Ancient Rimini

Colori compositi

www.riviera.rimini.it www.cultura.provincia.rimini.it

M

Archaeology trails by land and sea

Ancient Rimini

I - 47900 Rimini, piazza Malatesta 28 tel. +39 0541 716371 - fax +39 0541 783808

C

Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo

Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo

cop_archeo ENG 5-02-2009 17:43 Pagina 1 Y CM MY CY CMY K

edizione inglese

Riviera di Rimini Travel Notes

cop_archeo ITA ok 3-06-2008 11:54 Pagina 2 C

Colori compositi

M

Y

CM

MY

CY CMY

K

Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo

Angela Fontemaggi Orietta Piolanti

Ancient Rimini Archaeology trails by land and sea

Coordination: Valerio Lessi, Sonia Vico, Marino Campana, Francesca Sancisi Graphic design: Relè/Tassinari Vetta Photographs: Photo library, Assessorato al Turismo Provincia di Rimini (Provincial Tourism Department) Photo libraries of the Museums included in the Guide Fernando Casadei, Emilio Salvatori, Pierluigi Siena Cover: Rimini, Augustus Arch; Orpheus (detail of the mosaic in the Surgeon’s House) Page layout and printing plates: Litoincisa87, Rimini Licia Romani Translation: Gillian Forlivesi Heywood, Link-up, Rimini Printed 2009 Our thanks to Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Emilia Romagna (Regional Archaeology Superintendence)

Contents

Introduction Angela Fontemaggi, Orietta Piolanti

page 5

The Mark of History Angela Fontemaggi

page 7

In Search of Primitive Man The Etruscan Princes of the Marecchia Valley Ariminum: the Founding of a City Caput Viarum The Territory The city of Ariminum The Domus of Ariminum

page page page page page page page

Itineraries Orietta Piolanti

page 22

1. In Search of Primitive Man 2. Tokens of Power: the Etruscan Princes of the Marecchia Valley 3. Tokens of Power: Military Leaders and Roman Emperors in the History of Ariminum 4. Caput Viarum 5. The Archaeological Site in Piazza Ferrari: a Miniature Pompei in the Heart of Rimini 6. From One Domus to Another 7. Natural Resources and the Labour of Man: a Modern Economy Rooted in Tradition

page 23

page 57

The Ancient World Festival

page 62

Museums and Archaeological Sites in the Province of Rimini included in the itineraries

page 64

7 9 12 14 15 17 19

page 29 page 32 page 36 page 43 page 50

5

Ancient Rimini. Archaeology trails by land and sea.

Introduction Angela Fontemaggi, Orietta Piolanti

The itineraries in this guide will take you through the history and geography of Rimini and its territory, at times moving beyond the borders of Rimini Province to touch a broader horizon of human and cultural contacts. The byways of archaeology sometimes cross nature trails or food and wine routes, coming into contact with local economic and productive realities rooted in very old traditions, revealing little by little the real identity of places which the tourist industry has made known the world over. If we follow in the footsteps left by mankind throughout the long journey from pre-history to the late ancient age, we can discover the most genuine heart of Rimini (Roman Ariminum) and the nearby countryside, and gain understanding of that appearance and character which has always had a vocation for hospitality, being by turns a way stage and a crossroads for different cultures, or a gateway open to Imperial conquest and lively trade, or a major road junction linking the north to the south, a bridgehead between Rome and Europe.

And as we follow the traces still remaining, we can admire monuments which take pride of place in any handbook of history or architecture; we can follow roads first trodden by ancient populations and later developed by Roman consuls and emperors, admire bridges built with immense engineering skill, and discover those treasures, great and small, which make each of the museums in the territory of Rimini the protagonist of a page of our human history. We can even go inside a Roman domus and discover its secrets. And when you stop for refreshment, you might like to remember how many hostelries and post houses could be found in the towns and along the roads in Roman times, and enjoy the pleasures of ancient hospitality and traditional flavours.

Turning our attention from the land to the sea, the suggested itineraries make up a mosaic of opportunities promoting contact with local culture, enhancing human and natural resources, underlining the topical aspect of the ancient world and offering spaces for learning and for play, for enjoyment and for socialising, through the various visits and workshops organised by the local Museums. There is something for everyone: for families, for children, for adults, for lovers of cycling, and not forgetting the non-sighted or partially sighted.

The proposals which follow are not an exhaustive overview (this would be impossible!) of the immense archaeological potential of the Province: our intention is just to hold a “magnifying glass” to the most lively and original aspects, suggesting paths of exploration to take you right to the heart of the origins and the authentic spirit of this far corner of Romagna.

Above: border of the “Anubis” mosaic (detail). Below: mosaic showing a

procession, from Palazzo Gioia (detail).

Rimini, Municipal Museum.

7

Ancient Rimini. Archaeology trails by land and sea.

The Mark of History Angela Fontemaggi

In Search of Primitive Man The history of Rimini begins … on the beach! Let us go back in time: close your eyes for a moment and then open them again … a million years ago: we would find ourselves in a lagoon setting, on a sandy beach with dunes; here and there the gravelly estuaries of rivers and streams. At our back, woodland: pine and fir trees alternating with dense grassy vegetation, then oaks, poplars, birches, spacious clearings all along the coast, the marks of a temperate humid climate, a world traversed by the shadows of large mammals (elephant, rhinoceros, bison), followed by groups of men, hunting.

Our journey to discover the roots of the oldest population takes us inland, to an offshoot of the Romagna Apennine foothills, the present-day hill of Covignano.

About a million years ago, this was coastline, washed by the sea covering that plain where the city of Rimini would later stand. The sea, advancing and retreating by turns, has determined the morphology and geology of the place, stratified in sandy and gravelly sediments.

Against this background we follow the traces left by ancient Man in the most remote of the Stone Ages, the Lower Palaeolithic. So says the important deposit of worked stones found in 1968 by Stefano Sabattini and later examined by wellknown scholars. This discovery confirms in many ways the palaeontological information brought to light in a number of sites in the region, chief among them Monte Poggiolo, in the Forlì area.

The stones chipped on one or two sides (choppers and chopper-tools) are the products of a real “industry” set up by homo erectus, skilled in working the flints picked up at the river mouth or along the river beds as he travelled from one place to another: this is clearly shown by the numerous chippings produced by hard, decided blows given by hands obviously expert at converting ordinary stones into efficient hunting tools and rudimentary implements. Choppers and stone splinters off the nucleus become weapons and tools invaluable for survival in an age when Man was a hunter and a gatherer of the fruits offered freely by Nature.

There are tokens confirming the presence of mankind throughout the territory of Rimini for the entire Stone Age, a vast stretch of time marked by changes in

Chiselled flints.

Riccione, Local History Museum.

8

climate and environment. The objects in worked stone found in Riccione and the Conca Valley, dating from a later period in the Lower Palaeolithic age (from 200,000 to 150,000 years ago), show more developed working techniques intended to differentiate the tools required for various everyday activities: from hunting to slaughter of the prey, from breaking bones to working skins, from gathering roots and fruit to building primitive shelters.

The new Stone Age (Neolithic) which spread along the Adriatic coast and reached the Romagna area at the end of the sixth millennium B.C. brought with it a cultural revolution defined first by new ways of hunting food, using new techniques for working stone, which was no longer simply chipped but also polished and sharpened; and second by the introduction of pottery. In his millenary experience as a hunter and predator Man had learned the rules and rhythms of Nature, the practice of sheep-farming and primitive forms of agriculture. Alternating periods of nomadism with progressively longer periods of stability, determined by the rhythms of animal breeding and agriculture, individuals made up minute communities, simple conglomerates of huts equipped for the shelter of men and beasts. In these little villages which grew up along water courses, cheese making and agriculture developed, side by side with industry for the production of progressively more specialised tools and the manufacture of that pottery which had become indispensable for preserving and transporting milk, cheese and seeds.

There are fragmentary but significant tokens giving a window on the daily life of Neolithic settlements: pottery decorated with engravings, baked clay (the plaster of huts built on wooden frame supports), tools made from flint (razors, sharpened points, scrapers), shells used to make necklaces and pendants. The archaeologically documented presence of Man along the coast (and especially near the one-time water’s edge) in the Neolithic Age confirms the vocation of the territory south of Rimini as a “hinge� between the cultural traditions of the Po Valley Plain and the peninsula, a lively scene where even in pre-historic times people from different traditions and cultures came together. This inter-cultural feature was consolidated in the Bronze Age (third millennium - ninth century B.C.), aided by the technology which followed the introduction of metal and by an increasingly dynamic economy fuelled by trade in copper and tin as well as by agriculture and animal breeding. The

Bronze Age pottery bowl. Riccione, Local History Museum.

9

population continued to settle both close to the coast - where it was easy to cultivate the land and where the sea’s resources could be exploited - and further inland where there was rich pasture land.

Contact with the central Adriatic area intensified along the ancient “trails”, bringing together the Apennine and sub-Apennine cultures. Knowledge of this broad cultural horizon comes from the discovery, often on the surface of the land, of fragments of pottery, objects made of stone, bone, or metal, and at times the remains of settlements: traces of huts, four-cornered dwellings with holes for the posts which supported the structure, have been found on Covignano hill, at Misano and at Riccione along the Via Flaminia.

The importance of metallurgy at the end of the Bronze Age, and the level it had reached, are evident from the deposits found in Camerano, Poggio Berni and in Casalecchio, Verucchio, two deposits of objects in bronze intentionally concealed because destined to be recast. These finds demonstrate that the hills behind Rimini, as long ago as the tenth century B.C., were on the trade routes towards the north, the Aegean, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Etruscan Princes of the Marecchia Valley The most advanced techniques of metal-working were early borrowed from the Etruscans, a contact which led to the growth of the Villanovan civilisation in Verucchio. This hill-top town stood in a dominant, strategic position along the route which led across the Viamaggio pass, linking Romagna to Etruria. Between the ninth and the sixth centuries B.C., Verucchio became a focal point for the new Iron Age culture. Its position, standing sentry at the entrance to the Marecchia Valley, some distance from the sea yet still in contact with the coast by means of the river estuary, gave the town of Verucchio influence over a wide area. The Villanovan culture spread from Verucchio through the parallel smaller valleys, reaching northwards as far as the river Rubicon and south as far as the river Marano, where it gradually disappeared, blending with the Villanovan “island” of Fermo in Le Marche and with the Picene environment.

Protagonists of a new civilisation, the Villanovans of Verucchio inherited long-

Earrings made of gold and amber. Verucchio, Municipal Archaeology Museum.

10

standing agricultural practices, adopting first the well-established system of burnbeating, which makes it possible to fertilise fields with the ashes of stubble and dead leaves burnt in situ, and subsequently introducing crop rotation and the use of fallow land. Agriculture also gained new instruments, such as the sickle for cutting hay, through the spread of iron and the progress made in metal-working, and it seems that there were also more working animals and animals available for transport.

The history of this population, related to the Etruscans, is told mainly by the numerous burial sites in the necropolises found on the slopes of the hill where Verucchio stands. Here the terrain was less hospitable for the living but suitable for the city of the dead: a veritable mine of information on the ancient way of life.

