The Romans, in 268 BCE, establish the colony of Ariminum, probably from the name of a nearby river, Ariminus (today, Marecchia) at the mouth of the Ariminus river, in an area of north central Italy that had previously been inhabited by the Etruscans, the Umbrians, the Greeks and the Gauls.

Previously the area had been Gaulish, from the sixth century BCE, to that group's final defeat in 283 BCE by the Umbri, in whose possession it has remained until now.

Throughout the Roman period of rule, Rimini is to be a key communications link between the north and south of the peninsula.

Modern Rimini, a medium-sized city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini, is one of the most famous seaside resorts in Europe, thanks to its fifteen-kilometer-long sandy beach, over a thousand hotels and thousands of bars, restaurants and discos.