If a walk in the green is for you a therapy for the soul, in the hinterland of Riccione you will reach the peace of senses.

The Oasis of Montebello, the River Park of Marano, the Natural Reserve of Onferno, the Arboreto of Mondaino and the Park of the Quarry, are the natural reserves that, a few kilometres from the coast, offer you a lot of fresh and evocative trails, ideal for your excursions.

The Oasis of Montebello, in the municipality of Torriana, has been recognized by the European Union as a sensitive area from the environmental point of view.
Created in 1993 to protect a landscape that is very interesting for its vegetation, for the many species of wild animals and for its geological peculiarity (the presence of gaseous formations), the oasis covers 1200 hectares and is home to the Natural Observatory of Valmarecchia.

In the River Park of Marano, in the municipality of Coriano, you will come into contact with a rich and seductive flora and along the paths you will probably run across specimens of small mammals, hear the cuckoo and see the kingfisher diving into the water of the river to eat.

The Natural Reserve of Onferno, in the municipality of Gemmano, is known for its caves.
Along the underground way you will be guided through the canyons and the bottlenecks that were created from the erosive water and you will reach the greatest natural spectacle of the giant clusters of crystal.

We suggest hiking shoes and heavy sweat.

The Arboreto of Mondaino, in its nine hectares of forests, has more than five thousand plants that are representative of the Mediterranean bush.
It hosts the Dimora Theatre and its workshops of theatre and dance.

The Park of the Quarry, in the municipality of Poggio Berni, is situated near a fossil field of which it fosters the findings.
For guided tours you must book at least five days in advance to the office of tourism.

Not only trekking therefore in the hinterland of Riccione, but a fresh and enveloping embrace by nature which, so protected, can really be a cure for your soul.

Riccione is one of the main sea holiday resorts in Italy but also offers a wide range of nature and culture tours all year round.

The area inland at Riccione has, for many years now, attracted cycle tourists from all over Europe  due to its breath-taking landscapes, the stunning tours of varying difficulty on offer and genuine, delicious gastronomy.

But a holiday at Riccione is more besides: you can discover the history and culture of the people that live in the villages and towns of a region rich in grand monuments, folklore and art crafts.

You can visit important historical buildings, masterpieces such as the majestic forts that symbolize the power of two great seigniories of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Malatesta and Montefeltro.

Sigismondo Malatesta and Federico da Montefeltro were responsible for much cultural and artistic development, countless works for tourists to discover on a fascinating and exciting “treasure hunt” around Romagna and Le Marche: the Caccia delle Signorie (The Seigniory hunt).

Valmarecchia: Malatesta’s reign
Le Marche: Montefeltro’s cradle

History can be relived at the Rimini’s striking Malatesta Fort (Castel Sismondo). It originally served various functions: it was the Prince’s Castle, a fort, the barracks of the garrison town and a prison; and now it is an historical monument housing various exhibitions.

The splendid Gradara, which can seen from the A 14 motorway, comprises the Malatesta castle mentioned in Dante’s Inferno.

Mondaino with its seventeenth century colonnade and Malatesta Fort, which draws millions of visitors in August due to its famous “Palio del daino” (deer ‘race’).

Montegridolfo, instead, is in an idyllic setting, nestled among olive groves and vineyards, and its fortified historical centre is still remarkably intact and well restored.

Montefiore Conca, a lively fortified medieval village classified as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy on account of its dominating Malatesta Fort and architecture, offers superb food.

Near the border with Le Marche, the Karst caves in the Onferno Natural Reserve are also well worth a visit.

Nearby is Montescudo, a small town with civic tower and crumbling walls.
It is famous for its rich production of terracotta objects and potato cultivation (there’s a potato festival in August).

You should also visit Gemmano if you fancy a walk in the lush Malatesta Valleys.

Verucchio, ‘Malatesta’s cradle’, was the town of Villanova culture, finds of which are now kept in the Museo Civico Archeologico (Civic Museum of Archaeology), and features late medieval buildings such as the Parish church and Franciscan Convent where you can admire an enormous cypress over seven centuries old.

