From 1797 to 1977 this was used as a hospital, first military and then civil, whereas now it houses numerous exhibits of local historical-artistic heritage. The displays follow in chronological order from the formation of the territory to the modern day.
There are more than 1500 works in 40 galleries on a total of 3,000 square metres with the number of exhibits eventually increasing as new sections are scheduled to be opened.
In the ancient cellar of the Museum is an exhibition on the extraordinary story of Rimini, from prehistory to the end of Late Antiquity. The archaeological section continues on the ground floor, dedicated to the Imperial Rimini between the II and III century, with displays of splendid mosaics from the Domus Diotallevi palazzo, as well as sculptures, ceramics, plaster decorations, coins, glass items, bronzes and last but not least the exceptional exhibition of the surgical instrument equipment from the “Domus del Chirurgo” in Piazza Ferrari, next door. The archaeological section gives a view of Rimini from its origins to the Middle Ages, presenting a flourishing and peaceful city during the Roman Empire, a period which was tragically interrupted by the first barbarian invasions.
On the ground floor too, is an area dedicated to Renè Gruau, a famous contemporary fashion designer from Rimini, who died in March 2004.
In the garden-courtyard are Roman Lapidaries, which contain an epigraphic collection of about one hundred Roman inscriptions.
The first and second floors house the Pinacoteca picture gallery with works dating from the Municipal era to 1900 including masterpieces from the fourteenth century Rimini school.
On the first floor are frescoes, ceramics and paintings on wood from the 15th and 16th centuries that tell the story of Renaissance art: works commissioned by the Malatesta family, lords of Rimini, such as Giovanni Bellini’s famous Pietà and the Pala by Domenico Ghirlandaio.
A 14th century fresco called “the Last Judgement”, which once hung on a wall over the triumphal arch in Sant’Agostino Church, can be admired in the conference room. The painting is the work of artists from Rimini who were perhaps led by Giuliano and Giovanni da Rimini.
Also on the first floor of the building is the Medieval section which contains 300 finds, sculptures, illuminated codices and other works of art, such as some important masterpieces of the 14th century Rimini school and of Malatestian Humanism.
On the second floor art and sculpture produced in Rimini between the 17th and the 19th centuries are on display together with the works of famous artists including Guido Cagnacci, Il Centino, Il Guercino, Simone Cantarini and Giovan Battista Costa .

External Links

http://www.riminiturismo.it/CMS2/main.php?elemId=321&classId=33&search=&lang_index=1&norobot=true

Above all, there is the most complete collection of surgical instruments including those used for amputation and dental fillings ever found.

From 2008 the site constitutes an integral part of the City Museum and its possible to visit thanks to the innovative glass covering it together with the hanging garden.

References

Rimini. Guide book produced by the Comune of Rimini 2008, p15.

The inscription under the altar refers to the column as being the spot where the miracle took place.

This is the proud house of Cesare and Susanna Minelli Ugolini.

Cesare has been collecting ceramics since childhood and as such, this fascination  developed into a life-long passion spanning some 70 years now.

For most of his life Cesare was an antique dealer and as he recalls, he lived by the simple rule that he had to sell one piece to collect another. Although he travelled widely and far for work, his calling to create this masterpiece was borne at a local level.

The pieces he would attach to the walls of his house mostly came from local sites around Rimini. Quite often they are to be thrown away but as Cesare noted many of these were antique ceramics which he scooped up and brought home to clean, study and organise where and how they would go around the house.

Most importantly for him, is that all the fragments reveal the history of Italian ceramics from the Medieval to the Renaissance period. It’s this magnificent story that the artist wants to conserve as a momentum to the past and not simply as a contemporary home display to admire.

There are several motifs which he recounts fondly to being his love of cats and a past home help called Cinzia. Others include ancient maps of places around Italy, religious figures and many references to nature.

Even inside, there is little escape from the exquisite detail, bright colours and sometimes, personally designed ceramics that are to be found in every room in the house.

For Cesare though, this is a pastime which he takes seriously as he has also amassed a huge collection of books on his favourite subject and therefore could be consulted on any matter of antique ceramics. In fact, there is probably no other place in Emilia Romagna at least, that can boast such a specialist collection.

This is therefore without doubt, a spectacular corner of Rimini undiscovered and underestimated for its regional historic value created by the genius behind the ceramic collector Cesare Ugolini.

The stone counters, waterspouts for cleaning the fish and large clock are still there. Under one of the arches is a painting by Cianfrancesco Buonamici.

Opened all year, La Perla is a 3 star hotel with 50 rooms designed to provide a simple but comfortable accommodation.

The large breakfast area is brightly coloured and offers a full continental breakfast with ample space for families.

Decorated in a contemporary style made of light beautiful marine colors, rooms are equipped with double beds and private bathrooms with shower, hair dryer and complimentary toiletries.

Almost all of the rooms have a private balcony with most of them overlooking the boulevard and the sea. Those at the back of the building are quieter and dominate the view from the hinterlands of San Marino and Rimini.

The family sized room boasts an extra single bed whereas the standard room contains a double. They all come with individually controlled air conditioning / heating system, satellite TV and a safe for personal possessions.

The general cleanliness of the hotel and rooms are good with a friendly staff at hand for any other requirements.

External Links

http://www.laperlariminihotel.it/

Especially, noteworthy are the 6 huge tv screens and video projector inside therefore covering most sports events and general tv.

It’s opened also for lunch times while the top floor usually remains closed until the evening when the aperativo kicks-in.

A small beer-garden seating up to 100 people is located just a few metres from the front entrance and usually fills-up pretty quickly during the good weather.

Entertainment is varied and well organised. The week is always planned with events, very much like the pub scene in Ireland or England. For example, Master Beer holds a quiz on Tuesdays while Karaoke is held every Wednesday. The weekend nights are dedicated to modern music with a DJ taking centre stage every Saturday. Live acoustic music and jazz nights are often planned too so see their web site for more details or their Facebook page.

External Links

http://www.masterbeer.net

Its hugely successful and is full every lunch and dinner time by people from all walks of life.
The trattoria is also famous for their ‘Red Menu’, which allows anyone, any day of the year for lunch and dinner, weekends included, to eat a full meal of first and second dish with vegetables, dessert and water for just 10 Euro.

External Links

http://www.trattoriadelrosso.com

Yesterday, an article about our work in Bologna appeared in the Carlino Newspaper, so, the following is an English translation of that article:

Michael opens-up the city for smartphones

Bologna ‘naked’ and available on smartphone. This is not a futuristic dream but a reality that already exists for some time, unknown to most people. The inventor, Michael Phillips, Irish from Belfast, arrived at the Two Towers six years ago and never left. He fell in love with the city and as a curious observer began to visit, discover and record all the interesting places, piazzas, monuments and bars. “My aim is to make Bologna the most technologically advanced city in Italy in terms of tourism”, he explains. And in this way, Phillips, who is a nominee for the award ‘Bologna Città Civile e Bella’, started to systematically collate information that now includes 300 videos with audio-guides, photos and written texts. The result of this painstaking work was published in a free pocket guide updated each year and distributed around museums and local bars. The second part of this project is a multi-media collection seen on the web site: www.iguidez.com. And the most recent evolution of Phillips’ work and the most innovative is to add QR codes to the doors of premises (for example as in the Sala Borsa) that can be scanned by any smart phone. This will automatically open up a web page of multi-media information of the place in which you are standing.