RIMINI will always be a special place for me because it is where I first saw
my father. My parents divorced when I was a baby and I had no contact with
him until I was a teenager.
When I was 12 my mother and I drove from England to Rimini beach. Among the
crowds, the ice-cream sellers and the plastic sun-loungers, my father and I
were reunited.
Although I was impressed with my first sighting of a palm tree, even as a
teenager I could tell that Rimini in the late 1970s was not especially
glamorous. The sandy beach was long and wide, but the various beach stations
were gaudy and indistinguishable.
The city was destroyed during the war and then rebuilt. It was Mussolini who
first brought the masses to the beaches when he built the railway line.
For much of the 1970s and 1980s Rimini was the Italian equivalent of Margate.
But now the city is undergoing a revival. There are new trendy boutique
hotels, the clubs are less tacky, and people don't snigger when you mention
that you are going there.
When I returned to Rimini recently I found a much-improved and much-changed
city. The Old Town has been revamped; much has been pedestrianised and the
cobbled streets and squares are filled with elegant shops. When I first
went, there were few nice places to stay. If you were rich, you stayed at
the Grand Hotel. This was immortalised by Frederico Fellini in his film
Amarcord.
Now there are almost 1,500 hotels in Rimini, including the trendy Duomo Hotel,
which is well worth a visit, especially if you like a reception desk that
looks like a giant silver life-belt. The Hotel Le Meridien was designed to
resemble an ocean liner by the architect Paolo Portoghesi and is a favourite
among chic Italians.
But some traditions live on. Rimini has been famous for its nightclubs for
decades. About 25 years ago, I spotted Maradona on the dancefloor at Il
Paradiso. When I was a teenager, Il Paradiso was the place to be seen - with
or without a footballer. It still exists and the view from there is
outstanding.
I remember rolling in from Il Paradiso at five in the morning and my
grandmother being scandalised. “That's the time people get up to open their
stalls in the market,” she told me. And rather conveniently, if you are a
little peckish on your way down the hill from the club, you can pop into the
vast covered market for a bit of bread with ham or cheese.
If you happen to find yourself in the covered market, start with the general
foods, fruit and vegetable section (where you can stock up on prime-grade
parmesan for a fraction of the price you will pay back home) and then move
on to the fish and seafood section. Here you will see things you wouldn't
want to meet on a dark night, let alone eat. One local delicacy is a small
see-through crustacean called canocchia. When you eat them think of Fellini,
Italy's most celebrated film director, who was born and grew up in Rimini
and was nicknamed canocchia because he was so thin.
The city had a difficult relationship with its most famous citizen. When his
film La Dolce Vita came out, local priests and residents demonstrated
outside the duomo, one of Italy's most famous churches, with large painted
signs. “We will pray for the sinner Federico Fellini” they had written on
them. Among the protesters were Fellini's own mother and my grandmother.
Whatever else you do in Rimini, try to eat as much as possible. If you like
seafood, you won't need to go to a nightclub to find paradise, just head for
Lo Squero and the seafood risotto. Rimini has one restaurant with a Michelin
star, the Acero Rosso, which takes its name from the three red maple trees
in the garden. It is an ideal place to savour home-made pasta and plan your
next visit.
And if you stay at Le Meridien, you can avoid the crowds that still frequent
the beach by hanging out in the Dolce Vita Beach Club. If I were to meet my
father on Rimini beach today, that's where I would choose.
Helena Frith Powell is the author of Ciao Bella - In Search of my Italian
Father (Gibson Square, £7.99).
Need to know
Citalia (0871 6640253, www.citalia.com)
offers seven nights' half board at the Grand Hotel in Rimini from £839pp.
The price includes BA flights from Gatwick and private transfers.
Further information
www.turismo.provincia.rimini.it
Rimini and the much under-rated Adriatic Coastal resorts of Emilia Romagna have much to offer the British Tourist. In the 70's the region enjoyed a great influx of the British who removed themselves to pastures new with the onset of the cheap package holiday. As the British tourist slowly returns they can enjoy the wonderful Romagnan Hospitality, seafood on the coast and traditional offerings inland. Just a short drive inland leads you to some beautiful hilltop hamlets as breathtaking and exciting as any other italian region at considerably lower prices. Emilia Romagna may not be a well known name in the UK but consider this, it is the region famed for Ferrari, Parmesan, Parma Ham, Balsamic Vinegar, Max Mara, Ducati, Armani to name but a very few! Wherever you are at any time of the year there is always something going on whether it is the long hot summer, first spring lamb, chestnuts & truffles or the bright festive Christmas celebrations there is something for everyone here!
Naomi Colley, Stanmore, England