Archaeological excavations, study of the materials found, and their organisation in the splendid Archaeology Museum in Verucchio - one of the most original and most significant in Europe - give a magnificent view of Villanovan society. The most visible are groups of aristocrats whose high rank was based on their activity as warriors or as governors, or from the control they held over the territory or over trade in the most lucrative commodities, such as amber.

The rich collections of funerary objects found among the ashes of the deceased collected in characteristic biconical ossuaries, or recovered from the large “dolium” burial containers, have yielded much information useful for drawing up an “identity card” - so to speak - of each individual. Arms (spears, swords, crested or skullcap helmets) denote the warrior, the man who enjoys freedom and fights for the defence of his land; while jewellery, accessories, objects for the care of the body, and tools denote a universe which may be female (necklaces, earrings, bracelets and anklets, clasps, belts, spindles and bobbins) or male (buckles, razors, arms, parts of horse harness or chariots). Valuable bronze dishes and finely carved wooden furniture

Left, crested helmet from tomb Lippi 89.

Verucchio, Municipal Archaeology Museum.

Right, Attic vase decorated with figures in red and an owl.

Riccione, Local History Museum.

11

decorated by skilled craftsmen all denote that the deceased belonged to a highranking household.

We may consider these funerary objects as letters of an alphabet allowing us to gain an insight into the people buried here: the richness of the tombs and their position within the necropolises are indicators of the roles and positions held by these personages, all of them high up on the social scale, and some of them “princes�. These indicators are often linked to the equestrian sphere, to the prestige of arms or to the fortunes of commerce. Those who distinguished themselves in the civic, religious, or military spheres were buried with their finest and most precious belongings: pieces of jewellery - miniature masterpieces created by craftsmen to meet the tastes and ambitions of the local aristocracy - using the most highly developed techniques and the most prized materials, ranging from bronze to silver, gold and magic amber; crested helmets and dress helmets, war chariots and objects symbolising the most highly prized activities, charismatic marks of power; bronze dishes and elegant furnishings in wood, reminiscent of the banquet, that convivial gathering in which a person could demonstrate his excellence within the community. High prestige roles which, in life as in death, seem to have been attributed also to women, and not only within the domestic sphere.

The archaeological data available denotes a civilisation which evolved and became wealthy by keeping control over the territory, over trade and over the distribution of various products, first and foremost the precious amber coming from the far-away Baltic region and from certain areas in the Mediterranean.

During the sixth century B.C. Villanovan Verucchio was destined to see its former splendour fade and to yield its hegemony to the harbour on the river Marecchia, given new vigour by the new policies of the Etruscans in the Adriatic area. As they spread towards the valley and the coast, the Etruscans came into

12

contact with an ethnic tissue fuelled by different cultural influences which scholars link sometimes to the Umbrian and Picene civilisations, sometimes to the broader horizon of Greece. From the sixth to the fourth century B.C. this “Rimini before Rimini”, in common with the entire coastline from Le Marche to the river Po, was enlivened by exchanges with Greek cities, beginning with Athens, source of the renowned Attic pottery. Emblematic of the multicultural environment which characterised the territory from the fifth century B.C. to the advent of the Romans is the Villa Ruffi hoard, a votive store found on Covignano hill and scattered through various museums in Europe and America as a result of antique dealing in the nineteenth century. Here, in a sort of pantheon set up in the cult of the divinities presiding over war and water, were found Etruscan, Umbro-Italic and Hellene influences. But in the fourth century B.C. Ariminum (in the sense of the territory corresponding more or less to that of the present Province of Rimini) was also involved in the invasion of the Gauls coming from the Po Valley Plain, to the detriment of the Etruscan domination. And it was these feared warriors from Gaul whom the Romans were destined to meet as enemies during their conquest of the lands north of the Apennines.

Ariminum: the Founding of a City In the year 268 B.C. a contingent of 6,000 farmer-soldiers with their families crossed the Apennines and came to the valley of the river Ariminus, the present-day Marecchia. Driven by their hunger for land, they had left the regions of Latium and Campania to undertake the long journey which was to lead them to the northern corner of Ager Picenus et Gallicus, that territory part in Romagna and part in Le Marche which had been annexed to the Roman empire after the defeat of the Senon Gauls at the battle of Sentino (295 B.C.).

The mission entrusted to them by the Senate of Rome was to found a Latin colony which would take its name from the river, becoming Ariminum, an autonomous state allied to the mother country, bounded by the Conca and Rubicon brooks. In little over a century these pioneers and their descendants were to transform the still “natural” countryside into a “man-made” environment,

13

E F 4 5 1

D 3

G

C 2

B

A. Augustus Arch B. Porta Montanara gate C. Forum D. Theatre E. Tiberius Bridge F. Harbour G. Amphitheatre

A

The domus included in the itineraries: 1. Palazzo Massani, Prefecture 2. Palazzo Arpesella 3. Chamber of Commerce 4. The Surgeon’s House 5. Palazzo Diotallevi

14

characterised by those traits which still distinguish it: the orderly geometry of fields and crops, interspersed with small groups of dwellings, and a network of roads leading in all directions around the town, the whole scene framed by the blue of the sea and the rivers and the grey lines of walls.

In their strategy of occupation of the territory the settlers followed the choices of those who had preceded them. And so the city was founded at the mouth of the river Marecchia, the obvious place for a harbour and for coasting trade, and formerly the favoured place of settlement for Villanovans, Etruscans, Greeks and Umbrians.

Caput viarum A number of roads meet at the harbour: the pre-historic route through the Marecchia valley (via Arretina), the “pedemontana� track towards the north, and the coastal routes. The Romans exploited this to the full, making Ariminum a major military and trading harbour, a strategic junction for communications between the north and the centre of the country, and also the point of departure for long routes towards central and eastern Europe. The ancient routes, with the exception of the Via Arretina, were honoured with the title of consular roads, the motorways of the time, prime players in the process of conquering territory and favouring the economic interests of the Roman state. The Via Flaminia (220-219 B.C.) begins at the Milvian bridge in Rome and ends at Porta Romana, the southern gateway to Ariminum enhanced in 27 B.C. by the Augustus Arch; the Via Aemilia (187 B.C.) begins at the opposite extremity of the city, crossing the river Ariminus, traverses the Po Valley Plain in a north-westerly direction and touches all the towns at the confluence of the Appenine valleys as far as Milan; the Via Popillia (132 B.C.), the natural continuation northwards of the Via Flaminia coincides for a little way with the Via Aemilia but then follows the coast as far as Aquileia.

This integrated road network was begun by the Consul Caius Flaminius, the first leader of the populares, opposed to the hegemony of the Senate, such as Marius and Caesar, who made Ariminum the protagonist of famous chapters in the history of republican Rome: by means of the Via Flaminia the colony developed from being merely a defence against invading Gauls to become an open gateway to the

Tiberius Bridge, Rimini.

15

boundless plain towards the north, a springboard for the conquest of Cisalpine Gaul.

The routes followed by the consular roads in the Rimini area were not very different from the present-day roads. They had a man-made surface, usually made from layers of gravel, and well-built bridges. Travelling was rendered safer and more comfortable by efficient infrastructures similar to those we find today. There were milestones, road signs in the form of stone columns at the roadside marking the distance; mutationes, “fuel stations� for changing horses; and mansiones, inns offering refreshment and shelter for the night.

The road network, together with smaller local roads, soon became a gathering place for minor towns and villages which depended mainly on trade or manufacture.

And according to a custom typically Roman the necropolises, the cities of the dead, were placed beside the roads, immediately outside the boundaries of the settlements, where the funeral monuments could attract the gaze of the passer-by, so perpetuating the memory of the deceased.

The Territory The consular roads were the backbone of that organisation of the territory brought about by centuriation, the process of reclaiming and reorganising agricultural land by subdividing it into regular plots measuring about 710 metres each side, delimited by right-angled lines. The grid drawn by ditches, canals, hedges, walls and paths was the basis for intense exploitation of land which gave generously its fruits even in those areas not included in the centuriation process: the mountain area yielded stone, wood, and all the products deriving from sheepfarming, while in the valleys oak woods favoured pig-farming and the consequent production of meat.

The fertile and varied land and the sea so rich in fish (the exquisite fish of the Adriatic) guaranteed the well-being of the city, meeting the demands of both the domestic market and of trade. On the plain vegetables, grain and fruit trees

Right, flat-based amphora, Rimini, Municipal Museum; Far right, model of a kiln, Santarcangelo di Romagna, MUSAS.

16

flourished, while in the hills olives and above all vines were grown using trees as living support, and pruning methods learned perhaps from the Gauls but derived from Etruscan tradition.

Ancient sources praise the exceptional wine production of the lands to the south of Ariminum: 10 culleum (wineskins) per iugero, equivalent to approximately 210 hectolitres per hectare of land. This abundance made it possible to export wine - not exceptional in quality - by means of a widespread trade network which seems to have found its main outlet in the popular markets of the capital. This intense agricultural activity, which reached its peak between the second and third centuries A.D., led to the production of appropriate containers, the characteristic small amphorae with a flat base, ideal for transport by cart, since distribution was mainly by road.

Kilns where amphorae of this type were produced in the Rimini area have come to light, some in the territory of Riccione, but mainly in Santarcangelo, which in imperial times must have been an “industrial estate� specialised in the production of pottery ware for crockery, lamps, and bricks.

The organisation of agriculture in small or medium-sized farms - destined to last over time without evolving into the latifundum system of large landed estates - gave rise to widespread population of the land and considerable prosperity which reached its peak between the first century B.C. and the second century A.D. The typical farm was built from brick and inexpensive materials and included storehouses, stables and outhouses equipped for the working of produce or for use as small craft workshops. Traces of country villas have been found, mainly to the south of Rimini. A villa included both the master’s house, similar to a town house in comfort and quality of materials, and the space devoted to the labourers, with the necessary equipment for working the produce of the land or for use by craft workers. Completing the portrait of land population were villages (pagus and vicus), maintained by the rich array of resources available and by their position in the network of communications. All the archaeological traces found on the plain of San Pietro in Cotto, in the Conca valley between Gemmano and Montefiore, suggest that there was a large country villa here. This was a privileged position since it stood on high ground within a network of roads through Romagna and Le Marche. The materials discovered point to a sizeable settlement based on intensive exploitation

Cameo showing the profile of Dionysus, god of wine, and cornelian showing Ceres, goddess of the harvest. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

17

of agricultural resources, perhaps extended imperial property, with high-quality residential buildings and in all probability religious buildings also.

The City of Ariminum The city of Ariminum was a major road junction and a focal point for the lively economy of the territory. Right from its foundation, it took on an appearance which we can still trace in today’s historic core: a well-ordered grid of streets at right angles to one another (cardo and decumanus) made a network of rectangular insulae where buildings both public and private would be erected. The original nucleus consisted of the cardo maximus (now Via Garibaldi - Via IV Novembre) which linked the Via Arretina to the harbour at the river mouth (near the present-day Largo Martiri d’Ungheria, also known as Piazzale Clementini), and the decumanus maximus (Corso d’Augusto), the street which links the Via Flaminia to the Via Emilia.

