Swine Flu, or the A/H1N1 virus to be more correct, hasn’t hit Italy in a significant way yet, presumably because the hot summer months aren’t conducive to the spread of the virus. There’s an interesting phenomenon though occuring in the pharmacies of Rimini, where according to the president of the local order of pharmacists, Giulio [...]
Archive for July, 2009
Swine Flu fearful tourists flock for tamilflu
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Popeye celebrates his birthday in Rimini
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009As if you needed proof that eating spinach is good for you, Popeye – the world-famous cartoon character who’s better known in Italian as braccio di ferro (literally iron arm) – celebrates his 80th birthday this year, and as part of the festivities there’ll be a special show dedicated to the character today at Rimini’s [...]
Wizz air flights connect Rimini and the east
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Polish low-cost airline Wizz Air has expanded its routes into Italy from Eastern Europe. Of particular interest are the increased flights into nearby Forli airport (halfway between Rimini and Bologna). In an announcement this week the airline said they would be scheduling flights from the Romanian cities of Bucharest, Cluj, and Timisoara to Forli with [...]
Tony Blair controversial guest of honour at the Meeting Rimini 2009
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Every year in Rimini there’s a huge and interesting conference, run by the Catholic organisation Comunion & Liberation, which attracts international coverage and thousands of visitors. This year’s theme is ‘Knowledge is always an event’, and has attracted a number of high profile speakers including several members of the Italian government (including Minister for foreign [...]
The World’s longest underwater kiss
Monday, July 27th, 2009The mind boggles – but when the sun is out, and the warm winds are blowing up and down the coast, you need to take your mind off things and relax, and for some people that means going to Aquafan, one of the Adriatic Riviera’s many theme parks (there are so many that there’s a [...]
Top 5 Summer Festivals in Italy
Monday, July 27th, 2009In Northern Europe we love festivals, outdoor concerts and events – but just don’t have the weather for it. Italy, on the other hand, is perfect for large and spectacular open air events. Think about it – they have the weather, the aesthetics, and even the food at your average Italian festival is something to [...]
Rimini makes #2 in The Times list of coolest beach party locations
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Did you ever have any doubts?? Rimini comes in at #2 in The Times of London’s list of Europe’s top 10 Beach Parties. In particular, the English newspaper mentions the fancy Turquoise Beach Club as one of the coolest places in Europe to party on the beach. Rimini comes in just behind Turkey’s Turkbuku, but [...]
5 recent great Italian films you may have missed
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Last year’s Cannes film festival spotlighted Italian cinema with two big films in competition, Paolo Sorrentino’s biopic of Giulio Andreotti Il Divo and the international hit adaptation of Roberto Saviano’s crime book Gomorrah . Two great films that have hadsome of the international success they deserve. Every year, though, there are plenty of top-notch Italian films that [...]
Empty Space – Interview with Francesco Montanari
Monday, July 20th, 2009There’s a nice interview with Francesco Montanari, who runs one of our favourite restaurants, Empty Space, in local newspaper Chiamami Citta. Nice, because it gives you an insight into why Montanari’s restaurant (run with a number of friends) is such a special place. Francesco, before taking up the challenge of establishing a restaurant, worked as [...]
Bologna to Rimini by Helicopter
Monday, July 20th, 2009One of the disadvantages of Rimini’s popularity is that on weekends in the summer all roads in Emilia-Romagna, as it were, lead to Rimini – and so there are frequent traffic jams on the famous A14 autostrada heading from Bologna to the Riviera. Normal journey times of an hour or so can be lengthened considerably, [...]
Polemics over Morrisey’s Rimini cancellation
Friday, July 17th, 2009The biggest dissapointment of this summer season in Rimini, at least to an indie-fan, was the sudden cancellation of Morrissey’s planned two-date appearance at Rimini’s legendary venue Velvet. There had been rumours circulating about Morrissey’s health for some time, given cancellations of London Shows in May. Promoters and Morrissey himself re-assured fans at the start [...]
Fuoco al mito – a lesson in fire, tradition, and Parmesan cheese
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I’m kicking myself for missing the ‘fuoco al mito’ event on Rimini’s beachfront at the start of july, organised by Un Mare di Sapori ( also on facebook here). That’s the problem with spending the summer in Rimini – too many events and too little time! Luckily, though, the event is being repeated in nearby [...]
Planning for the 2010 Notte Rosa
Saturday, July 11th, 2009One of the reasons that Rimini, and the Adriatic riviera in general, is so popular with holidaymakers is because so much attention is paid to detail. This is nowhere more in evidence than in the development of one of Europe’s biggest annual parties – the Notte Rosa To give you an idea, the organisers of [...]
Gastronomic Tourism – some figures for Emilia-Romagna
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Emilia-Romagna is, without doubt, at the forefront of Italian gastronomy and tourism, and that wonderful niche market gastronomic tourism. With cities like Bologna, Parma, Modena, and of course Rimini – each with their particular traditions and culinary specialities. Coldiretti, an official organisation promoting the interests of the agricultural sector have issued a report on Gastronomy [...]
Watch out for the Garbino
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Yesterday was a strange day weatherwise here in Rimini. The day started off well, with a relatively blue sky and sunshine. Temperatures hot, but not particularly humid. Classic july weather then. The first sign of trouble comes around lunchtime, when a large family lunch becomes tense (or tenser than usual – to an outsider, a [...]
Over 2 million estimated at this year’s Notte Rosa
Monday, July 6th, 2009Rimini returns to normal, or at least as ‘normal’ as it gets during the summer (where there are festivals and events planned from June through to September), after Saturday night’s Notte Rosa festival – and some of the statistics are coming in about the night. An incredible 2 million people (according to the Resto del [...]
Moonlight swim for the Notte Rosa
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Milo Manara’s famous poster for the Rimini Summer has three distinct and sensual elements: the moon, a voluptuous woman, and the sea – an image which captures the romance and excitement of the rimini night. One of the ironies, though, is that for obvious safety reasons, night-time bathing is usually forbidden along the sandy Rimini [...]
