Rimini - Ponte di Tiberio

The area was inhabited by Etruscans until the arrival of the Celts, who held it from the 6th century BC until their defeat by the Umbri in 283 BC. In 268 BC the Roman Republic founded the colonia of Ariminum. The end of Roman rule was marked by the destruction caused by invasions and wars. When the Ostrogoths conquered Rimini in 493, Odoacer, besieged in Ravenna, had to capitulate. During the Gothic War (535–554), Rimini was taken and retaken many times. Under Byzantine rule, it was part of the Exarchate of Ravenna.

In 728, it was taken with many other cities by Liutprand, King of the Lombards but returned to the Byzantines about 735. Pepin the Short gave it to the Holy See, but during the wars of the popes and the Italian cities against the emperors, Rimini sided with the latter.

The Ponte di Tiberio (Tiberius Bridge) features five semicircular arches with an average span length of ca. 8 m. Construction work started during Augustus' reign and was finished under his successor Tiberius in 20 AD. The bridge was the only crossing of the Marecchia not destroyed by the retreating German army during the Battle of Rimini. The Tiberius Bridge, starting point of the Via Emilia, is still open to pedestrians today.