Cattolica

Cattolica
Country	Italy
region	Emilia-Romagna
province	Rimini (RN)
Local name	Catòlga
Coordinates	43 ° 57 ' N , 12 ° 44' E Coordinates: 43 ° 57 '30 " N , 12 ° 44' 19" E
height	12 m slm
surface	6 km²
Residents	17,098 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	2,850 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	47841
prefix	0541
ISTAT number	099002
Popular name	Cattolichini
Patron saint	San Pio V; (April 30th)
Website	Cattolica
	; Cattolica on the Adriatic

Cattolica is an Italian seaside resort with 17,098 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) on the Adriatic Riviera in the province of Rimini in Emilia-Romagna .

geography

Cattolica is 23 kilometers southeast of Rimini . The neighboring municipalities are Gabicce Mare , Gradara , Misano Adriatico and San Giovanni in Marignano .

history

The Roman settlement was originally built on the ancient Via Flaminia road . The name Cattolica was given to the area south of Rimini in a dispute between Catholic bishops and followers of Arianism around the Council of Rimini , 359 AD.

Archaeological excavations have shown that the local economy was based on doing business with the people who passed through. The area was both a transit station for travelers on the Bologna - Ancona - Rome route and for the pilgrims who went to Loreto or San Pietro.

Around 1500 the city had more than twenty well-known taverns and inns. The business with the inn was supplemented by fishing in the middle of the 19th century . As a result, the age of tourism was heralded in Cattolica . One of the first known people to appreciate the beach of Cattolica was Luciano Bonaparte , brother of Emperor Napoleon , who in 1823 preferred Cattolica to the then more sophisticated Rimini.

When the Bologna – Ancona railway went into operation in 1861 , many wealthy families from Emilia-Romagna had their summer residences built there. After the First World War tourism flourished again. The place was no longer a destination for noble guests, but above all for the middle class . As early as the 1930s, Cattolica was a tourist destination that was known throughout Europe. Many mansions have been converted into elegant hotels to accommodate the crowds that drove millions of room nights a year in the 1950s and 1960s.

Attractions

La Rocca : Built in 1491 to protect residents' property in the event of a Turkish invasion. It was the seat of the Capitano di Cattolica , chosen by the Rimini Council to protect the Borgo . It is now privately owned.
Chiesa di Sant'Apollinare : The church was probably built towards the end of the 12th century, although it was officially mentioned for the first time in 1313. The last renovation was in 1782.
Galleria Comunale Santa Croce : The former church of Santa Croce was built towards the end of the 16th century next to the pilgrims' hospital .
Theater: an all'italiana theater (700 seats) designed by the architect Pierluigi Cervellati.
Centro Culturale Polivalente: library, antiquarium (Roman objects from archaeological excavations), seafaring department with documents and materials on the history of seafaring
Archaeological excavations: remains of a house from Roman times
Le Navi theme park (saltwater aquarium)

Palazzo Mancini , the town hall
Chiesa di San Pio V
Mercato Coperto , covered market
Fontana delle Sirene
Another fountain in the city
View of the aquarium

Town twinning

Cattolica lists the following eight partner cities :

city	country	since
Debrecen	Hungary Northern Great Plain, Hungary	1998
Faches-Thumesnil	France Hauts-de-France, France	1979
Hodonín	Czech Republic South Moravian Region, Czech Republic	1996
Naoussa	Greece Central Macedonia, Greece
Porto Novo	Cape Verde Barlavento, Cape Verde	1994
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges	France Lorraine, France	1997
Saint Neots	United Kingdom England, UK
Stolberg	Germany North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany