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LandmarkHub · 4 stops3rd c. BC – 7th c. ADFree

Ariminum – Rimini

Ariminum, Colonia Augusta Ariminensis, Arimino, Ariminon

city · Emilia-Romagna, Italy

What it is
Ariminum was the colony Rome founded in 268 BC at the mouth of the Marecchia, where the Via Flaminia from Rome ended, and modern Rimini still has two of its monuments standing: the Arch of Augustus and the Ponte di Tiberio, at either end of the old main street.
What you’ll see
The historic centre keeps the Roman town's street plan (en.wikipedia, Rimini), and its monuments are a short walk apart.
Worth the trip?
Yes, and it costs a morning rather than a day. An arch and a bridge from the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius stand about a kilometre apart on one street, and both are free to see at any hour.
Getting there & cost
Rimini railway station is on the Bologna–Ancona line, and Federico Fellini airport lies in the southern suburb of Miramare (en.wikipedia).Free · The arch and the bridge cost nothing · checked 18 October 2026Hours, tickets and parking
A tall single-arched gate faced in pale stone, with columns either side of the opening and a pediment above it, topped by a band of brick with swallowtail battlements; low stretches of brick wall run off on both sides, with a lawn and a flowerbed in front.
The Arch of Augustus, built in 27 BC where the Via Flaminia reached the town; the battlements on top are medieval. · Photo: Il Malatestiano · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Close view of the top of the arch, a carved stone pediment above a cornice, with lines of inscription in Roman capitals on the stone and brickwork above and battlements against a blue sky.
The upper part of the Arch of Augustus, with its pediment and inscription. · Photo: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A long, low stone bridge of five round arches crossing still water, seen side-on from the bank, with houses and trees on the far side.
The Ponte di Tiberio across the Marecchia channel, finished in AD 21. · Photo: Flying Russian · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The stops

4 places to see, the best preserved and best known first.

See all 4 stops on the mapWhere each one is, so you can plan your own way round.Open the map →
  1. A tall single-arched gate faced in pale stone, with a column either side of the opening and a low pediment above it, topped by a band of brick with swallowtail battlements; stretches of brick and stone wall run off on both sides, with a lawn and a bed of orange flowers in front.

    Photo: Il Malatestiano · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons

    arch · Emilia-Romagna

    Arch of Augustus

    A single arch, faced in pale stone (Istrian stone in en.wikipedia and de.wikipedia; it.wikipedia and italia.it call it travertine).

    Free
  2. A long, low bridge of pale stone on five round arches, seen side-on across still water, with a corbelled cornice running under the parapet and houses and trees on the far bank.

    Photo: Flying Russian · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons

    bridge · Emilia-Romagna

    Ponte di Tiberio

    The whole bridge.

    Free
  3. Inside a long modern hall with a wooden ceiling and a glass wall looking out onto a street, the low walls and patterned mosaic floors of excavated rooms lie below the visitors' level.

    Photo: Capvalerio85 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons

    town house · Emilia-Romagna

    Domus del Chirurgo

    The excavation covers about 700 m², and the first mosaics lay some 2.5 m below the modern ground (it.wikipedia).

    Ticketed

What is there today

The historic centre keeps the Roman town’s street plan (en.wikipedia, Rimini), and its monuments are a short walk apart. The Arch of Augustus, built in 27 BC, is 19 m high and faced in Istrian stone; the battlements on top were added in the Middle Ages. It was a city gate rather than a triumphal arch, and has stood alone in its square since the buildings and walls beside it were cleared in 1937–39 (en.wikipedia). The Ponte di Tiberio, begun under Augustus in AD 14 and finished under Tiberius in AD 21, crosses the Marecchia channel on five arches of white Istrian stone and has been closed to traffic since May 2020 (en.wikipedia). Corso d’Augusto, the street between them, follows the line of the Roman town’s main street, the decumanus maximus (en.wikipedia).

Two excavated sites fill in the rest. The Domus del Chirurgo on Piazza Ferrari is a Roman house of the later 2nd century AD, found in 1989 and opened in 2007 under a protective building, where you look down on mosaics and walls from transparent walkways; it is named after the set of surgical instruments found in it, which is shown in the Museo della Città a short walk away (it.wikipedia). The amphitheatre, east of the centre towards the sea, was built in the 2nd century AD; of a building whose outer ellipse measured about 118 by 88 m, two arches of the outer portico and part of the arena and seating are visible (riviera.rimini.it, the official tourism site). Porta Montanara, a gate of the 1st century BC, was put back together on its original spot after the destruction of the Second World War, and the city’s own Roman walking route stops at Piazza Tre Martiri for the ancient forum (riviera.rimini.it).

Is it worth the trip?

Yes, and it costs a morning rather than a day. An arch and a bridge from the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius stand about a kilometre apart on one street, and both are free to see at any hour. The Domus del Chirurgo is the paid part and the best reason to go inside. The amphitheatre is the weakest of the stops: a fragment of the building rather than a standing arena. If you are on the Adriatic coast anyway, Rimini is an easy Roman half-day; on its own it is not a destination for a long detour.

Getting there

Rimini railway station is on the Bologna–Ancona line, and Federico Fellini airport lies in the southern suburb of Miramare (en.wikipedia). Every stop above is within about a kilometre of the others in a straight line, so the Roman town is a walk.