Where the two roads cross, in what is now Piazza Tre Martiri, was the forum, the heart of public and economic life in the city. Archaeological evidence gives us some interesting ideas of what the forum might have looked like. At the time it stretched as far as the present-day Via San Michelino in Foro on the seaward side, and important buildings faced on to it, including the basilica, the seat of justice and of business, and the theatre built in the age of Augustus in the first insula to the north.

This prestigious site was also the setting for honorary monuments, statues and inscriptions to commemorate important personages, emperors and benefactors of the community. And let us not forget that according to tradition, it was in the forum of Ariminum that Julius Caesar’s famous speech to his soldiers was made, after the crossing of the river Rubicon which marked the boundary of the state of Rome, and before his march on the capital.

Augustus Arch, Rimini.

18

The colony of Ariminum was surrounded on three sides by water: on one side the river Ariminus, on another the Ausa brook (now diverted, but then corresponding to the present-day Parco Cervi gardens) and on a third the sea (which in Roman times reached as far inland as the present-day railway line). It soon took on the contours which would outline an urban layout destined to last, without any significant alterations, until the beginning of the twentieth century. The role of the city as a military outpost soon led to the establishment of suitable defences designed to protect its southern side, the most exposed: a mighty curtain wall with four-sided watchtowers was built, using roughly-squared blocks of local sandstone.

Restoration work to maintain the effectiveness of the defences was carried out during the first century B.C., in the difficult times of civil war when Rimini, which had sided with Marius, was a victim of Sulla’s reprisals. When Augustus brought peace the defences were no longer needed, and it was not until the third century A.D. that the escalation of the first barbarian invasions made new defences necessary and new brick walls were built, surrounding the city on all sides.

In correspondence with the main city roads there were gates in the walls: Porta Montanara, at the end of the cardo maximus where the Via Arretina begins, and Porta Romana, where the Via Flaminia meets the decumanus maximus. This gate was demolished in 27 B.C. to make way for the Augustus Arch, built by the Senate of Rome in honour of Octavian to celebrate the restoration of the main streets.

Under Augustus Ariminum, already a municipium of the state of Rome since the beginning of the first century B.C., took on the appearance and the dignity of a splendid imperial city: as well as enhancing the entrances to the city by building the monumental Augustus Arch and the bridge over the river Marecchia later completed by Tiberius, Octavian commissioned the paving of the city streets, development of the aqueduct and the sewers, reclamation of a whole district in the southern part of the city, renovation of the Via Aemilia, and the renewal of private

Left, the Roman amphitheatre, Rimini.

Right, ships coming into harbour (detail of a mosaic from Palazzo Diotallevi). Rimini, Municipal Museum.

19

building enterprise. The arrival of colonists, veterans faithful to the Princeps, gave rise to the growth of a new ruling class, breathing new life into the city and the territory, which became a huge ongoing building site. The urban development plan commissioned by Augustus was centred on the area around the forum and envisaged monumental expressions of the culture, power, and civic order of the empire: the entrance to the city from Rome was embellished with a huge arch, creating a pedestrians-only zone and forbidding access to carts, which constituted heavy traffic, while on the opposite side of the square a theatre was built.

The last major urban work to define the appearance of the imperial city was the Amphitheatre, built in the second century, probably by the emperor Hadrian, when the climate of the times was different, as were the emperor’s intentions. Standing on the eastern outskirts of Ariminum and destined to house the gladiator games which always attracted a large enthusiastic audience, the Amphitheatre became a means of integrating the citizens with the inhabitants of the surrounding territory and with the various peoples from other parts of the empire. In building the Amphitheatre to provide the populace with the amusements they wanted, the emperor intended to ensure popular support for himself and for the aristocracy who were his devoted followers. However, these amusements were not destined to last: within a hundred years or so the terror unleashed by invading barbarians put an end to all games in the Amphitheatre, which was encompassed in the city walls and became a military fortress.

The “Domus� of Ariminum Monuments show us the public face of the city, but it is dwellings which illustrate the private life of a society in a state of continual change in the course of more than eight centuries of Roman rule. In the republican period, buildings were simple and functional, expressions of an austere lifestyle, while the first century saw the rise of the domus, a one-family residence of one or two floors built around the atrium - the entrance, with an open roof for the collection of rainwater - and the peristylium, the garden with its portico. This style of building reflects contact with Greek culture and the spread of the pleasures of otium; in the mid-imperial age the domus underwent

20

further changes, leaving ample space for triclinia, the elegant banqueting rooms which, together with gardens embellished with fountains and furnishings, were intended to showcase the wealth of the master of the house, against the backdrop of a flourishing city now multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. And finally, in the fifth and sixth centuries, in an atmosphere of decay, luxurious residences appeared, the homes of senior functionaries and officials of the court of Ravenna, displays of grandeur and power in a society where the distance between one class and another became ever more extreme. The last domus, scattered here and there throughout a now unravelling network of dwellings, drew their inspiration from the imperial palace: a complex plan developed around spacious courtyards embellished with pools and fountains and composite reception rooms which often had an apse, reached by a route designed to underline the complex ceremonial of visiting.

Let us imagine we are entering a dwelling in imperial Rimini: our gaze is immediately drawn by the brilliant colours of the frescos on the walls and ceiling, broad monochrome backgrounds often divided into squares within which are found various decorative elements or compositions similar to modern wallpaper. We would then notice the floors, which denote the hierarchy, functions and organisation of indoor space: in rooms open to the weather or destined for utility spaces the floors are functional and hard-wearing, made of brick or “cocciopesto�, a mixture of brick and mortar sometimes embellished with mosaic tesserae, while in the rooms destined to the master of the house and his family we find extensive mosaic pavements, in black and white or colour, or precious marble floors. Over a hundred specimens of mosaic are preserved in the Municipal Museum and various archaeological sites, and these display a wealth of geometrical or figurative decorative patterns.

Left, statuette of Orpheus, probably a garden ornament.

Rimini, Municipal Museum.

Right, mosaic from the cubiculum.

Rimini, the Surgeon’s House archaeological site.

21

It is the furnishings which illustrate the standard of living in the domus: statues, household goods, objects intended for the care and adornment of the person, elements which describe not just the tastes but also the culture and religiousness of the inhabitants.

A unique and truly outstanding context is the excavations in Piazza Ferrari: the archaeological complex, recently opened to the public, narrates the life of this corner on the northern edge of the Roman city from the first century B.C. to the Middle Ages. The most striking discovery is the domus, dating from imperial times, which housed a taberna medica, as is demonstrated by the discovery of an outstanding collection of over 150 surgical instruments. The “Surgeon’s House” was destroyed suddenly, by fire, perhaps during the first barbarian invasions which put entire cities in the Romagna region to fire and the sword during the mid-third century. Ariminum too suffered from the atmosphere of anxiety and unrest: this is made evident by the obvious desertion of the domus buried under the rubble, and by the building of walls to defend the city boundaries.

Ariminum saw a period of renewal in the fifth and sixth century in the shadow of nearby Ravenna, since 402 the capital of the Western Roman Empire. This is illustrated by the sumptuous palatial dwelling with heated rooms and mosaic pavements built in the front section of the insula where the surgeon’s domus stood: the ruins of this dwelling, buried below heaps of earth, were left more or less intact.

But the palace was destined to be short-lived: the building decayed rapidly and was then abandoned in the mid-sixth century, when Rimini became the theatre for the terrible war between Goths and Byzantines which followed the end of Roman domination, symbolically represented by the graves cut into the splendid mosaics.

22

Ancient Rimini. Archaeology trails by land and sea.

Itineraries Orietta Piolanti

The itineraries suggested are for adults (visitor trails marked in red) adapted by means of methodology and workshops, where indicated, to be suitable for children (blue trails) and in one case for the non-sighted (violet trail) making up a sort of Museum you can touch.

There are also two itineraries for cyclists (green trails).

Visitor trail for adults Visitor trail for children Visitor trail for the non-sighted Visitor trail for cyclists

23

1. In Search of Primitive Man 1 or 2 days Itinerary: Rimini, Municipal Museum - Stone-chipping workshop - Workshop for modelling clay, as in a Neolithic village; Riccione, Museo del Territorio (Local History Museum) - Pre-history section - Bone, teeth and shells workshop: amulets and jewellery from pre-history.

A14

Stone-chipping workshop Held by Stefano Sabattini Time: 2 hours For children over 8 years and adults A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 704421-704426 How did our most distant ancestors live? How did they defend themselves? How did they hunt for food? And what sort of stone did they use most? Whatever can bits of stone tell us? How many questions about a world where Man lived according to the rhythms and laws of Nature, in an environment not yet transformed! And so many answers come from pieces of stone, flints collected along watercourses and on gravelly beaches, the raw material most widely used in Palaeolithic times, along with perishable resources such as

24

wood, leather, and bone.

In the workshop the specialist will guide participants through the fascinating experience of chipping stones, simulating the technique most used among those available: direct percussion, which means holding in the hand the pebble to be chipped and striking it with a stone; and bipolar percussion, where the nucleus to be chipped is placed on a rock, a sort of anvil. From this nucleus, by means of decisive blows, come those chippings and splinters of stone which Man will gradually learn to transform, by working them, into increasingly sharper tools. The actions of the expert operator repeat, methodically and precisely, those which primitive men used to make the tools indispensable for their survival. Observing the objects produced makes it possible to understand the special features (not

The stone-chipping workshop: putting the finishing touches to a flint and fitting a handle to a spear-head.

accidental) where form and shape correspond to a predetermined plan. Various types of weapons and tools appear, ranging from the simple and rudimentary to the more complex and developed, chipped on both sides and also polished. The different tools (chopper, chopper-tool, chisel, blade, scraper...) demonstrate, when used, their effectiveness for striking, shattering, digging, uprooting, slicing, peeling and skinning ‌ all the actions which primitive men needed to perform for hunting, killing, cutting trees, or digging up roots. It is easy to understand too why, over time, men began to fit handles to the tools they made, attaching them to pieces of wood or bone.

This Trail will be completed in the future by a visit to the pre-history section of Rimini Municipal Museum.

An excursion to Covignano hill will illustrate some of the geological

25

features - such as the Yellow Sands - of the place which saw the first human inhabitants of Rimini. And to imagine a day in the life of a hunter-gatherer, you can follow ancient paths through the hills and valleys of Romagna, in search of wild fruits, herbs and shoots (obviously, only things which grow wild and which it is not forbidden to pick!)

Modelling clay, as in a Neolithic village Held by Francesca Minak and Erika Franca Tonni Time: 2 hours For children over 8 years and adults A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 704421-704426 One of the contributing factors to that long process of innovation which goes by the name of “Neolithic revolution” was the introduction of pottery, the production of recipients for preserving and transporting liquids and the produce of the land.

Pottery made its entrance into a society which was changing because of a number of factors: the domestication of plants, animal rearing, ever-longer spells of sedentary living, the formation of small communities, evolving techniques for working stone, the mastery of fire, and the practice of barter. In such a context the working of pottery took on great importance, becoming essential in an economy based on early forms of agriculture and on dairy produce.

Pottery was hand-made (the potter’s wheel did not come into use in Italy until the Iron Age) and exploited local resources: clay, water and wood to fuel the rudimentary furnaces in which the recipients were baked. Raw materials easy to find, which formed the basis for a family “industry” built on the demands of the village.

