Riccione (Italian: [ritˈtʃoːne]; Romagnol: Arciôn [arˈtsoːŋ]) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.

[6][9] Several hypotheses have been advanced for its etymology:[13] Since its modern development, Riccione has been nicknamed la Perla Verde (the Green Pearl), a reflection of its greenery and affluent villas.

[9][15] A Roman settlement in Riccione, officially a vicus, was centred in the area of the present-day San Lorenzo in Strada, where the Via Flaminia turned to a more northerly bearing.

[4] In 1673, after decades of local campaigns,[22] the Papal States approved the building of watchtowers by the Torrente Marano and the Fontanelle to defend from Saracen and Usok pirate raids.

[9] Italy's unification accelerated the construction of the Bologna–Ancona railway, whose section between Rimini and Ancona was inaugurated on 17 November 1861,[5] though Riccione would only have a permanent stop from 1865.

[18] During the same period, Don Carlo Tonini, the parish priest of San Martino,[8] proposed that the seaside could cure children living in the Po Valley of scrofula.

[24] He organised summer holidays for afflicted children,[19] who stayed with host families in Riccione;[8][19] Tonini would collect them each morning, with farmers providing transport aboard their ox-drawn carts from the town to the seaside along Viale Viola.

[18][8][12][23] Her husband, Giovanni Ceccarini, was a doctor from Cantiano; he fought for the Roman Republic, whose fall led him to exile in New York, where he met and married Maria.

[3][29] Following Giovvani's death in Scacciano in 1888,[28][30][31] Maria began a proliferous philanthropic relationship with the area, beginning with a 200 lire donation for its civic library.

[28][32] She donated further funds for an annual winter soup kitchen from 1890,[28][32] and the construction of a kindergarten (1891), the city's hospital (1892-93),[8][9][28][32][33] whose generator powered streetlights along Via Flaminia and Viale Viola,[9][32][33] and Riccione's port (1901).

Additionally, because of the strategic importance of the railway, the town was bombed from the sea and sky by the Austrian-Hungarian army, and crossed by many Venetian refugees.

[60][61] In early September 1944, during the Italian campaign, Riccione was largely spared the brunt of military movement along the Adriatic Front: most fighting took place in the surrounding hills.

[63] From the evening of 2 September, the Germans retreated to a defensive line at the Rio Melo, defended by a single tank, allowing forces of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to enter the city; by 12 September, they were reinforced by the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade, notorious for their poor behaviour towards locals, who were consequently ordered not to pass underneath the railway.

[62] Outside the city, San Lorenzo in Strada was heavily fortified by General Richard Heidrich's 1st Parachute Division, who barricaded themselves in the church with instructions to fight until the end.

The battle in San Lorenzo, which included sword-fighting in the church, claimed 31 soldiers and 124 wounded or missing, with the Canadians reduced to 18 men before they reorganised on 6 September.

A second attack on the night of 12–13 September, supported by the 3rd Greek Battalion and the 20th New Zealand Armoured Regiment, claimed the church after four and a half hours.

[39] After World War II, Riccione was further popularised by visiting celebrities, including Brazilian footballer Pelé,[18][69][70] Mina, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio De Sica, and Gina Lollobrigida.

[18] Between 1954 and 1967, the city hosted the Winter Rose (Rosa d'Inverno), an annual socialite party by invitation only, first at the Teatro Dante and,[71] following its demolition in 1956,[36] at the Grand Hotel Riccione.

[71] Organised by the municipal government with the Moto Club Celeste Berardi, guests included Sophia Loren, Fred Buscaglione, and Mina.

[3][13][29] The north bank of the Rio Melo is called Alba by the coast, while inland, San Lorenzo in Strada on the Via Flaminia is Riccione's oldest settlement.

The zone includes warehouses and artisanal workhops, such as dry cleaners, carpenters, glassworks, printing plants, and metalworking shops.

Riccione's junction is located before the suburb of Raibano, and connected to the main peripheral road by Viale Enrico Berlinguer dual carriageway.

[153][154][155] The northbound track was moved closer towards the seaside, and its adjacent platform was reconstructed and raised to provide easier access to the trains.

[166][167] Alongside its civilian history, the airport has a notable military history: it was the home of the 5th Aerobrigade [it] of the Italian Air Force between 1956 and 2010,[168] and during the Cold War, it was identified by the Warsaw Pact as a strategic target in the event of an all-out war,[168][169] housing several thousand Italian and NATO soldiers and thirty B61 nuclear bombs.

As well as serving the city's suburbs, the lines connect Riccione to towns and villages in the hinterland and to neighbouring comuni along the Adriatic coast.

[29] The route, then an electric tram, first arrived in Riccione on 26 June 1927,[46][47][48][45] only now made possible by newly-built carriageable bridges over the Torrente Marano and Rio Melo.

[177][178][179] The 9.8-kilometre (6.1 mi) bus rapid transit line runs on a segregated track adjacent to the Bologna-Ancona railway between the stations of Rimini and Riccione.

Intermediate stops serve the Fiabilandia amusement park in Rivazzurra, Miramare's railway station, and Federico Fellini International Airport.

[189][190] Objections particularly concerned a retaining concrete wall along the track,[191][192] the felling of trees,[193][194][195][196][197][198] and the decision to launch the route provisionally using motorbuses.

[192][201][202] In January 2021, the preliminary heading judge of the Court of Rimini indicted Renata Tosi,[203][204] Riccione's mayor from 2014 to 2022,[205][206] for abuse of office, relating to ordinances she issued to obstruct Metromare's construction.