The arch and the bridge have no ticket and no hours. The Domus del Chirurgo and the Museo della Città open Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays, 10.00–13.00 and 16.00–19.00, and are closed on Mondays that are not holidays; in July, August and the first week of September they also open on Wednesday evenings, 21.00–23.00. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. One ticket covers both, €7 (€5 reduced, including for over-65s and for everyone on Wednesdays that are not holidays); the ART CARD adds the Fellini Museum for €14 (€10 reduced) and is valid five days (museicomunalirimini.it, read 18 October 2026). Neither the museums nor the tourism site publish visiting arrangements for the amphitheatre.

Visiting details

Opening hours
The Arch of Augustus and the Ponte di Tiberio stand in the street and can be seen at any time. Domus del Chirurgo and Museo della Città, Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays 10.00–13.00 and 16.00–19.00; closed on Mondays that are not holidays; in July, August and the first week of September also every Wednesday 21.00–23.00. Last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Tickets
The arch and the bridge cost nothing. One ticket covers the Domus del Chirurgo and the Museo della Città, €7 (€5 reduced, including for over-65s and for everyone on non-holiday Wednesdays); free for residents of the province of Rimini and on your birthday. The ART CARD adds the Fellini Museum, €14 (€10 reduced), valid five days from first entry.

Before you go

  • Neither the city's museums nor its tourism site publish visiting arrangements for the amphitheatre.

Hours and prices checked 18 October 2026 on the operator's own site. Confirm before travelling.

History

Rome founded Ariminum in 268 BC at the mouth of the river Ariminus, the modern Marecchia, as a colony with Latin rights, a bulwark against the Gauls and a base for pushing north into the Po plain (it.wikipedia, Storia di Rimini). It became a road junction: the Via Flaminia from Rome, built in 220 BC, ended here, the Via Aemilia (187 BC) ran on to Piacenza, and the Via Popilia (132 BC) went north along the coast (it.wikipedia; en.wikipedia, Ponte di Tiberio). The town received Roman citizenship in 90 BC, and in 49 BC, after crossing the Rubicon, Julius Caesar addressed his legions in its forum (it.wikipedia; en.wikipedia).

Augustus marked the place as his own. The arch of 27 BC coincided with a restoration of the Via Flaminia and the renaming of the colony as Colonia Augusta Ariminensis, and the bridge at the other end of the main street, finished after his death, completed the programme (en.wikipedia). In the imperial period Ariminum lay at the southern edge of regio VIII Aemilia; Augustus, Tiberius and Hadrian promoted its great public works, among them a theatre and the amphitheatre (it.wikipedia). The Domus del Chirurgo was destroyed by a sudden fire, dated by the latest of the coins found in its ruins to after 257–258 (it.wikipedia).

From the 3rd century the town declined, and against the first invasions it was given a new circuit of walls under Aurelian (it.wikipedia); in the late empire the amphitheatre was built into the town walls and became a fort (it.wikipedia, Anfiteatro romano di Rimini). Rimini was a bishop’s see, and in 359 it hosted a council of more than 300 western bishops (it.wikipedia). In 552 the Gothic commander Usdrila damaged the Ponte di Tiberio to stop the Byzantine army of Narses, which got across with the help of a fleet of ships (en.wikipedia).

More photographs

Low walls of brick and stone in a grassy park under umbrella pines, with a stepped section of brick masonry rising at the left.
What remains of the amphitheatre, east of the old centre. · Photo: Paperoastro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inside a modern roofed hall with a long glass wall, the low walls and mosaic floors of excavated rooms are laid out below the visitors' level.
The Domus del Chirurgo under its protective building on Piazza Ferrari. · Photo: Capvalerio85 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A single round arch of large rough-cut stone blocks standing on its own in a paved square, with houses and trees behind it.
Porta Montanara, a Roman gate rebuilt on its original spot after the Second World War. · Photo: Thomass1995 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

  • A tall pale stone funerary monument against the end wall of a high museum hall, with a square base, an open storey of columns with statues between them and a pointed roof; a visitor sits on a bench in front of it behind a rope barrier.

    Photo: Uomodis08 · CC BY 3.0 · Commons

    37 km · city · Emilia-Romagna

    Sarsina

    In the town itself the Roman remains are modest.

  • A long brick church with a row of tall round-arched windows along its upper wall and a tall cylindrical bell tower behind, seen across a lawn with young pines, a brick boundary wall and parked cars.

    Photo: Berthold Werner · Public domain · Commons

    44 km · church · Emilia-Romagna

    Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe

    Outside, a plain brick church with a tall round bell tower (Musei Italiani); inside, what UNESCO called "an outstanding example of the early Christian basilica in its purity and simplicity of its design and use of space" (en.wikipedia).

Straight-line distances.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from the records below, each used under the licence noted.

SourceLicence
Pleiades 393379CC BY
Wikidata Q105495122CC0
Vici.org 1652CC BY-SA (text), CC0 (metadata)
Wikipedia (en) — RiminiCC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (it) — Storia di RiminiCC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (en) — Arch of Augustus (Rimini)CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (en) — Ponte di Tiberio (Rimini)CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (it) — Domus del chirurgoCC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (it) — Anfiteatro romano di RiminiCC BY-SA 4.0
Pleiades — Porta Montanaralicence not recorded
Musei di Rimini — opening hours (the operator of the Domus del Chirurgo and the Museo della Città)licence not recorded
Musei di Rimini — individual ticketslicence not recorded
Riviera di Rimini (official tourism site) — Roman amphitheatrelicence not recorded
Riviera di Rimini (official tourism site) — Roman route in the historical centrelicence not recorded