The City Museum is a must-visit for all those who understand Rimini is much more than a mainstream beach resort, however high its tourist rating might be. The museum was opened in 1977 on the site and building of a former Jesuit monastery, though until know it has exceeded the confines of the original place of worship. The surface it actually fills amounts to 3,000 square meters, but this is no surprise, given the museum consists of some 40 galleries, not to mention the areas dedicated to special archeological topics.
Roughly speaking, Museo della Citta is both an archeological and an art museum. From an artistic point of view, the museum boasts of a large picture gallery which fills two floors of the edifice, displaying works from the 15th to the 20th century. Besides the paintings as such, frescoes and ceramics can also be admired, but the sculptures should also be paid attention to. The most resonant names represented at the museum are Giovanni Bellini, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Simone Cantarini, Giovanni Battista Costa and Guido Cagnacci, for example.
The Archeological Section focuses on displaying and sheltering at the same time findings from the most important archeological sites in Rimini, such as the Roman Amphitheater and Domus del Chirurgo. In fact, the City Museum is the authorized entity able to organize guided tours to the Roman Amphitheater, not to mention the administrative relations between it and the Surgeon’s House, the latter being located in the very proximity of the museum.