Rimini began its real life as a tourist capital in the 1960’s and Rimini along with the nearby town of Riccione have always been considered the so called centre points of transgression. Some of the best shops were to be found in Viale Ceccarini and many fashion icons and important celebrities along with VIP’s from Italy and Europe were to be found here. Here was to be found one of the greatest gay communities of the Italian peninsula along with the many drag queen shows that were also frequent. Many of the residents in Rimini have English, French or German surnames due to the majority of the foreign tourists coming from France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The Rimini of today is a bit different in as much as Italy has become more expensive while the cost of flights have plummeted and are even more affordable than ever before. Many English, Swedish, French and German tourists prefer taking a holiday in more remote and southern places than Rimini for the same price. Rimini however, is still very affordable and a fine place to spend your holidays thanks to the healthy competition that has arisen among the many hotels, guest houses and Rimini apartments.

More and more Eastern European tourists are making their mark and taking full advantage of this fine opportunity to spend their holidays in a fashion-orientated Italian city and spend a reasonable amount of money at the same time. It’s therefore quite normal these days to see Russian, Czech, Hungarian and Polish tourists taking in the delights of Rimini. Rimini is not just a place for the younger set as there are many family orientated hotels, guest houses and apartments in Rimini, too that coexist with the numerous areas and bars dedicated to the younger crowds among us. The number of tourists in Rimini goes up every year and the fashionable areas and districts have moved towards the beach and seaside areas of Rimini. In the gorgeous summer months you cans see the limousines pulling up and parked along the beach areas of Marano with the guests heading towards the beach bars and exclusive private clubs.

At the end of the 18th Century however, Rimini was not a Mecca for Italian bathers. Professor Feruccio Farina makes a point that Rimini was not particularly famous either for its beaches or bathing facilities at this time. Therefore, Elisabeth Kenny’s famous trip to Rimini may have been more of a quick stopover as she was on the way to the nearby city of Cesena.

It was only at the close of the 19th Century that the city of Rimini began to gain popularity as a seaside resort. This primarily came about with the opening of the famed Kursaal or Cure Room in German, which is a huge neo-classical structure designed by Gaetano Urbani. It cost the city of Rimini over One million lire to build and was inaugurated in 1873. This famous building along with The Grand Hotel which was built in 1908 were strong symbols of a new type of tourism that hoped to revive the city of Rimini’s economy – an economy that had been in steady decline since the days of Sigismondo Malatesta.

At the beginning of the 20th Century Rimini had already started its transformation into a quaint little tourist and seaside resort which would be the perfect place for Italians and foreign tourists alike to spend the lazy hazy days of summer. With the arrival of World War II, Rimini’s tourism would change. By late 1944 Allied Troops had been bogged down in their advance, and occupying German troops established the infamous Gothic line just south of Rimini. Today one can see the allied war cemeteries which are a testament to the ferocious fighting that occurred to liberate the town of Rimini. As Rimini was such a strategic point due to having both a port and a railway, it was heavily bombed by the allies. In April 1945 Italian partisans rebelled against the German occupying troops, thus paving the way for the final allied advance northwards. Rimini therefore, entered into a completely new era.

1948 saw the famous Kursaal building demolished on the orders of the first left wing council. The was a dramatic step and a symbolic break with the bourgeouis past of Rimini’s tourism and one must now look at old black and white photos to get an idea of what this building was all about. During the 1950’s and 1960’s an economic boom took place in northern Italy. The booming production of these northern factories along with a demand for decent holidays made resorts like the city of Rimini rise to the challenge

Rimini certainly rose to this particular challenge and promptly started to build up a tourist infrastructure that would bring families to the riviera, enticed by clean and well kept beaches (the seafront was divided up and licenced out to beach operators charged with keeping the beach clean and pristine, in return for the right to charge for beach loungers and umbrellas), affordable Rimini accommodation, and certainly some of the best food found in Italy. During a period of 30 years Rimini slowly established itself as one of the best places to go on holiday in Italy and according to La Repubblica -21st March 2007 it is estimated that over half of the population in Italy has been on holiday to Rimini at least once.

Today’s Rimini sees a wealth of events and festivals held each summer, ranging from street theatre and wine tasting to open air cinema and exquisite fashion shows. Many of these fabulous events have tried to incorporate the charms of the old town of Rimini.

Rimini happens to be one of those perfect holiday and weekend break destinations as it enjoys direct flights from many cities around Europe. Another thing about Rimini is that both culture and the typical beach holiday exist side by side separated by only a few kilometres. Why not take a dip in the sea and sun yourself during the day and maybe having a light lunch of fresh fish and piadina (the exquisite and tasty local flat bread), while in the evening taking in a classical concert in the Renaissance castle, followed by a dinner of wild boar and a few glasses of Sangiovese wine. What more could one ask for whilst in Rimini on holiday.

Since Rimini’s first years as a capital of tourism in the 1960s, Rimini and the small town of Riccione have been considered the centre points of transgression. For example, Viale Ceccarini, the fashion walkway of the region, was the place where the best shops were situated, the most important celebrities and fashion icons of Italy and other European countries were easy to find and drag queen shows were frequent. Here there was one of the greatest gay communities of the Italian peninsula as well. The majority of foreign tourists used to come from the United Kingdom, Germany and France. This is also the reason why many of the residents in Rimini have Saxon, German or French surnames.

Things in Rimini are a little different today. Italy has caught up with the rest of the European Union and become an expensive country but long-distance flights have become much cheaper than ever before. For this reason English, Swedish, French and German tourists prefer taking a vacation in more remote and southern places than Rimini for the same price. Having said that, beautiful Rimini is still a very inexpensive place to spend ones holidays thanks to the competition which arises among the large number of hotels, guest houses and apartments in Rimini.

More and more tourists from Eastern Europe are taking advantage of the opportunity to have a vacation in a fashion-oriented city without breaking the bank in the process. It is very common nowadays to see Czech, Polish, Russian and Hungarian tourists around in Rimini. Rimini has also turned into a more family-oriented tourist destination even though there is still a great number of bars and areas dedicated to the younger crowds. Despite this fact, the number of tourists in Rimini is still increasing year after year. Fashion district areas in Riccione have now been transferred to the seaside area of Rimini and features beach bars, garden terraces, night clubs, and of course the more “Elite” private clubs. It also is quite common to see limousines parked along the beach of Marano during a typical summer Saturday night.