Rimini and the Cinema: between holidays, province and Fellini's dreams

Over the years, Rimini has known how to be much more than just a seaside resort: it has become a place in the Italian cinematic imagination. A protagonist on the big screen, it has assumed from time to time the role of a symbol of summer holidays, a postcard of the economic boom, but also a perfect example of a provincial town, with all its contradictions: the lightness of fun, cultural limitations, emotional and social outbursts.

As early as the first decade of the 20th century, Rimini appeared in the very first films as an emerging tourist destination. But it is with Federico Fellini - one of the most iconic directors in the history of cinema - that the city entered into myth: although he never shot directly in Rimini (he preferred to reconstruct it in the theatres of Cinecittà), the maestro fixed its soul in his films, transforming it into a universal symbol of memory, dream, childhood and fantasy.

Besides Fellini, however, numerous directors have chosen Rimini and its province as a real or evocative setting for their stories.

Films set in Rimini and its province (in whole or in part)

1950s-70s

• Violent summer (1959) - Directed by Valerio Zurliniwith Jean-Louis Trintignant.

• The girl with the suitcase (1961) - Directed by Valerio Zurliniwith Claudia Cardinale.

• The parasol (1965) - Directed by Dino Risi.

• The president of Borgorosso Football Club (1970) - Directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico.

• The first night of stillness (1972) - Directed by Valerio Zurliniwith Alain Delon.

1980s

• Hopefully we are ruined (1984) - Directed by Sergio Martino.

• A woman to be discovered (1987) - Directed by Riccardo Sesani.

• Rimini Rimini (1987) - Directed by Sergio Corbucci.

• Rimini Rimini - One year later (1988) - Directed by Bruno Corbucci.

• I will become a father (1988) - Directed by Gianfranco Albanowith Gianni Morandi.

• The rustling of the sparrow (1988) - Directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi.

• Butter (1989) - Directed by José María Sánchez, written by Tonino Guerra.

The 1990s

• Everyone is fine (1990) - Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

• Journey of love (1990) - Directed by Ottavio Fabbri.

• Hudson Hawk – The Master Thief (1991) – Directed by Michael Lehmannwith Bruce Willis.

• Deeply tanned (1991) – Directed by Bruno Gaburro.

• Italian Saturday (1992) – Directed by Luciano Manuzzi.

• Johnny Stecchino (1992) – Directed by Roberto Benigni.

• Biting desire (1993) – Directed by Sergio Martino.

• Vesna is going fast (1996) – Directed by Carlo Mazzacuratiwith Antonio Albanese.

• Silver nitrate (1996) – Directed by Marco Ferreri.

• Radiofreccia (1998) – Directed by Luciano Ligabue.

• Donkeys (1999) – Directed by Antonello Grimaldiwith Claudio Bisio.

The 2000s and beyond

• A Perfect Love (2001) – Directed by Valerio Andreiwith Cesare Cremonini.

• From Zero to Ten (2002) – Directed by Luciano Ligabue.

• Don’t worry about it (2007) – Directed by Gianni Zanasiwith Valerio Mastandrea.

• Every time you leave (2014) – Directed by Davide Cocchiwith Fabio De Luigi.

• Skyscraper Cinema (2017) – Directed by Marco Bertozzi.

Conclusion

Rimini has managed to carve out a special place for itself in the world of cinema, suspended between reality and imagination. Sometimes a real film set, at other times a cinematic metaphor, the city has been portrayed by filmmakers of different generations and styles, establishing itself as a crossroads of Italian stories: seaside, romantic, melancholic, comic or visionary.
And perhaps it is precisely this dual nature – both concrete and dreamlike – that makes it still irresistibly cinematic today.