RIMINI, DIOCESE of. — It is bounded on the east by the Foglia and on the west by the Rubicon. It has 228 secular priests, 48 religious, and 136 parishes, two of them and one curacy in the territory of the Republic of S. Marino. The city lies at the extreme end of the Via Flaminia and at the beginning of the Via Emilia.
The Church of Rimini has ancient origins. In 313 one of its bishops, Stemnius, was in Rome (Optatus of Milevis). S. Gaudentius probably belongs to a period before that date; according to an ancient tradition, he came from Ephesus to Rome and was sent by the Pope to R. as the first bishop of this church, while another tradition makes him a contemporary of the Council. This represents one of the most important episodes in the Arian struggle in the West. In order to settle the controversies according to his own designs, the emperor Constantius wished the Western episcopate to assemble at R. and the Eastern at Seleucia. The bishops who gathered at R. in July 359, numbering more than 400, were for the most part faithful to the doctrine of Nicaea; Rome, however, was not represented, whereas Restitutus of Carthage was present. About eighty dissidents assembled separately, and four of them were excommunicated as heretics. Each of the two parties sent a delegation to Constantius, who was in Thrace, and the Catholics, who wanted nothing to do with the dogmatic formula proposed at Sirmium on 22 May, agreed to sign a new one, called that of Nice, on 10 October; this also pleased their opponents. The Fathers of the Council, however, did not accept it and, in the end, overcome by the threats and blandishments of Taurus, prefect of the praetorium, almost all allowed themselves to be induced to accept the formula already signed by their delegates—a formula that subsequently became the confession of faith of the barbarians converted to Arianism.
Christian buildings, already implied by the very presence of the Council, are positively attested in the 5th century; an ecclesia beati Gaudentii is recorded between the 7th and 8th centuries; but nothing remains of them. The oldest churches to have survived, at least in part, are rural parish churches: the parish church of S. Giovanni in Compito, built at the site indicated in the Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum as the mutatio Competu, dates in its present form from the 10th century, but contains elements from the 7th century, when its extensive jurisdiction is amply documented; the parish church of S. Michele in Acerbulis, near S. Arcangelo, is mentioned in documents of the 9th century and in its present form dates no earlier than the year 1000; recent archaeological excavations, however, show it to be much older; the parish church of Verucchio in Sammarinese territory, mentioned in the 11th century under the title of S. Giovanni, to which that of S. Martino was later added, with very ancient architectural elements and important remains. The ancient Cathedral, dedicated to s. Colomba, virgin and martyr, after repeated damage and restorations was abandoned (1798) and demolished; S. Giovanni Ev. first, and then the Tempio Malatestiano, became the cathedral. There is no reliable information about local martyrs. The following Saints were born in the city or diocese: Paola of Roncofreddo (9th century), Arduino the priest (10th century), Aldebrando (13th century); the bb. Simone Balacchi (13th century), Giovanni Gueruli (13th–14th century), Gregorio Celli (14th century), Chiara da R. (1302–46), Amato Ronconi (13th–14th century), Galeotto Roberto Malatesta, and Alessio of Riccione (15th century). S. Marino and s. Leo, s. Francesco d'Assisi, and s. Antonio da Padova lived and carried out their apostolic work there. The following sanctuaries should be mentioned: S. Chiara di R., where the image of the B. V. della Misericordia is venerated; in May 1850 it miraculously moved its eyes and aroused manifestations of faith among the multitudes who flocked from every direction; B. V. delle Grazie of Fiumicino, Cella di Bonora, Madonna Sima of Montegridolfo, Crocifisso of Coriano, and Beato Amato of Saludecio. The history of the Church of Rimini, after the Arian crisis, is not marked by extraordinary events, despite the fury of the factions and political struggles that, here as throughout Romagna, have raged at every period.
The Seminary dates from shortly after the Council of Trent. Twenty-four diocesan synods have been held, the last in 1924. R. was directly dependent on the Holy See; only in 1745 did it become a suffragan of Ravenna. The see of S. Gaudentius has been distinguished by pastors eminent for piety, zeal, and learning, many of whom were raised to the cardinalate and to metropolitan sees. Among the clergy, the following men from Rimini distinguished themselves: Sebastiano Vanzi, a learned canonist who was bishop of Orvieto and a member of the commission of the Council of Trent; Alessandro Tonti (1566–1622), cardinal and co-founder, with s. Giuseppe Calasanzio, of the Collegio Nazareno of Rome; Garampi (v.); Alessandro Serpieri (1823–85), an eminent scholar of physics and astronomy; the Sammarinese Giovanni da Serravalle (1360–1445), bishop of Fermo, known above all as a commentator on the Divina Commedia, which he translated into Latin for the Fathers of the Council of Constance; the men from Santarcangelo: Lorenzo Ganganelli, later Pope Clement XIV, MARIANO, (v.); the man from San Mauro, P. A. Giorgi (1711–97), a renowned Orientalist and philologist; the men from Savignano: G. C. Amaduzzi (1740–92), who was the first secretary of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide and maintained learned relations with the most illustrious men of his time; and Luigi Nardi, librarian of the Gambalunghiana and author of erudite volumes on local history.
Among the churches of R., the following deserve mention for their historical and artistic importance: S. Agostino, built in the 11th century under the title of S. Giovanni Ev. and transferred in the 13th century to the Hermits of s. Agostino, whence its subsequent title; S. Giuliano, an ancient Benedictine abbey dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul, with paintings relating to the homonymous Martyr; and the church that was originally S. Maria in Trivio, then S. Francesco, and hence universally known as the Tempio Malatestiano. The Second World War, which destroyed highly notable sacred buildings, such as the oratory of S. Gerolamo and the church of the Madonna della Colonnella, also brought down the Malatestiano. It was nevertheless completely and skilfully restored and reconsecrated in the summer of 1950, the fifth anniversary of the inspired rewor-
king by L. B. Alberti, which nevertheless remained unfinished. — Vedi tav. XLIX.