Using blocks of clay (clay in its natural state needs soaking in water for a spell to remove impurities) we can simulate types of crockery produced in the Neolithic period, both by hand and by using the technique known as “colombino” or “lucignolo”.

In the first instance a piece of clay is shaped by hollowing it out with the hand; in the second instance, long “ropes” of clay are rolled out, wound in a spiral shape, and fixed to a flat base. These methods make it possible to produce simple pieces - pots and bowls sometimes destined for specific activities, such as dairy produce.

Once the pot has been formed and smoothed, it can be decorated

26

either by “impression”, using the fingers or nails to make a pattern in the clay, or by using the technique of “sgraffito” in which patterns are scratched into the clay using sharp pointed tools.

Each recipient is unique, the fruit of the skill and creativity of the

The pottery workshop: decorating a bowl.

potter who shaped it: each participant in the workshop can take away their original handwork, created in keeping with models and techniques which were widespread in Romagna in the Neolithic period.

The workshop omits the final stages of the manufacturing process: the lengthy drying procedure to harden the clay, and the baking in special ovens.

Riccione Local History Museum: a journey into pre-history Riccione Local History Museum was set up in the “Centro Culturale della Pesa” in 1990 and has some rooms devoted to the evolution of the geology and the most ancient human settlement in this territory to the south of Rimini: a tale covering millions of years and concluding with the Romans, thereby linking the fortunes of the area to the destiny of the colony of Ariminum.

This trail illustrates the transformation of the coastal area and the Conca Valley, reconstructs palaeo-environments, and records the presence of mankind throughout pre-history. Stones chipped with advanced technique (see Levallois) date the earliest traces of human habitation to the last years of the Lower Palaeolithic, a period when scrapers were especially frequent among the different articles manufactured. Remains of hut settlements (such as those found along the Agina brook during the building of the Santa Monica motorracing circuit) give interesting glimpses of the Neolithic Age, of the

27

first permanent settlements and of the new agricultural-pastoral way of life: once more, it is worked flints, pottery vessels and articles made of bone which “speak� to us of daily life and archaic forms of spirituality.

Bronze Age axe and dagger. Below, objects found in a Gallic tomb.

Riccione, Local History Museum

In parallel with these hesitant records of the Aeneolithic period when metalworking first appeared, trade increased, and work began to be more organised - are found tokens of the Bronze Age and of the Iron Age, including pottery and objects made of metal.

The materials illustrate a cultural horizon permeated by the Apennine way of life, an economy based on sheep-rearing and the rhythms of transhumance, but at the same time influenced by the terramara culture of the larger villages of the great plain to the north, where agriculture was greatly developed. The relationship between the two cultures can be seen in the traditional Apennine pottery and in tools for working in the fields, small mattocks and scythes made of bone or metal.

During the early Iron Age the territory of Riccione appears to have been peripheral when compared with the centrality of the Marecchia Valley and its Etruscan-Villanovan epicentre Verucchio, but the fifth

28

century B.C. gives significant indicators of a Greek presence in the area, in the wake of lively trade by sea, and tangible evidence that Celtic culture still persisted in the area can be found in the funeral objects discovered in Misano, in a Gallic tomb dating from the third century B.C.

Bone, teeth and shells workshop: amulets and jewellery from pre-history Held by Vanessa Delvecchio Time: 1 hour 15 minutes For children from 8 to 12 years A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 600113 Just like everybody else, primitive men liked to adorn themselves with jewellery, and not only for aesthetic reasons: to jewellery they ascribed magic powers and the function of good luck charms to keep away evil spirits. Using simple materials found along the route as they moved from place to place, Neolithic men made and wore necklaces and amulets to which they entrusted the happy outcome of hunting expeditions and the events of day-to-day life, with a “religiousness” which bound mankind closely to Nature and its laws.

Using perforated shells (just like those the sea continues to deposit on the beach today), wood, feathers, and clay (rather than bone and stone, which were however widely used for jewellery manufacture in pre-historic times) the workshop invites you to “create” a piece of jewellery or an amulet, using your imagination and aesthetic sense.

All the participants, with the help of the operator, will be able to create “their” own adornment after a visit to the museum and a short introduction to acquire the ideas necessary for the activity.

Each piece created, unique and original, will be a personal record of an experience following very ancient traditions which used raw materials found in the surrounding environment, and liked to express in symbols the forces of Nature, using the objects created to exorcise feelings of fear and death.

29

2. Tokens of Power: the Etruscan Princes of the Marecchia Valley 1 day Itinerary: Verucchio, Municipal Archaeology Museum.

A14

The guided visit includes viewing an animated video illustrating the funeral ceremony of the “prince” buried in tomb Lippi 89. The funerary objects found here are on display in the Throne Room.

For children we suggest the themed trail entitled “The Prince’s throne and its symbols” and the narrative trail “The Magic Throne”.

Info: tel. 0541 670222 If you follow the Marecchia river upstream, about 18 Km. from Rimini you come to Verucchio, a rocky spur 330 metres high, dominating the valley. Situated on the boundary with the Montefeltro region and the Republic of San Marino, in a strategic position both for defensive purposes and in relation to communication links with the Tiber valley and the Tyrrhenian coast, Verucchio still shows the glorious tokens of its past, which had its most enthralling chapters in the early Iron Age when the Villanovan culture flourished, and in the Middle Ages when Verucchio became the cradle of the Malatesta dynasty. The power of the mighty Malatestas is vividly evoked by the fortress, while the

30

Wooden throne from the Lippi necropolis (detail).

Verucchio, Municipal Archaeology Museum.

long history of the Villanovans, who here gave rein to their originality and power, can be read in the local Archaeology Museum housed in the former Sant’Agostino monastery, built in the twelfth century and enlarged in the seventeenth by the addition of the church and spinning-mills. In the building, which stands just outside the mediaeval town walls, is displayed a splendid collection of finds from the rich tombs found in the Verucchio area, including objects both rare and immensely interesting which bear witness to the supremacy of an élite of warrior princes.

Each room narrates a part of this splendid civilisation by means of the objects preserved in the necropolises which spread along the hillsides, and there are many display cases where the visitor may pause for a “virtual encounter” with the Etruscan princes who dwelt here in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. Well-planned information panels and captions help to outline personages of high lineage, those princes whose functions included military action, as is demonstrated by the contemporary presence in the tombs of both full dress arms and real arms, both for attack and defence. Tombs number 85 and 89 of the Lippi necropolis (the most substantial in the Verucchio area) stand out as the paradigm of the funerary objects which accompanied in death individuals of princely rank, both men and women. The funeral rite, a veritable mine of information about

31

Decorated amber bead.

Verucchio, Municipal Archaeology Museum.

the “identity” and personality of the deceased, shows in this case an incomparable ostentation of wealth illustrated by the very fine and prestigious objects found here. For instance, the wooden thrones (exceptionally well preserved because of the chemical composition of the earth where the tombs were found) and especially the richly decorated specimen found in tomb 89 in which, within a complicated pattern of decorative elements, can be deciphered scenes narrating the life of the times. Finely carved on the back of the throne are scenes illustrating the cycle of working wool, spinning and weaving.

Clothing and personal objects also point out the status attained by the princes of Verucchio, as do elements of chariots and horse harness, and sets of precious bronze vessels. These objects show familiarity with the Etruscan world and when viewed together with the organisation of burial space and the composition of the entire funerary rite, point to important roles in society, high rank, and considerable wealth and culture. The double “habit” of the funeral urn and the dolium in tomb 26 of the Moroni-Semprini necropolis is emblematic, an evident message, together with other significant elements, to communicate the social standing of the individual.

Among the many tokens attesting to the wealth and power of the “princes” of Verucchio we can admire pieces of jewellery, fine specimens of a craft which reached its peak in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.: gleaming gold finely worked employing the most advanced techniques of the period and used to create splendid brooches and surprising earrings. And as well as the glass paste used for necklaces and pendants we can find the glorious colours of legendary amber, the gift of the gods offered as consolation for the death of Phaeton, son of the Sun. The wealth of Verucchio was increased by the amber trade: the town was a centre for sorting and working this fossilised resin which by virtue of its transparency, intensity of colour and therapeutic properties, was destined to belong to the local upper classes.

32

3. Tokens of Power: Military Leaders and Roman Emperors in the History of Ariminum 1 day Itinerary: Rimini, Municipal Museum - archaeology section - Roman Epigraphic Garden (visitor trail also suitable for the non-sighted)/ Augustus Arch/Piazza Tre Martiri/Tiberius Bridge/Amphitheatre.

Ponte di Tiberio Piazzale Boscovich Palazzo Arengo

Museo della Città Lapidario Romano

Grand Hotel

Rocca Malatestiana Palazzo del Podestà

Teatro degli Atti

via Sigism

Camera di Commercio

Palazzo del Turismo

Biblioteca Gambalunga Vecchia Pescheria Piazza Tre Martiri

Porta Montanara

ex Consorzio Agrario

IAT

XXIII

ondo

ni Ufficio info Corso Giovan comunale Domus del chirurgo

Palazzo Massani Prefettura

IAT

Tempio Malatestiano

Arco d’Augusto

Anfiteatro Romano

Famous figures in the history of ancient Rome linked their names to that of Ariminum: as well as Flaminius and Marius, we must remember Julius Caesar, the great general who with the words “The die is cast!” sealed the crossing of the Rubicon and all that followed; Octavian Augustus, the prince who held dear the greatness of ancient Rimini; and the emperor Hadrian, lover of the arts, who gave the city the monument symbolising Romanism, the Amphitheatre.

The visitor trail which follows in their footsteps begins with the Municipal Museum, guardian of the historic, artistic and archaeological heritage of Rimini, housed in the eighteenth-century Jesuit college.

Here we can “meet” Octavian Augustus, whose face, recognisable by the characteristic lock of hair falling on his forehead, is immortalised in the marble portrait head, perhaps posthumous, which shows an idealised image of the emperor with an expression full of pathos.

33

Portrait head of Augustus and epigraph on a paving stone. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

Monuments and archaeological evidence, instead, give us the figure of a politician engaged in a complex programme of urban works and road building: in the Roman epigraphic garden is a milestone found in 1949 near the bridge over the Uso brook at San Vito, which originally marked the seventh mile from the city and commemorates the renovation of the Via Aemilia in the year 2 B.C., while a marble cippus celebrates the paving of urban streets promoted by Gaius Caesar in the year 1 A.D. The process of renewal begun by Octavian also touched private circles: the Augustan ideals of art inspired the funeral stele of Egnazia Chila, one of the most elegant examples of sculpture from the first imperial age. Emblematic of residential building are the domus in the area near the Augustus Arch, gracious homes with heating systems, ornamental fountains, and apsidal rooms, with floor mosaics embellished with marble tiles, which will be displayed in the rooms of the Archaeology Section after forthcoming renovation work.

Octavian was responsible for building two of the monuments which symbolise the city of Rimini: the Arch at the end of the Via Flaminia and the bridge over the river Marecchia at the opposite end of the decumanus maximus (Corso d’Augusto).

The Augustus Arch was the first major work commissioned by the emperor in Ariminum. Built in 27 B.C. as a city gate, it honours the figure and the policies of Octavian, beginning with the epigraph celebrating him for his renovation of the Via Flaminia. The entire structure, with core walls faced with Istria stone, is both strongly religious in character and a notable example of propaganda: the architecture is reminiscent of a temple while the gateway, so wide

34

The god Neptune (detail from the Augustus Arch).

Rimini.

that it cannot be closed by hinged doors, proclaims the peace achieved by the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. The decoration is rich in celebratory symbols which also fill the panels in the typanum; the divinities in the clypei (Jove and Apollo on the outer face, Neptune and Rome facing towards the city) exalt the might of Rome and the greatness of Augustus. Originally the Arch was part of the ancient stone walls surrounding the city - remains of which can still be seen and was surmounted by an attic with the statue of the emperor, on horseback or in a quadriga; in the Middle Ages the summit of the Arch was adorned with the merlons which survive today.

In the ancient forum, today Piazza Tre Martiri, openings have been left in the present paving to show archaeological remains recalling the age of Augustus. At that time the calcareous stone paving extended over the whole square, which was enclosed to the north by a theatre built from brick and to the south by the arch which denoted the entrance; there stood the tall base of one of the many honorary monuments celebrating the munificence of the ruling class, while on the side towards the sea, level with present-day Via San Michelino in Foro, stood the basilica.

Another personage emerges imperiously from the square: Julius Caesar, evoked by two modern monuments, the bronze statue and the stone cyppus standing at the beginning of Via IV Novembre.

According to ancient tradition (which is not confirmed by the general’s own writings) he harangued his army right here, in the forum of Ariminum the day after crossing the Rubicon. This tradition gave rise to the belief that Caesar stood on a huge stone to speak to

35

his troops, that same stone which until World War Two was placed on top of the cyppus put up in 1555 to commemorate the event.

Our journey in the footsteps of Octavian begins again at the Tiberius Bridge. It was actually begun by Augustus in the year of his death, 14 A.D. and was completed by his successor in 21 A.D., as is recorded by the inscription on the inner parapets. Built from blocks of Istria stone, the bridge is over 70 metres long and crosses the river on five arches supported on massive piers with breakwater spurs, placed at an oblique angle to the road axis to follow the current and minimise its impact on the bridge. The bridge is the beginning of the Via Aemilia and the Via Popillia, and the link between the city centre and the suburbs. It is outstanding both as architecture and as a feat of engineering, uniting utilitarian function, harmony of form, and exaltation of the emperors. Exaltation took the form of epigraphs and a sober decorative display recalling civic power (the laurel wreath and shield) and religious power (the lituus, the priest’s staff; the cup and the patera for sacrifices). In the last arch towards Borgo San Giuliano can be seen the damage caused during the war between the Goths and the Byzantines, one of the many occasions in history in which the bridge was threatened with destruction.

The works ordered by Augustus are part of a systematic project inspired by political ideals and by a culture which refers back to ancient Roman tradition, while the building of the Amphitheatre by the Emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D. (recorded by a coin found in one of the walls) is symbolic of the panem et circensem policy, which sought to gain widespread approval and keep tension to a minimum by providing collective entertainment for the populace.

The vestiges of the grandiose building where gladiator combat, animal hunts, and spectacular public executions took place, are the most significant in the entire Region. The amphitheatre stood on the outskirts of the town, close to the harbour and well served by roads to facilitate the arrival of spectators who came from all over the territory. Built of concrete mix faced with bricks, it had two orders of pillars with sixty arches, one above the other. It was over fifteen metres high and could accommodate over ten thousand spectators.

Oval in shape, it had a huge beaten earth arena, only slightly smaller than the Coliseum in Rome. Still standing today is the north-eastern sector with one of the main entrances; other entrances led to the corridor which gave access to the steps leading to the stone tiers with numbered places. After little over a century, the amphitheatre lost its original function and was encompassed in the walls put up to defend the city from the invading barbarians.

36

4. Caput viarum 1 or 2 days Itinerary: Cattolica, Archaeological area near the former wholesale fruit market/ Regina Museum; Riccione, Bridge over Rio Melo brook/ Municipal Pharmacies archaeological area/Local History Museum; Rimini, Augustus Arch/ Montanara Gate/ Municipal Museum/Tiberius Bridge; San Vito.

San Vito

A14

This Visitor Trail is suitable both for motorists and cyclists, who can make use of the network of cycle tracks currently being organised throughout the Province of Rimini.

Info: www.ciclo.emila-romagna.it or www.piste-ciclabili.com/provincia-rimini For children and their families we suggest the workshop at the Regina Museum in Cattolica “Tabernae and Hospitality in the Roman World: resting places for travellers�, held by Maria Luisa Stoppioni, time about 1 hour 30 minutes, for children aged from 9 years Info and reservations: tel. 0541 966577

37

Travellers coming from the south along the Via Flaminia would have found the first dwellings of the territory of Rimini where Cattolica now stands. Towards the end of the first century B.C., in the years when Augustus commissioned the maintenance work recorded by the inscription on the Arch named for him at the end of the Via Flaminia, a mansio, the Roman equivalent of a motorway service station, could be found half way between Pisaurum and Ariminum, where travellers could find refreshments and hospitality for themselves and their horses. Archaeological excavations carried out from the 1960s onwards in the area where the former wholesale fruit market once stood revealed buildings and work spaces, and these have been left on view. There are basins with terracotta flooring, a drainage network, and a well over eight metres deep, which remained in use until the third century A.D. when a fire, probably caused by early barbarian invasions, brought about the decline of the settlement. The objects discovered during these and other excavations are displayed in the Regina Museum, which is housed in the ancient Pilgrim Hospital and has two sections: archaeology and marine. A visit to the archaeology section gives a view of day-to-day life in the little settlement: the vessels for decanting drinks evoke the taberna within the mansio, a rough mosaic made from irregular-shaped tesserae in limestone recalls the artisans who worked here, the objects found in the well remind us of the difficult task of drawing water, while gracious frescos, carved marble, elegant furnishings and personal belongings describe the wealthy lifestyle of the village which grew up around the mansio.

Continuing the journey towards Rimini we pass Misano and Fontanelle, from where, it is thought, came respectively the milestone which stood at mile 211 from Rome and the epigraph

Mosaic of irregularshaped tesserae, and plaster fragment showing a foot. Cattolica, Regina Museum.

38

celebrating works commissioned by Domitian in 93 A.D. From here onwards we find ever more frequent archaeological tokens marking the course followed by the last few miles of the road, which corresponds mostly to the present-day main road.

Immediately after Riccione cemetery, a few metres under the viaduct over Rio Melo brook, is found the arch of a stone bridge which crossed the brook in Roman times.

The route continues inland as far as San Lorenzo in Strada, where it turned once more towards the sea, making an almost right-angled turn now lost because of the roundabouts built here. It is now thought that the road moved inland to avoid the marshes on the coastline, or to skirt an important religious site.

A succession of archaeological discoveries in the area confirm that there was a village near the bend in the road - traditionally identified as Vicus Popilius - specialised, from the second century B.C. to the early imperial period, in producing architectural terracotta for decorating civic or religious buildings.

It is well worth stopping to visit the archaeological site near the municipal pharmacy (Farmacie Comunali) where the remains of buildings are brought to life by drawings reconstructing the various stages in the life of the site, from the earliest settlement in the Iron Age to the industrial area which served the road building, from the organisation of the settlement in the age of Augustus to the imperial necropolis and its use as a lime-kiln in late antiquity.

39

Left, the Roman bridge over Rio Melo brook, Riccione. Right: terracotta tablet showing a Satyr and a Maenad, from San Lorenzo in Strada, Rimini, Municipal Museum; and a cremation casket from the Via Flaminia necropolis, Riccione, Local History Museum.

The objects found in rural settlements further inland, in San Lorenzo in Strada and in the necropolis on the Via Flaminia, are preserved in the Local History Museum in Riccione. There are original records of burial rites: a cremation casket covered with a tile perforated to support the base of an amphora, also perforated, for bringing to the deceased the ritual offerings; a large stone chest inside which the funeral pyre was made and the ashes of the deceased interred together with funerary objects; the burnt remains of a funeral bier in decorated bone on which can be deciphered winged cupids, figures in drapery, and a horse.

The road continues, measured out by place names: al Terzo (3rd mile), Colonnella, and by milestones which have survived at the third and the first mile from Rimini: one can be seen at Miramare, about one kilometre from the airport, the other near the Colonnella church.

No trace remains of the necropolises, the most ancient and monumental in Ariminum, which formed a wing to the city walls over a mile long, with imposing burial buildings, solemn funeral monuments or more humble grave markers, arranged according to a strict hierarchy of visibility.

The Via Flaminia ends theatrically with the Arch commissioned by Augustus over two thousand years ago (see Itinerary no. 3). The spacious opening invites us to enter: and we are soon at the end of the cardo maximus (via Garibaldi), Porta Montanara gate. The remains of the gateway were placed here in 2004 a few metres from their original site, which is marked in the paving of the road. Built from sandstone around the end of the first century B.C., this was the

40

Porta Montanara gate, Rimini.

entrance from the Via Arretina. The gate had a double archway and an inner courtyard for the guards, with an inner door, but one archway was blocked as long ago as the second century A.D. Our itinerary begins again at the Roman Epigraphic Garden in the Municipal Museum.

The first exhibits to catch the eye are the earliest funeral monuments from the necropolises along the Via Flaminia: the dado tombs of the Ovii and of the Maecii are a mine of information about Ariminum from the beginning of the first century B.C., a city with a lively economy and a dynamic multi-ethnic society.

The Museum has a rich collection of dedications from funerary epigraphs, which touch the reader today as much as they must have done when first carved, greeting the reader and recording touching expressions of mourning for a loved one, or heart-breaking grief at the loss of a child.

Also found in the Epigraphic Garden are the marble tablet from Fontanelle in Riccione, from which the name of the emperor Domitian has been removed, cancelled after posthumous conviction for the crimes attributed to him (damnatio memoriae), and a collection of inscribed milestones, eloquent manifestations of imperial propaganda: a colossal one placed by Augustus in 2 B.C. to mark the seventh mile of the Via Aemilia, near the bridge over the Uso brook, another marking mile 211 on the Via Flaminia, erected by Massentius in the fourth century and “recycled� by Constantine and

by Magnus Maximus, and another milestone mentioning emperors Valentinian, Valente and Gratianus, who undertook renovations to

41

Dado funeral monument and milestone, from the Via Flaminia. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

the road at the end of the fourth century.

A tablet portraying a Satyr and a Maenad comes from the group of architectural terracotta pieces found at San Lorenzo in Strada in 1866, and is exhibited as a foretaste of the entire collection, which will be displayed in the archaeology section once renovation work has finished. It is also planned to display the most outstanding of the funeral objects from the necropolises which lined the roads outside the city.

Our itinerary now continues in the street, to trace the Via Aemilia which left the city, together with the Via Popillia, crossing the river Marecchia by the Tiberius Bridge (see Itinerary no. 3). The first stretch of the consular road, paved perhaps when Augustus carried out his monumental interventions, followed a straight line from the bridge through the suburb, inhabited until the third century A.D. and then becoming a necropolis.

After separating from the coastal Via Popillia, probably at what is now Le Celle, the Via Aemilia headed inland, then as now, over the plain to the north, keeping to the foot of the hills and crossing territory where the presence of men was clearly visible because of the centuriation of the land, which centred on the road.

At Santa Giustina we come to the Via Emilia Vecchia, which departs from the main layout for a short stretch as far as Savignano. This diversion was probably owing to renovation work carried out by Augustus in 2 B.C., as the milestone found at San Vito, at the seventh mile from Ariminum, records; but it is still not clear why the emperor decided to modify the route, moving away from the older road, which corresponded to the present-day main road. Certainly, the consular road thus avoided the area around what is now Santarcangelo, then a

42

small industrial centre for the manufacture of bricks, amphorae, and pottery.

The milestone was discovered near the ancient bridge over the Uso brook, the remains of which can still be seen not far from the parish church. Recent archaeological inspection has established that the remaining brick arches date from the time of the Malatestas but rest on stone blocks which must have been part of a Roman bridge. This bridge probably dated from the age of Augustus, and measurements taken from the collapsed remains still in place suggest that it was of monumental size, about eight or nine arches: even larger than the Tiberius bridge in Rimini.

The bridge must therefore have had notable symbolic and propaganda value, which seems to support the theory that the Uso brook was actually the original Rubicon; this river made famous by Julius Caesar marked the boundary of the Roman state in republican times. The state boundary was later moved by Augustus as far as the Alps after the unification of ancient Italy with Cisalpine Gaul, a political union which the emperor perhaps wished to celebrate with an imposing bridge joining materially the two regions.

The Roman bridge over the river Marecchia in Rimini and the remains of the bridge over the Uso brook, at San Vito.

43

5. The Archaeological Site in Piazza Ferrari: a Miniature Pompei in the Heart of Rimini 1 day Itinerary: Rimini, Archaeological site of the surgeon’s house in Piazza Ferrari/Municipal Museum - archaeology section An impossible interview - “The archaeologist’s spade”, workshop.

Ponte di Tiberio

Palazzo Arengo

Museo della Città

Rocca Malatestiana Palazzo del Podestà

Teatro degli Atti

via Sigism

Camera di Commercio

Biblioteca Gambalunga Vecchia Pescheria Piazza Tre Martiri

Porta Montanara

XXIII

ondo

anni Ufficio info Corso Giov comunale Domus del chirurgo

Palazzo Massani Prefettura

IAT

Since December 2007 the archaeological site has been open to the public and is part of the Museum: over seven hundred square metres narrating two thousand years of the city’s history. A real treasure house, a discovery so exceptional as to merit alone a visit to Rimini.

The covering structure, designed for the conservation and protection of the site, enhances the archaeological finds, allowing both an overall view and a detailed reading of the various components while respecting the integrity of the structures. The excavation work begun in 1989 by the Emilia Romagna Archaeology Department (Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici) brought to light a Roman domus, a palatial residence dating from late antiquity, graves and traces of dwellings from early mediaeval times, and walls dating from both the late Middle Ages and modern times.

To visit the site is to be transported back in time: we can imagine ourselves back in the Roman city, listen to the voices of the inhabitants, hear again the sound of the sea washing the coastline which was then close to the residential part of the city, gain an insight

44

into features of daily life.

Here, not far from the ancient harbour, in the second century A.D. stood a domus, a residence which experts have named “the surgeon’s house” because the last owner of the house was a surgeon of Greek formation and culture. The house was destroyed by fire in the middle of the third century during one of the barbarian invasions, and among the ruins of the collapsed building walls, mosaics, plaster, furniture and fittings have emerged, together making up a “photograph” of life in ancient Rimini.

The fine floor mosaics and the remains of walls still covered in places with vividly decorated plaster, give a picture of a residence which was both a private house and a place of business, with a doctor’s surgery taberna medica - paved with refined polychrome mosaics with the figure of Orpheus at the centre. When the building collapsed, the surgery was sealed by falling masonry so that the medical man’s surgical and pharmaceutical instruments were all preserved, leaving for posterity the most complete set from such remote times ever found.

The history of the site did not end with this devastating fire, as is shown by the remains of a palatial residence dating from late antiquity which was built over the front part of the domus in the fifth century: polychrome mosaics with intricate geometrical patterns and the heating technique employed attest to the richness of the residence, which reached the end of its life in the sixth century A.D. The place was subsequently used as a burial ground, as is recorded by a number of graves, and then - probably during the seventh

45

Left, the Surgeon’s House archaeological site, Rimini. Above right, Orpheus mosaic from the taberna medica. Below right: detail of mosaic from palatial residence dating from late antiquity. Rimini, the Surgeon’s House archaeological site.

century - the western part was once more covered by a new building in poor materials (wood and clay) and reclaimed elements. This building was destroyed in the early Middle Ages and was probably replaced by an open space.

The archaeology section of the nearby Municipal Museum has a dedicated space illustrating the surgeon’s house: here visitors can go inside the taberna medica, rebuilt to scale to simulate the original, and admire the most significant items discovered among the masonry

46

Left, glass panel, from the Surgeon’s House. Right, pestles and mortars, medicine pots, and a votive hand, from the Surgeon’s House. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

which collapsed during the fire. The glass panel which adorned a wall of the triclinium, or dining room, is outstanding: in the central disc are portrayed, surprisingly lifelike against the blue background which represents the sea, a gilthead bream, a mackerel and a dolphin made from mosaic and inserted in a panel of carved glass. This is a rare and precious picture (pinax in Greek) of Hellene tradition, made to hang on the wall, very similar to one produced in Corinth in the middle of the third century. A piece able to evoke marine horizons and marine light even inside the domus which, we must remember, stood only a very short distance from the shore of the Adriatic sea.

Here before us today is the exceptional array of surgical and pharmaceutical instruments: over one hundred and fifty pieces, some of the bronze instruments soldered together by the heat of the fire. There are scalpels, probes, tweezers, forceps, and dental

Surgical instruments with the remains of their container, from the Surgeon’s House. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

47

pincers; and we can also recognise pincers for bone surgery, an instrument for the removal of stones from the urinary tract, a drill with moveable arms, and an orthopaedic lever.

In the same display case is a bronze sheet decorated with the figure of Diana the huntress: this is the cover of a small medical chest, probably made from wood, with a sliding cover.

There are also large stone pestles and mortars, used for crushing and mixing herbs and minerals which would be used to prepare medicines. The variety of shapes and materials used indicate someone specialised in the preparation of the various substances.

One curious exhibit is a container shaped like a foot, which has a hollow space under the sole: this could be used as a hot water bottle or an ice pack, depending on the circumstances. And there are a number of interesting little containers with the name of the contents written on them in Latin and Greek.

From the taberna comes also the bronze votive hand which can be linked to the oriental cult of Jupiter Dolichenus, practised in Rimini in the second and third centuries.

And at the end of the display is an interesting piece of graffiti carved in the plaster of the wall next to the bed in the taberna medica where patients would be hospitalised: perhaps as a mark of gratitude one patient wrote the doctor’s name (interpreted as Eutyches) defining him homo bonus.

In the display case opposite is a small hoard of over eighty coins (small change for day-to-day expenses) scattered on the ground from the upper floor of the domus when the building collapsed, and also weapons (a spearhead and a javelin) found on the floor of the surgery, reminders of the warring events which must have led to the destruction of the house.

48

An impossible interview with a personage who lived in the surgeon’s domus in the third century A.D. Held by Francesca Minak and Marina Della Pasqua Time: 1 hour 15 minutes For children aged from 9 years A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 704421-26 The visit will be enlivened by a meeting with someone closely connected with the surgeon who lived in the domus in Piazza Ferrari, played by the guide who will symbolically take on his habit. Who was the medical man who lived in the domus in the third century? What was his name? Where did he come from? Which illnesses could he treat and which operations could he carry out? A visit to the archaeological site prompts so many questions and so much curiosity! And these questions can be answered, or a hypothesis put forward, by the conclusions of the archaeologists and experts who have studied the site. In this “impossible interview” children will feel that they have gone back in time, to the mysterious and fascinating world of the early centuries of the Roman empire, in a wealthy and flourishing city, open to peoples, goods, and cultures coming from the East, but already threatened by the barbarian hordes at the gates. Balanced on a seesaw between past and present, our conversation with the personage close to the Roman medical man brings to life pages of history and day-to-day life, opening windows on to the present and imparting notions about the ancient science of medicine and the beliefs and tastes of our ancestors.

For smaller children there are stories inspired by the site and an amusing educational experience of archaeological excavations, “The archaeologist’s spade”.

Animated tales available include: Once upon a time there was … a domus (for children from 3 to 6) Pinax. A sound story from the sea (for children from 3 to 8) The surgeon and the secret temple of Anubis (for children from 7 to 12) The surgeon and the strange case of the sniffles of love (for children from 3 to 6) Held by Cristina Sedioli Time: 1 hour 15 minutes A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 704421-26

49

The archaeologist’s spade Held by Ilaria Balena Time: 2 hours For children from 7 to 11 years A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 704421-26 This workshop has links to an experience of archaeological excavations on the beach (hence the spade!) organised by adArte sas: in the Roman epigraph garden in the courtyard of the Municipal Museum a site will be set up where children, under the guidance of an expert archaeologist, can play at being little archaeologists themselves.

The simulated excavation is an enjoyable and stimulating way for children to experience archaeology, becoming junior investigators in search of the past, experiencing the thrill of discovery. Using the “tools of the trade” they will follow all the stages of archaeological research, learning the criteria and methodology required: digging and observing the terrain and the traces found there, recovering finds and recording them, in order to understand the concept of stratigraphy, the meaning of the archaeologist’s task, and the importance of respecting what time has buried.

This introduction to archaeology is an approach to history, where layers of earth are the pages of our book and the objects discovered and unearthed are the words printed there. Through their personal involvement and through sharing the work with others, children become protagonists of a thrilling adventure which leads them to an awareness of the value of history and the need to respect our heritage.

Detail of the Orpheus mosaic, showing a deer.

Rimini, the Surgeon’s House archaeological site.

50

6. From One Domus to Another 1 or 2 days Itinerary: Rimini, Palazzo Massani, Prefecture/Chamber of Commerce/ Municipal Museum - archaeology section - fresco workshop.

Palazzo Arengo

Museo della CittĂ

Rocca Malatestiana Palazzo del PodestĂ

Teatro degli Atti

via Sigism

Camera di Commercio

Biblioteca Gambalunga Vecchia Pescheria Piazza Tre Martiri

Porta Montanara

XXIII

ondo

anni Ufficio info Corso Giov comunale Domus del chirurgo

Palazzo Massani Prefettura

Underground Rimini is revealed to the visitor with all the treasures of an ancient city upon which grew the historic core as we now know it.

Treasures which are revealed every time we venture below street level, bringing to live the vivid weave of the city which surrounded the monuments found.

Numerous archaeological sites, brought to light in the heart of Rimini during excavations begun after World War Two, have given us significant evidence of the domus, the prestigious homes which reflected the social standing and profession of their domini, the owners of these homes. Three of these sites have become museums: the area of Palazzo Massani (the present seat of the Prefecture), that of the Chamber of Commerce, and the complex discovered in Piazza Ferrari (see Itinerary no. 5).

