeit a work of the Renaissance era):

I was trying to stick to my plan of attack, which meant I needed to get to the city museum next. Except I had no idea where it was specifically, so I headed towards where I thought it was, passing through another monument. This is one of the original gates to the city, and also dates back to the dawn of the first millennium:

Yes, there were walls on either side of it back then. The Romans weren't that dumb.

From here, I was really lost, so I wandered off in a direction I generally thought was correct. I came upon the back of the big castle in Rimini, however, that was a destination I was planning on seeing later. But I knew there was another landmark nearby it where I could get my bearings, so I wandered that way to Piazza Cavour. It was the town center during the medieval-renaissance era.

Here is the 19th century theater building; Giuseppe Verdi premiered one of his operas here for its inauguration.

There was a big market going on the pizza that morning, which was kind of a bummer photo-wise, but there was still stuff to see.

Here you can see a statue I affectionately refer to as 'Kung Fu Pope', the Pigna (pine-cone) fountain in the background, and the stand-out building back there is the old fish market.

There are several late medieval-early renaissance palazzi (palaces) on the square. Some better pics are coming up later as I go through the day chronologically. I ended up passing through the same places three or four times during the day, which is how I ended up walking almost nine miles. But, for now, here are some pictures:

Underneath the porticoes: 

I just took a picture of this because it reminds me of the dragon design on the Lego knights I used to have growing up.

In the piazza I was able to find out where the city museum was, so I made my way over there (which wasn't very far at all). Housed in an old Jesuit monastery, the museum has several different galleries. It houses the Rimini branch of the Pinacoteca Nazionale (National Picture Gallery), showcasing artwork from local Riminese artists from the middle ages and onwards. It also houses the city's archeological treasures. Not too long ago (15-20 years), during construction in the city center, an amazingly well preserved 3rd Century AD Roman building complex was discovered. It was dubbed 'the surgeon's house' because found inside the home was the world's largest and most complete set of surgical and medical equipment from the time period. Adjacent to the surgeon's house was the home of a wealthy sea merchant that was also preserved, and both featured mosaics in amazing condition. Here are some of the finds:

How'd you like to have your teeth pulled with some of these? Yeesh.

Anyone have change?

This colored glass decorative plate is a type of 'pinax'. I read somewhere that this is one of two like it in the world.

I love a good mosaic, and the museum had several examples.

That is supposed to be Hercules in the center, toasting a cup to the gods and good fortune. This is from the sea merchant's home. It's believed he was importing animals from across the sea for use in gladiatorial games (Rimini had a huge coliseum like Rome's, as you'll see later).

Romans were well known for picking up deities from the cultures they conquered during their domination of the Mediterranean. Here in a mosaic is a camel, a sphinx, and the Egyptian god Anubis.

This panel shows a cherub and a Medusa head.

From the merchant's home again, showing his probable economic activities:

Upstairs was the Pinacoteca Nazionale. I don't remember this artist, but I liked the work:

This is a pieta` by an artist named Bellini. It's from the late 1400s. Not only is it a beautiful piece, but I also think the angels look like 70s flower children.

There was an exceptionally gruesome wood crucifix in the gallery as well. It was kind of hard to look at, and I  think it's unusual because I don't recall very many crucifixes being depicted in such gory detail from this time period (c. 15th century).

This was a panel depicting the zodiac symbol for Cancer with medieval Rimini in the background. However, I think it mostly resembles a bad 1960s Japanese monster movie.

In a Riminese church, a giant fresco that had been plastered over was rediscovered after an earthquake. 

Details of the fresco:

Ever wondered what Michelangelo looks like? Well, here he is. Disappointingly, there were no accompanying nunchuk sculptures.

I thought the next two paintings were remarkable for the amount of human emotion they conveyed:

Just across the street from the museum was the archeological dig that exposed the surgeon's house. It's now an enclosed exhibit with raised, transparent walkways so you can get right down into the site.

Mosaics still in situ:

Human nature never changes. I'm sure the ancient Romans were tossing coins into uncovered Etruscan ruins. Also, there is more money down there than I have earned in the last six months. Hah!

If I were an Englishman, I'd call those skellingtons. That would be strange behaviour for me. Excuse me while I go organise my socks by colour.

After the surgeon's house, I made my way over to the Tempio Maletesta (Malatesta Temple). The Malatesta were the wealthy ruling family of Rimini in late middle ages, early renaissance. They were patrons of the arts and big builders, a story that is repeated in many Italian cities like the Medici of Florence and the Este of Ferrara. The great (and final) Malatesta patriarch, Sigismondo, had a previous (and more modest) church converted into a cathedral, but it really ended up being more of a shrine to himself and his beloved (third) wife Isotta. When I passed by it was about one and the temple wasn't open yet from the noon closure, so I snapped a quick picture and planned to return later. 

Next I went around the city to get a look at all of the open-air monuments which weren't closed during the lunch period (no one works through lunch in Italy). I passed back through Piazza Tre Martiri, taking some more photos.

This is a renaissance period bronze copy of an ancient Roman statue. It continues the Julius Caesar theme of the square.

