Rimini is a beach town, a tourist destination. Although it was the beginning of the off season when we got there the water was still a pretty happening place when the sun was shining. Contrary to what Americans perceive, not everyone goes topless. You pretty much do whatever and wear whatever, from swimsuits to skives to business suits you see it all down at the beach. Many locals come by after work for a walk, bike or run along the shore before heading home to make dinner. The variety of shells is amazing and you find lots of pieces of stone and terra cotta that washes up as well probably from some ancient ruin or shipwreck.
Amongst my perusing of hotel tourist literature and a by chance sighting during a bus ride I was delighted to find the Ceramic House also know as Casa Ugolini, a private residence on the Via Flaminia owned by Cesare and Susanna Minelli Ugolini. Cesare was an antique dealer and ceramics collector who created a masterpiece using tiles and ceramic pieces set to be discarded from local sites around Rimini. Although this was not open to the public for tours it was quite the sight to behold from the street. If you'd like to find out more click HERE for a great video tour and description plus some other photographs.
Another very cool find was an archaeological dig site. Years ago when Rob was here for previous training this particular spot was a construction site with the usual orange net fencing surrounding it. Apparently when they went to begin a new structure they discovered the ruin of the Surgeon's House, plus an even older development underneath that. The Museo della Citta oversees the site now and it is part of the museum admission. They've covered it and built walkways across so you can see everything quite well. Unfortunately my photos do not do it justice in the least. I did however find a couple videos on YouTube should you care to know more.
Click and enjoy! LONG VIDEO - SHORT VIDEO
My visit through the museum was quite interesting. I went on Wednesday morning which was the free admission day only to find the place virtually deserted except for myself, two art students, and a couple museum lady guards. They are quite particular about the order you go through the museum, or maybe they just want to make sure you see everything. If I started to drift off course one of the ladies would come down and "scuzi" me into the section I should be at first. They did not speak English other than "photo ok, no flash" again contrary to what I was told that "everyone pretty much speaks English". Not the case my friends.
The exhibit about the Surgeon's House had descriptions in English and were excellent. As I toured the upper floors I quickly discovered that was the only exhibit with English explanations. There was an amazing display on the Crucifixion of Christ with art ranging from oil paintings to ceramics to wood carvings, paintings on wood, stone/marble, and metal work. Then, bam, a retro advertising lithograph display! Another area of marble and stone carvings and pieces, lots of mosaics, tapestry, furniture, all incredibly old then....hello....a contemporary photography exhibit, which was fascinating! From there I headed over to the Piazza Cavour to check out the open air market, which is basically the Italian flea market where all the shops have someone out selling off overstock for cheap. Not exactly the second-hand shops I was hoping to find and due to their crazy sizing I didn't purchase much.
One day I took an extensive bike ride that went along the canal and totally tripped on kitchen gardens. I live in a rural area and people have all kids of gardens and crops but I was just so enamoured with these plots. I watched in fascination as an elderly man came out of a his garden gate across the canal and trucked down a good 20 meter incline with a couple watering cans to fill in the canal. They do not use heavy gardening equipment like we do in the states, at least not on a small scale. This guy had to be at least in his 70s if not older. He probably jumped on his bike later that day and pedaled to his favorite local hangout to converse with friends as well. Elderly people in Rimini are in great shape! Loved seeing old ladies in their skirts and sensible shoes tooling around on their bicycles. That's one thing I wish was more feasible to do in my little town, get around by bike. There's plenty of places to go and bike ride but to conduct your day to day business that way just doesn't work.
One other thing I'll tell you about Italy.....it's got some great knockers! From antique to modern, great style and designs. Super fun.
That's all for now. Next time I'll share a little about San Marino and of course a few more photos.
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