RIMINI, DIOCESE OF - Apse of the church of S. Agostino, with frescoes by the Rimini school of the 14th century. At the top, Christ blessing between the two Sts. John, below the Madonna and Child enthroned, and further down, Christ and the Magdalene.
RIMINI, DIOCESE OF. - It is bounded on the east by the Foglia, on the west by the Rubicone. It has 228 secular priests, 48 religious, 136 parishes, two of which and one curacy lie within the territory of the Republic of San Marino. The city stands 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 its bishop, Stemnio, was in Rome (Optatus of Milevis). Prior to that date St. Gaudentius is probably to be placed, who according to an ancient tradition came from Ephesus to Rome and was sent by the Pope to Rimini as protoresbyter of this church; while another tradition holds him to have been contemporary with the Council. This represents one of the most important episodes of the Arian struggle in the West. The emperor Constantius, to settle the controversies according to his designs, wished to assemble the ecclesiastical council at Rimini, the eastern one at Seleucia. The bishops who gathered at Rimini in July 359 in number of more than 400 were in the majority faithful to the doctrine of Nicaea; Rome, however, was not represented, while Restitutus of Carthage was present; about eighty dissentients separated themselves 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 would not accept the dogmatic formula proposed at Sirmium on 22 May, agreed to sign a new one, called the "Formula of Nice" on 10 October, which also pleased their adversaries. The Fathers of the Council, however, did not accept it, and in the end, overawed by the threats and blandishments of Taurus, the protoresbyter, almost all were induced to accept the formula already subscribed by their delegates; a formula which later became the symbol 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 between the 7th and 8th centuries; but nothing remains of them. The oldest churches which have come down to us, at least in part, are extra-urban parish churches: the parish church of S. Giovanni in Compito, which arose on the site indicated in the Jerusalem Itinerary as mutatio Conpetu, dates in its present form to the 10th century, but has elements from the 8th, when its vast jurisdiction is widely documented; the parish church of S. Michele in Acerbulus, near S. Arcangelo, is mentioned in documents of the 9th century and in its present form does not go back beyond the year 1000; however, recent archaeological excavations make it much older; the parish church of Verucchio in Sammarinese territory, mentioned in the 11th century under the title of S. Giovanni, to which later was added that of S. Martino, with very ancient architectural parts and important remains. The ancient cathedral, dedicated to St. Columba, virgin and martyr, after repeated damages and restorations was abandoned (1798) and demolished, and became first the cathedral of S. Giovanni the Evangelist and then the Tempio Malatestiano. Of local martyrs no certain news is available. The following saints were born in the city or diocese: Paola of Roncofreddo (9th century), Arduino the priest (10th century), Aldebrando (13th century); the blessed: Simone Balacchi (13th century), Giovanni Gueruli (13th-14th century), Gregorio Celli (14th century), Chiara of Rimini (1302-46), Amato Ronconi (13th-14th century), Galeotto Roberto Malatesta and Alessio of Riccione (15th century). The following made their home and laboured in apostolate here: St. Marinus, St. Leo, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua. Among the shrines are to be noted: St. Clare of Rimini, in which is venerated the image of the B.V. of Mercy which in May 1830 moved its eyes miraculously and aroused manifestations of faith in the multitudes who came from all sides; B.V. delle Grazie of Fiumicino, Cella di Bonora, Madonna S. Ma of Montegridolfo, Crucifix of Coriano, Blessed Amato of Saludecio. The history of the Church of Rimini, after the Arian crisis, is not marked by extraordinary events, despite the fury of factions and political struggles which here, as throughout Romagna, have raged at all times.
The seminary dates from shortly after the Council of Trent. Twenty-four diocesan synods have been celebrated, the last in 1924. Rimini was directly dependent on the Holy See; only in 1745 did it become a suffragan of Ravenna. The cathedral of St. Gaudentius has been distinguished by pastors notable for piety, zeal and learning, many of whom have been raised to the cardinalate and metropolitan sees. Among the clergy have distinguished themselves the following natives of Rimini: Sebastiano Vanzi, learned canonist who was bishop of Orvieto and definer of the Council of Trent; Alessandro Tonti (1566-1622), cardinal and co-founder with St. Joseph Calasanz of the Collegio Nazareno in Rome; Giuseppe Garampi (v.), Alessandro Serpieri (1823-85) distinguished student of physics and astronomy; the Sammarinese Giovanni da Serravalle (1300-1445), bishop of Fermo, known above all as commentator on the Divine Comedy which he translated into Latin for the Fathers of the Council of Constance; the natives of Santarcangelo: Lorenzo Ganganelli, later Pope Clement XIV, MARIANO, (v.); the Sammarinese P. A. Giorgi (1711-97) orientalist and philologist of clear fame; the natives of Savignano: G. C. Amaduzzi (1740-92) who was the first secretary of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, in close relation with the most illustrious men of the age; Luigi Nardi, librarian of the Gambalunghiana and author of erudite volumes on local history.
Among the churches of Rimini for historical and artistic value are to be noted: S. Agostino, which arose in the 11th century under the title of S. Giovanni Evangelista and passed in the 13th to the Augustinian Hermits, whence its subsequent title; S. Giuliano, ancient Benedictine abbey dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul, with paintings relating to the martyr of the same name; the church which was first of S. Maria in Trivio, then of S. Francesco and then universally known as the Tempio Malatestiano. The Second World War, which destroyed very notable sacred buildings, such as the oratory of S. Jerome and the church of the Madonna della Colonella, also levelled the Malatestiano. This, however, has been completely and expertly restored and reconsecrated in the summer of 1950, the fifth anniversary of the ingenious remaking by L. B. Alberti, which, however, remained unfinished. — See pl. XLIX.