Several feet below the current level of the piazza, the original stone slabs that comprised the Roman forum were rediscovered. It's amazing how much stuff gets piled up above it over time!

I'm sure the high-season during the summer is just crazy with all the beach-goers, but I found Rimini delightfully tranquil this time of year. People were going about their everyday business, selling flowers, stopping for a coffee in the cafes that line the square. Off in the distance a street performer was playing a melancholy tune on the saxophone. It was a very 'Italy' moment.

After leaving the piazza, I stopped and grabbed a piadina lunch to go from a little cafe. Piadina is the typical bread of the region. It's a flat, circular, unleavened bread usually made from flour. In short, it's a tortilla. But I can't get any of my Italian friends here to admit it. It's really funny how overprotective Italians are of the foods from their own particular regions. In Italy you will often find foods labeled as "DOCG" or "DOP" which I don't think has a similar meaning for us Americans. It's the same idea behind 'champagne' and 'sparkling wine' - they are the exact same thing, exact champagne can only be called champagne if it comes from, well, Champagne. And therefore it costs a lot more. So a lot of Italian foods and wines carry these labels both to ensure their quality and protect/control their origins (and keep prices high). In the supermarket, piadinas are about 2-3 euro (currently $3-$5) for a pack of three pieces, while back home a foot-tall stack of tortillas costs about 85 cents.

The magic of marketing aside, I enjoyed my piadina (with raw, cured ham and soft cheese - mmm) in the shadow of one of Rimini's famous Roman monuments. Augustus (the successor to Julius) had this arch built on the main thoroughfare of the ancient Roman city back in 27 BC: 

The battlements on top are a medieval addition, but you can clearly see the Roman structure in white marble. Here's a detail:

After I finished my piadina, I made my way to the Roman amphitheater. Rimini's amphitheater was second in size only to the one in Rome (better known as the Colosseum). However, it was never preserved in the way Rome's was, and has fallen into near complete disarray. Buried for quite a long time, it had at one point been transformed into part of the city's defensive walls, which never helps when you want to preserve something for thousands of years.

After that, I had to head across town to see another Roman monument. But on the way, I passed this. It was in some kind of day-care or kindergarten type place, in the play-yard. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it was doing there. I only know that when I gazed upon it, I sensed a blackness and a chill in the depths of my soul that made me feel the anguish of an eternity of hellfire. I should switch to studying psychology and open up a shrink's office in Rimini, because there is going to be a whole generation of messed up kids that need help.

After I was able to pry my eyes away from that disaster, I headed towards my next stop. First I had to pass through Piazza Cavour again, so I took the opportunity to take some more revealing shots of the palazzi lining the square.

Here you can see the Fontana Pigna (Pinecone Fountain). It was originally adorned with a statue of a pope, but for some reason unclear to me it was switched to... a pine cone. Acceptable substitute, I guess. Leonardo DaVinci spent some time in Rimini, and was so captivated by the whimsical sound of the numerous spouts that he was inspired to describe in a written account a church organ that would function on the power of water, although he never actually ended up designing it. Too busy designing helicopters and tanks, I suppose.

Next to the fountain is the old fish market. It's not that 'old' for Italy, but it still predates our independence, if I remember correctly. It was set up as a moderately sized open air market for Rimini's fishermen to ply their trade, with fancy marble tables running the length of the market on both sides and four dolphin fountains providing water for various fishy uses, not the least of which was cleaning out the nastiness of the catch-all troughs that ran below the tables.

And this is one of the dolphin fountains. Really? I am beginning to doubt the experience of Rimini's mariners...

 Ponte Tiberio (Tiberius Bridge) was my next destination. Built in 14 AD, the structure was so well planned and executed that it has lasted through earthquakes, floods, invading armies, direct assaults, and it even supports vehicle traffic today. I wonder if the ancient Romans ever could have imagined what strange mechanical beasts would one day be making their way across the bridge.

A view looking over the river/canal that leads to the Adriatic Sea:

Just shy of 2000 years old. Kinda like Dick Van Dyke.

A shot from a little farther away.

After the bridge, I followed the canal towards the sea. While not hopping with summer tourists, I had read there was still some cool stuff to see. With no map, I figured I would just hit the sea as long as I stuck to the canal. I was right, but, I did not anticipate that it would be about a mile of walking just to get there. And then I got completely lost. But what's a trip without a little adventure, eh??

Here's Rimini's semi-famous lighthouse:

The famous Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (boy that was a lot of F's just now...) was born and raised in Rimini. Some of his films featured this turn of the century grand hotel on the beachfront. Rimini is one of Europe's biggest seaside resorts, and the economy since the mid 1800s has been centered on that development:

And this is a giant camera:

There was also a large famous fountain nearby, but it must have been under renovations or something because it was under a big tarp. The boardwalks and beaches of Rimini are a big draw, even for native Italians. Here's a view looking out onto the sea (it's not exactly Malibu):

After that, I had to find my way back to the center. It was going on 3pm now, and the Tempio Malatesta was about to re-open, so I headed that way - in a fairly circuitous route, adding to the day's mile total. But it was definitely worth the walk!