The town produces an excellent Cagnina, a sweet wine that goes perfectly with roasted chestnuts. Beautiful crafts shops are full of printed cloths, embroidery and rustic organic furniture.

Next, at Santarcangelo, you can admire the hundred or more grotte di Giove (Jupiter’s Caves), tuffaceous caves where it is believed Sangiovese wine was conserved.

Slightly to the right is a panoramic road that takes you to the splendid Torriana and Montebello forts still bearing signs of the Malatestas’ relentless battles.
You can also visit the Torriana-Montebello Fauna Oasis to take in its pristine nature.

Food is simple and genuine, such as the home-made strozzapreti and tagliatelle pasta. As for wine, Sangiovese and Trebbiano are produced throughout the region.

The printed cloths, ceramics and rustic terracotta products make especially good souvenirs.

In Romagna attention for healthy food products has never failed, even when “modern” agriculture has supplanted the rural one.

So when in Italy in the early nineties people started to talk about organic food, the theme has found in our region not only a fertile but an already ploughed ground, just ready to receive the seed.

However the productive vocation is one thing, consumption is another.

So even in Romagna, especially in cities, lifestyle of capitalist society has imposed unhealthy eating habits, wrong for their quality of life and for that of environment.

But from the beginning of the millennium there is an important trend that, in a broader plan of revaluation of land and recovery of traditions, has also seen increasing awareness of consumers who are increasingly looking for quality products of organic farming.

Behind the trend there is a whole series of initiatives that have been strongly desired by cooperatives and companies, restaurateurs, local authorities, institutions, trade associations, specialized press.

In Romagna among the projects that with a greater incisiveness are engaging in divulgation of organic food, and of the philosophy behind it, “Organic spring” stands out.

The cultural food and wine journey, between Faenza and the zone of the Palatinato, was born in 2007 thanks to eight restaurateurs, six producers of wine and one of cheese.

In springtime the protagonists of the initiative adds to their traditional menus some courses and tastings that are made with strictly organic, seasonal and from local agricultural production ingredients.

Tourists visiting Riccione can enjoy “Organic spring” at the Enoteca Belfiore of Montefiore Conca, in the beautiful village just 17 km from our city.

A tasty way to stress the importance of eating healthy in the respect for the environment and a great contribution so that in Romagna organic food may become, or rather return to be, an indispensable habit.

In the varied landscape of Italian food and wine tourism there is a manifestation of success that has outcomes and premises particularly significant.

We are speaking about Squisito!
Cooks, products, recipes, wines.

Itinerary in Buonpaese (and the name itself is a whole program), desirable and festive fair that selects and displays the best food and that directs the trends of good cooking. To organize it, very well, are the boys of San Patrignano that invite, in the largest recovery community of the world, all the cheer spirits and the laborious bellies.
On the hills of Rimini Squisito! is coming back, at its 5th edition, from 30 May to 2 June 2008.

Meanwhile preparations are fervent around the tables that for now receive “only” the 1800 boys of the center, founded in 1978 by Vincenzo Muccioli, and the staff of assistants and volunteers.

Around the same tables, but also in the fast foods of The street of street food and on the grass with Déjeuner sur l’herbe, people will consume the event that, under the leadership of the Gastronaut Davide Paolini, will involve a hundred of excellent chefs.
Visitors will be amazed in the face of the more fanciful recipes, will appreciate the traditional Italian dishes or will become curious by the best of European and world cuisine.

In any way, they will face with delicacies, to accompany with good wines, chosen by award-winning wineries.
In the stands they will buy food and agricultural products coming from the ground around the corner or from remote plots of ground, from Peru, Afghanistan, Colombia, which have joined the program of conversion from opiates cultivation.

Many other realities that have made the work of land a tool for fighting against all forms of hardship situations were also present.
To enrich the manifestation roundtables and a lot of original proposals.

The high cultural and social value of the event, brought it the sponsorship of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Vincenzo Muccioli would be happy to see his community engaged in a really… Squisito! way.