The home brought to light in the area of Palazzo Massani, facing on to the cardo maximus in a position of great prestige, shows the evolution of the domus in Ariminum: excavations carried out from 1998 to 2000 have evidenced at least six different stages of habitation, from the first modest buildings dating from the middle of the fourth century B.C. (before the founding of the colony of

51

Ariminum) to the desertion of the city in the fifth century A.D. The remains now visible belong to the luxurious residence built at the beginning of the first century A.D. Modelled on the houses found in the area near Mount Vesuvius, the building had an entrance giving a stunning view, like a theatre backdrop, of the atrium, the tablinum (the reception room) and the peristylium (the garden with its portico), the rooms in which the master of the house (dominus) did business and entertained his guests.

The tablinum had a fine floor paved in polychrome marble edged with a mosaic border; in the centre stood a fountain, the outline of which can still be seen. The peristyle was adorned with a large basin with a black mosaic inner base and walls lined with impermeable cocciopesto, and the gentle murmuring of water must have made the garden a most pleasant place. Stone steps and a hollow on the bottom, buried during renovation work at the end of the first century A.D., must have served as access for cleaning the fountain.

The continuity of settlement throughout the history of Ariminum can also be seen in the site visible under the Chamber of Commerce.

Structures discovered between 1995 and 1996 record at least three domus in one insula or block of the eastern sector of the Roman city, mainly residential.

In this complex archaeological site it is the floors which attract the

Floors in cocciopesto, mosaic and marble tiles.

Rimini, Chamber of Commerce archaeological site.

52

Gemstone carved with the figure of Mars and oscillum showing a hare.

Rimini, Municipal Museum.

gaze: elegant cocciopesto with meander designs made from mosaic tesserae, from a domus dating from the first century B.C. with an arcaded courtyard; a precious pavement of black and white marble from another residence of the imperial period; the original polychrome mosaic decorated with geometrical motifs and stylised vegetable elements attributed to renovation work in the third century. A.D.; and the luxurious paving in polychrome marble, dating from late antiquity, which stretched into the great hall with a raised apse. Many of the marbles were plundered when the empire fell into difficult times and the more costly materials became scarce; only the outline remains clearly recognisable in the foundations of the floor.

In the centre of the excavated area it is interesting to see the traces of a lane which cut through the block lengthways; along this unpaved alley ran a drain built from brick, still clearly visible, which carried away the waste water from the nearby dwellings. In late republican times small shops began to encroach on the lane, until in late antiquity it lost its function when the apse of the palatial building covered it. The hundreds of thousands of objects discovered in excavations in the city are kept in the Municipal Museum, guardian of one of the richest and most interesting heritage collections in the entire Region, waiting to be put on display in the Archaeology Section currently in course of arrangement. At present the part illustrating Rimini in the second and third centuries A.D. can be seen, much of which is devoted to the domus and to day-to-day life.

Here the visitor is immersed in the intimacy of domestic life in the reconstruction of one of the rooms identified in the Palazzo Arpesella excavation: the flooring is a replica of cocciopesto with mosaic inserts, the walls and ceiling are of plaster painted with compositions similar to modern wallpaper, with geometrical and floral designs, such as the pattern of roses and rosebuds against a blue background.

The objects on display give an idea of the rooms where the domina,

53

Small stone base showing a schoolroom, from Palazzo Diotallevi.

Rimini, Municipal Museum.

the lady of the house, would spend her days, her time measured out by the slow rhythm of spinning and weaving, or by the expert hands of her slaves who would dress her hair in complicated coiffures, paint her face, oil and perfume her body and deck her in jewels. Men too loved to cover themselves in oils and perfumes and wear costly jewellery such as rings set with gemstones carved with protective symbols and deities, to be used as signet rings.

A sense of mystery pervaded the whole house, full of statues, furnishings, accessories, amulets, to which were attributed the magic power of keeping evil spirits away: the rooms would echo to the shrill ringing of tintinnabula and in the porticos could be heard the whisper of oscilla, marble discs decorated in low relief, hanging between the pillars.

Pawns made of bone or glass paste, knucklebones and dice, remind us that the Romans, in their periods of otium, were enthusiastic gamblers and players of board games; while ceramic and glass crockery evokes the atmosphere of the dining room and of the kitchen.

After the rooms devoted to the taberna medica and the excavations in Piazza Ferrari (see Itinerary no. 5), the visitor “enters� the luxurious domus of Palazzo Diotallevi, built close to the forum overlooking the decumanus on to which the theatre faced. Most of the discoveries made here date from the middle of the imperial age, the period best recorded in this site which was inhabited from the republican age until the third century A.D. when the building was deserted after

54

Hercules (detail of the ships mosaic) and statuette of a dancing lar, from Palazzo Diotallevi.

Rimini, Municipal Museum.

being destroyed by fire - probably at the same time as the surgeon’s house. Between the second and third century the domus was rebuilt with spacious reception rooms, while an adjoining area with a separate entrance was perhaps a private school: a small stone base survives, carved with the figures of master and pupil.

Inside were elegant rooms: a triclinium (banqueting room) for the winter and another for the summer, with splendid geometrical floor mosaics, faced on to the spacious courtyard garden adorned with a basin into which were carved niches. Presumably the statue found here in fragments originally stood in one of these niches: it shows an athlete and is probably a copy of the discobulus of Polykleitos.

The dominus of the house was perhaps a ship owner and is best represented by the magnificent black and white mosaic showing ships entering the harbour. The original and intricate mosaic “carpet” with at its centre Hercules in the act of raising a cup, must have impressed and amazed visitors as they entered the main reception room, and visitors today are equally captivated by this mosaic which gives us the first “photograph” of Rimini harbour. The room was intended for sumptuous banquets, and this is recalled by the great wine cup or kantharos, which adorned the threshold, and the crockery depicted in the outermost of the numerous borders around the central emblem.

Evidence of a wealthy lifestyle is the splendid bronze dinner service discovered among the remains of a cabinet reduced to ashes by the fire which destroyed the domus. The service included jugs, pots and pans, a lamp holder and a dancing lar, one of the divinities who protected the household, placed on the table for the ritual offerings

55

“Anubis” mosaic and Dionysus herm. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

during the banquet.

Images of gods and figures from mythology were found everywhere in the various domus and among the objects for everyday use, especially during the imperial age when they became the expression of artistic tastes and of current fashion, rather than objects of devotion: thus the central scene of the “Anubis” mosaic is an expression of the rapidly spreading passion for all things exotic, rather than symptomatic of the spread of oriental cults.

The divinities of the Dionysian retinue were prominent, as they lent themselves particularly well to the home and the garden: Eros, Dionysus, Priapus and Silenus represented convivial pleasures and the propitiatory forces of nature. We may imagine that the statue of Orpheus playing his lyre was a decorative element and stood within a niche, while the bronze statuettes of deities found in the 1950s were probably foundry rejects which would have been placed in a lararium.

56

Fresco workshop Held by Lorenza Angelini Time: 3 hours For children over 10 years and adults A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 704421-26 This workshop is intended both to broaden our knowledge of the rich heritage of painted plaster from Roman times preserved in the Municipal Museum and in the surgeon’s house, and to discover the secrets of one of the most ancient and fascinating of decorative arts which was used by able artisans and great artists.

Fresco is the technique of painting a wall while the plaster is still wet, so that the reaction of the plaster to the air fixes the colours. The most detailed information we have about this technique known in Latin as udo tectorio (while damp) is contained in Vitruvius’ “De Architectura”.

The workshop begins by examining the originals under the guidance of the expert: broad monochrome backgrounds in vivid colours, often divided into squares in which are painted stylised floral designs, birds, or views. There are also “wallpaper” compositions with geometrical and vegetable motifs. The next step is to make a smallscale fresco using the ancient techniques. Using the necessary tools and materials, first the preparatory design or pouncing is drawn, reproducing one of the elements viewed, reworked by the new artist.

The pouncing is transferred to a uniform layer of plaster spread on a previously prepared support, and the outlines of the design emerge.

The figures are then painted, and with the addition of colour and the definition of detail the fresco comes to life, illustrating the personal creativity of the artist. At the end of the workshop participants will take home their frescos as a record of the experience.

Rose fresco, from Palazzo Arpesella. Rimini, Municipal Museum.

57

7. Natural Resources and the Labour of Man: a Modern Economy Rooted in Tradition 2 days Itinerary: Rimini, archaeological site of the former Consorzio Agrario (Farmers’ Union)/Municipal Museum - archaeology section; Santarcangelo di Romagna, MUSAS.

A14

This trail is suitable both for motorists and for cyclists, who can use the network of cycle tracks now being set up throughout the Province of Rimini (info: www.ciclo. emilia-romagna.it or www.piste-ciclabili.com/provincia-rimini).

This itinerary can be linked to aspects of the territory today: wine trails, farmhouse hotels, oil producers, fish farms, and to the landscape of farmland and woodland. We suggest exploring the Conca valley and the plain of San Pietro in Cotto, as far as the first hills of the Montefeltro region.

For those wishing to experience Nature at first hand, we suggest a visit to the Multi-media Nature Museum and caves at Onferno (info: tel. 0541 984694). The Museum illustrates the geology of the territory, from the chalk rocks and gullies to the characteristic caves.

This journey into the historic formation of the territory can be continued at Mondaino Museum (info: tel. 0541 981674) which has a rich local palaeontology collection.

For children we suggest the following activities at MUSAS museum in

58

Santarcangelo di Romagna: Amphorae and Wine This workshop aims to bring to life, through play, the entire productive process, from the vineyard to the market.

Held by Cristina Giovagnetti Time: 2 hours For children over 9 years and adults A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 624703 Fireclay the Giant The fantastic story of how Marius the potter made friends with the terrifying giant Fireclay and learned to make beautiful amphorae. Includes building a puppet version of Fireclay the Giant.

Held by Cristina Sedioli Time: 1 hour 15 minutes For children from 3 to 7 years A charge will be made and prior reservation is necessary Info: tel. 0541 624703 The life of Ariminum does not emerge only from its monuments, the consular roads, bridges, and splendid domus: archaeological excavations have also brought to light industrial sites which tell us how working life was organised, remains of country villas and structures for working local produce including oil and wine, characteristic of the surrounding countryside. In Rimini, just outside the city walls and close to Porta Montanara gate, stood the former Consorzio Agrario (Farmers’ Union); some years ago this was demolished and homes built on the site. During building, interesting Roman remains were discovered, and these have been preserved as a Museum exhibit, which can be visited. The remains formed part of a manufacturing plant: there is a large basin with flooring of small terracotta bricks arranged in herringbone formation (the classic opus spicatum) and walls made waterproof by a layer of cocciopesto: it is interesting to note that instead of steps leading into the basin there is a chute, making it clear that the basin was part of a manufacturing complex organised in a number of sections, possibly connected with the working of clay or textiles, which was in use in imperial times.

This complex could be a symbolic introduction to the artisan vocation of the territory of Rimini.