Inside the temple:

Sigismondo Malatesta had the place designed basically as a shrine to himself and his true love/third wife, Isotta (third time's a charm, right?). There is a lot of strange imagery inside, not the least of which is a fixation on elephants. Another recurring motif is the intertwined initials of himself and Isotta. For all these reasons, Sigismondo (and the temple) were later condemned by a pope.

Elephants and the "I-S"

If you ever find yourself face to face with an angel wielding a scimitar, no matter the situation, chances are you are in over your head.

Elephants again:

Another cool "I-S" design:

The man himself. Riding atop elephants, of course:

This was a pretty famous fresco inside, but... I'm not quite sure why.

More elephants!

An overall view from the inside. It doesn't look that big from outside!

There was another semi-famous church I wanted to go see (Chiesa San Agostino), so I headed towards that (passing Piazza Tre Martiri and Piazza Cavour again!). It is the only Gothic-style church in Rimini and had some reknowned frescoes in it, so I stopped by.

There was a mass that had just started at 4pm when I showed up, so I couldn't really go around snapping photos of anything. But I did take one for good measure. It's kind of a no-no, but I figure all those afternoons in religious education have to give me a little credit:

From here, it was just a short walk to my big destination of the day: Rocco Malatesta (Malatesta Stronghold, otherwise known as Castle Malatesta). Inside the fortress was the art exhibit that was my main reason for coming to Rimini. I had decided that since the show was open until 8pm, I would go by when I was done with all my other sightseeing adventures, which would have been considerably earlier if I had a MAP. However, I realized the error in my plans when I approached the castle and saw one of the biggest lines I've ever seen in my life! It was like the line for the Vatican to get in for this exhibit, and it was only about a quarter after 4pm! I couldn't believe it. Well, I'd come this far, so I'd be damned if I wasn't going to stick it out now. So I jumped in line and dutifully waited for an hour and a half as they let in about 25 people at a time to enter the show, waiting for another group of people to leave before they did so. And, coincidence of the decade: I am about 94.7% sure that a couple about three spots in line ahead of me were part of the staff on my previous summer study in Italy back in 2005. I noticed the guy at first and was sure I knew him from somewhere, and then I saw the woman he was with and it finally clicked. What are the chances of that?

 Anyways, we eventually got into the castle to see the show (all the while I was dancing in line, because I had to pee like a racehorse but I sure as hell wasn't going to get out of the line!). The exhibit was really neat, and the ambiance of a renaissance castle just added to the overall enjoyment. There were pieces from a ton of big hitters in art history: El Greco, Velasquez, Van Dyk, Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Degas, Picasso, Van Gogh... who could ask for more? My favorites were a couple from Renoir and Monet. I'm also pretty sure one of the Monets on display I had seen before when Mom and Dad made me go with Grandma Lib to a Monet show in Phoenix when I was a little kid. Who'd'a thunk I'd be voluntarily adventuring to go see one decades later? They had some modern art on display as well, from some Italian artists. And when I say modern, I mean one item was literally just a five foot by five foot canvas covered in black paint. What. The. Hell. How do I get a piece of that racket? Same thing with the one Picasso they had on display. They couldn't have paid me to take the thing home with me. Oh well, what do I know. I had a great time looking at everything else. Security was pretty tight, as you can imagine, plus the place was packed, so I didn't have a chance to snap any photos. But here are some photos of the exterior and interior of the castle, from before and after I entered (hence the difference in daylight):

After that, it was time to head back home. The last train was  leaving relatively early, so I wanted to make sure to catch it. However, I did take the opportunity on the walk back to do some night shots of the places I was passing by.

Fontana Pigna and the Kung Fu pope:

Fontana and Theater:

Piazza Cavour at night:

Piazza Tre Martiri:

And finally, I think this shot of Tempio Malatesta came out really nice:

One last anecdote: as you can see, I passed by the same places many times over the course of the day. Every time I passed the Tempio, there was a street performer playing a slow, sad blues tune on the saxophone. As I passed by the last time, on the way to the railway station, I dropped a euro in his hat. He immediately changed from the sad song to an upbeat jazz tune. It made me laugh!

I caught the next train home, and was in bed by 10pm that night. I was so I exhausted from all the walking, I could barely move my legs. I was even tuckered out all day Sunday so I just sat around and recovered. Like I said, I'm getting too old for this shit!

Monday it was back to class from 8am til 5pm, and more of the same boring stuff. This series of classes will be more or less finishing next week, with just some projects to carry over through the Easter holiday and then tests after that. Then we'll start a new series of classes to go on through the end of the school year in May.

Tomorrow is St. Patty's day, and while not nearly as big a holiday as in America, a lot of the young people still celebrate it here. There are numerous Irish pubs and Guinness is readily available, so I don't think it'll be too hard to get a little Irish tomorrow. I'm hoping to find a pub that knows how to make Irish car bombs and show these Italians a thing or two about celebrating St. Patty's!