Editing Rimini (section)

=== Ancient history ===
[[File:Rimini201.jpg|thumb|left|Rimini's ancient harbour, portrayed in the ''mosaic of the boats'' from the domus of Palazzo Diotallevi]]
The area was inhabited by [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Etruscan World|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2014|isbn=9781134055234|page=299|language=en}}</ref> until the arrival of the [[Celts]], who held it from the 6th century BC until their defeat by the Umbri in 283 BC. In 268 BC at the mouth of the Ariminus (now called the Marecchia), the [[Roman Republic]] founded the [[colonia (Roman)|''colonia'']] of Ariminum.

Ariminum was seen as a bastion against [[Celts|Celtic]] invaders and also as a springboard for conquering the Padana plain. The city was involved in the civil wars of the first century, aligned with the popular party and its leaders, first [[Gaius Marius]], and then [[Julius Caesar]]. After crossing the [[Rubicon]], the latter made his legendary appeal to the legions in the Forum of Rimini.

As the terminus of the [[Via Flaminia]], which ended in the town at the surviving prestigious Arch of Augustus (erected 27 BC), Rimini was a road junction connecting central and northern Italy by the [[Via Aemilia]] that led to [[Piacenza]] and the [[Via Popilia]] that extended northwards; it also opened up trade by sea and river.

Remains of the amphitheatre that could seat 12,000 people, and a five-arched bridge of [[Istrian stone]] completed by Tiberius (21&nbsp;AD), are still visible. Later [[Galla Placidia]] built the church of Santo Stefano.

The evidence that Rimini is of Roman origins is illustrated by the city being divided by two main streets, the Cardo and the Decumanus.

The end of Roman rule was marked by destruction caused by invasions and wars, but also by the establishment of the palaces of the Imperial officers and the first churches, the symbol of the spread of [[Christianity]] that held the important [[Council of Ariminum]] in the city in 359.