59

Let us now set out to follow the various itineraries balanced between the land and the sea, among hills and valleys where we can easily find authentic reminders of our history in present-day farming, crafts, and traditional flavours. In the many lively towns along the coast, in the streets of historic villages, in landscape where vineyards and olive groves follow one another, market gardens reach to the seashore, and woods give way to meadowland: wherever you go you can be sure of finding a glass of good red Sangiovese wine, produced with modern methods which reflect a millenary tradition recorded in historic and archaeological sources. We know that in Roman times local wine - perhaps not top quality - was sold cheaply, travelling as far as Rome itself, where it was drunk by the lower classes. Linked to the production and sale of wine was the production of the characteristic small flat-based amphorae, ideal for overland transport. Forlimpopoli and Santarcangelo were the major production centres for these containers, which were widespread in the middle years of the imperial age. The History and Archaeology Museum (MUSAS) in Santarcangelo, moved in 2005 to Palazzo Cenci, well illustrates the vocation of a fertile and productive agricultural area which also engaged in trade and in the production of bricks and pottery, an activity which evolved to give us the mediaeval artistic tradition and modern industry. In the Archaeology Museum there are kilns to narrate the working of clay and show continuity and the use of technology down the centuries, and a flourishing agricultural economy is well documented by records of country villas on which centred, in Roman times, the cultivation of the surrounding fields. This economy was based on vines, cereals, vegetables, fruit orchards and olives.

Far left, flat-based wine amphorae. Santarcangelo di Romagna, MUSAS. Left, farmed fields and olive groves in the Conca valley.

60

Even today, the flavours of local produce are enhanced by the olive oil from the local hills, the fruit of expert knowledge which has learned how to make the best of a product excellent for degree of acidity, colour, scent, and flavour. And everywhere you go, you find the scent of “piada”, the simple unleavened bread made soft and pliable by the addition of lard and olive oil. The hands that make the bread repeat archaic gestures already known to the Neolithic peoples, and it is cooked on a griddle of refractory terracotta, reminiscent of the testum used by the Romans. Piada bread is filled with locally-grown greens to make the rustic “cassone”, or eaten with the excellent pork products and soft cheeses produced here in Romagna. Cheeses include soft creamy squacquerone, raviggiolo, and ricotta; and there are also stronger-flavoured cheeses such as pecorino (sheep’s milk cheese) and the highly-prized “formaggio di fossa” produced in Sogliano al Rubicone, Talamello and Mondaino, a cheese matured for several months in special pits.

Typical of the valleys in the Provinces of Rimini, Cesena and Forlì and the nearby Montefeltro region, these cheeses represent the agricultural and pastoral economy of the inland countryside and the continuation of a dairy industry rooted in pre-historic times. Sheep farming is widespread and has always been one of the main resources of the region; it was renowned even in Roman times: the “doc” cheese made in Sarsina was mentioned by Pliny, and was the forerunner of today’s “caciotta romagnola”.

As long ago as the days of the republic of Rome, extensive woodland and the abundant production of cereals favoured pig-farming, reminiscent of Gallic tradition, and the production of pork products.

Even today, pigs and the wild boar which still live in the more remote areas where oak trees are widespread, give rise to a pork “industry”.

Here you can enjoy delicious salami, and the excellent Montefeltro ham. Local cooking makes use of ancient traditions and flavours in its meat dishes, such as roasting meat “in porchetta”, a method learned from contact with the regions in the centre of Italy, contact which has continued throughout history by means of the roads over the Apennine chain.

From the fields and market gardens which make full use of the fertile land come the beneficial herbs and the tender vegetables such as asparagus so much appreciated by the Romans: the herbs are the queen of many recipes in Saludecio, a small town in the Conca valley, while the vegetables lend colour to market stalls and to the table, blending with fine meats and Adriatic fish. Popular fairs have grown up to celebrate local produce such as honey (celebrated at

61

Adriatic fish and shellfish (detail of a mosaic From Via Cairoli). Rimini, Municipal Museum.

Montebello di Torriana) or chestnuts, once nutritious food for the poor but now the star of pleasant autumn events, such as the fair in the village of Montefiore.

The territory of Rimini is rooted in the land but edged by the Adriatic sea, a sea renowned for its fine fish even in antiquity. The many varieties available lend themselves to delightful mixed grills, fresh salads, flavoursome fish soups. The tastiest and most healthy fish, which form the basis of so many delicious dishes, are the so-called “pesce azzurro” or “turchino”, such as sardines and anchovies, considered “poor” fish but deserving of wider appreciation.

Rimini and its Province today are taking on all the characteristics of a metropolis, in a society in which industry - and not only the tourist industry - together with the services sector is reshaping the relationship between man and the environment. So it is surprising to discover that in the popular weave of the market the agricultural, pastoral, and marine economies continue to live and thrive side by side, in the ancient traditions of market gardening, dairy production, and fishing.

Images of both the land and the sea are found in both the public and private iconography of Roman Rimini: wild animals, bunches of grapes, olive branches and darting fish peep at us from the carvings on the Augustus Arch and are frequently found in the objects displayed in our museums. In the archaeology section of Rimini Municipal Museum, the room devoted to the sea has splendid, vivid mosaics in which skilled craftsmen have portrayed fish and shellfish of the Adriatic. The sea accompanies us like a thin blue line on the horizon in our travels through the archaeological discoveries and the landscape characterised by the long golden beaches ending at the rocky promontory of Gabicce.

62

The Ancient World Festival

A special itinerary covering four days, or rather a “box full of itineraries”, “Antico/Presente” is the Festival devoted to the ancient world held every year in Rimini in June. Organisers include the Gambalunga Library and the Municipal Museums, with other partners from the Province of Rimini.

The framework of the Festival, much praised, is the same each year, but the content varies, ranging from magisterial commentaries, book presentations, archaeology trails, seminars and meetings on historical, scientific, anthropological, and religious subjects, to games and entertainment for children and adults and historic reenactments.

The rich programme aims to satisfy curiosity and meet interests ranging from archaeology to politics, from history to law, from literature to technology, to games, costume, religion, medicine...

Rimini and its territory are undoubtedly a convincing background for such an event, because of the wealth of ancient monuments, Museums containing original and often unique treasures, and numerous archaeological sites which are being turned into museums, a significant example of which is the domus known as “the surgeon’s house” in Rimini. The archaeology section of the Municipal Museum is currently being extended and will eventually number some forty rooms.

Info: http://antico.comune.rimini.it

A scene from the Festival: a Roman camp, re-enacted by Legio XXX Ulpia Traiana Victrix.

64

Museums and Archaeological Sites in the Province of Rimini included in the itineraries

Cattolica, Regina Museum Via Pascoli, 23 47841 Cattolica Info: tel. 0541 966577 museo@cattolica.net www.cattolica.net/retecivica/italiano/cultura Open: winter Tuesday to Thursday: 9,30-12,30 Friday and Saturday: 9,30-13,30 and 15,30-19,00 Sunday: 15,30-19,00 Monday closed summer Tuesday: 9,30-12,30 Wednesday to Sunday: 17,30-23,00 Monday closed Cattolica, Archaeological area near the former wholesale fruit market Piazzetta Mercato 47841 Cattolica Info: tel. 0541 966577 Regina Museum The outdoor site can be seen from outside Visits by prior arrangement Riccione, Museo del Territorio (Local History Museum) Centro Culturale della Pesa Via Lazio, 10 47838 Riccione Info: tel. 0541 600113 museo@comune.riccione.rn.it Open: winter (1 September to 20 June) Tuesday to Saturday: 9,00-12,00 summer (21 June to 31 August) Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 9,00-12,00 and 21,00-23,00 Thursday and Saturday: 9,00-12,00 Sunday and Monday: closed

65

Riccione, San Lorenzo in Strada archaeological site Via Flaminia, 25 47838 Riccione Info: tel. 0541 600113 Local History Museum The site is part of Municipal Pharmacy no. 2 and can be seen at any time Guided visits by prior arrangement Rimini, Municipal Museum and Piazza Ferrari archaeological site (domus “the surgeon’s house”) Via L. Tonini, 1 and Piazza Ferrari 47900 Rimini Info: tel. 0541 21482-704421/26 musei@comune.rimini.it www.comune.rimini.it Open: winter (16 September to 15 June) Tuesday to Saturday: 8,30-12,30 and 17,00-19,00 Sundays and public holidays: 10,00-12,30 and 15,00-19,00 Monday: closed, except public holidays summer (16 June to 15 September) Tuesday to Saturday: 10,00-12,30 and 16.30-19,30 Sundays and public holidays: 16,30-19,30 Tuesdays and Fridays in July and August: open also 21,00-23,00 Monday: closed, except public holidays Rimini, Chamber of Commerce archaeological site Via Sigismondo, 28 47900 Rimini Info: tel. 0541 704421-704426 Municipal Museums Guided visits by prior arrangement (at least one week’s notice required) Rimini, Palazzo Massani archaeological site (headquarters of Rimini Prefecture, Territorial Government Office) Via IV Novembre, 40 47900 Rimini Info: tel. 0541 704421-704426 Municipal Museums www.prefettura.rimini.it Visits by prior arrangement

66

Rimini, former Consorzio Agrario (Farmers’ Union) archaeological site Via Circonvallazione Meridionale, 82 47900 Rimini visible at any time Santarcangelo, MUSAS-History and Archaeology Museum Via della Costa, 26 47822 Santarcangelo di Romagna Info: tel. 0541 625212-624703 servizi@metweb.org www.metweb.org/musas Open: winter (1 November to 30 April) Saturday: 10,30-12,30 and 15,30-17,30 Sunday: 15,30-17,30 Guided visits by prior arrangement, also on other days summer (1 May to 31 October) Tuesday to Sunday: 16,30-19,30 Saturday: open also 10,30-12,30 Tuesday and Friday (June to September only): open also 21,00-23,00 Monday: closed Verucchio, Municipal Archaeology Museum Via S. Agostino 47826 Verucchio Info: tel. 0541 670222 iat.verucchio@iper.net www.comunediverucchio.it Open: winter Monday to Friday: by prior arrangement Saturday: 14,30-18,30 Sunday: 10,00-13,00 and 14,30-18,00 summer (30 March to 30 September) Monday to Sunday: 9,30-12,30 and 14,30-19,30 N.B. Opening days and times may be subject to alteration

Verucchio, cradle of the Villanovan civilisation, stands high on its rocky spur; below, the promontory of Gabicce.

* *

Beauty Our oil is beauty.

Beauty makes our thoughts soar.

And we throw it away, as though it were coins in pockets full of holes.

Beauty shouts its pain silently. We need to heal the ears of those who rule, so they can hear it.

Beauty feeds our minds.

You can see beauty even walking round the streets of Italy and it immediately fills you with surprise.

But in the little worlds, there is so much beauty that is dying.

If we save it, we save ourselves.

Tonino Guerra

cop_archeo ITA ok 3-06-2008 11:54 Pagina 2 C

Colori compositi

M

Y

CM

MY

CY CMY

K

Colori compositi

www.riviera.rimini.it www.cultura.provincia.rimini.it

M

Archaeology trails by land and sea

Ancient Rimini

I - 47900 Rimini, piazza Malatesta 28 tel. +39 0541 716371 - fax +39 0541 783808

C

Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo

Provincia di Rimini Assessorato alla Cultura Assessorato al Turismo

cop_archeo ENG 5-02-2009 17:43 Pagina 1 Y CM MY CY CMY K

edizione inglese

Riviera di Rimini Travel Notes