Arco d'Augusto & Via Flaminia Start
Most visitors walk past it without a second glance, but the Arco d'Augusto at the southern edge of Rimini's old town is the oldest surviving Roman triumphal arch in the entire world, built in 27 BC to celebrate Augustus's restoration of the Via Flaminia. It has been standing here, in use and intact, for over two millennia.
The arch that outlasted an empire
Unlike the arches in Rome, which were long ago isolated inside archaeological parks, Rimini's Arco d'Augusto still stands at the junction of two living streets — cars and scooters pass through it daily, just as Roman legions once did. The travertine limestone has darkened with age but the carved reliefs of Jupiter, Neptune, Apollo and Mars on the attic are still crisp.
The arch marks the exact point where the Via Flaminia — the great consular road from Rome to the Adriatic — met the Via Aemilia, the road that defined the entire region of Emilia-Romagna. Standing beneath it, you are standing at one of the most important crossroads in Roman Italy.
Combining it with the Ponte di Tiberio
A five-minute walk north along Corso di Augusto leads to the Ponte di Tiberio, a five-arched Roman bridge completed in AD 21 that still carries pedestrian and light vehicle traffic across the Marecchia river. Together, the arch and the bridge form a Roman urban axis that has been in continuous use for 2,000 years — a fact that should stop you in your tracks.
The bridge is particularly atmospheric at dusk, when the stone glows amber and locals gather on its parapets to watch the light fade over the river. It is one of the most photogenic spots in Rimini and almost entirely overlooked by beach tourists.
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