The wine-growing culture in the Rimini Province: an ancient tradition

by Oreste Delucca

In the Rimini area the history and tradition of wine and vines goes back thousands of years. The presence of local vineyards is proven by the discovery of shoots and fruits in the Conca valley dating back to the Palaeolithic Age. The first clear evidence of wine-production can be traced back to the 7th century BC based on the finds in the Villanovan tombs of Verucchio.

From then on, the grapevine growing in Rimini has been documented without interruption. Etruscans introduced long pruning and the “impianto a sostegno vivo” (where vines are kept to grow around tree trunks), methods adopted and continued by Gallic peoples who settled in the area in the following period. Until the 3rd century AC, when Romans gave this growing method the name of arbustum gallicum.

Following the foundation of Ariminum and the systematic tillage of the surrounding lands, vine-growing and wine-production acquired noteworthy significance and started playing a major role in the regional economy. There is a wealth of representational evidence from that period, as well as reports written by Latin historians exalting the fruitful local vineyards that enabled strong export flows towards Rome for a long time.

Rimini - Decorative relief
on the Arc of Augustus 27 B.C.
Photograph: Museum of the City
of Rimini.

Not even the crisis of the Roman empire was able to put an end to this trade, as shown by a memorial stone from the year 251 AD found in Rome that refers to Rimini wine merchants still working in the capital.

Although the fall of the empire withered trade and reduced production activities in all regions, in the Rimini area, however, agricultural production continued playing a key role, also thanks to the growing importance of Ravenna in the meantime. Written documentation related to the period between the 5th and 10th centuries provides plenty of information about the presence of vines in the area of Rimini and contains interesting data about farming leasing, viniculture techniques and tools.

After the year one thousand, historical proof became plenty due to the development of production and trade as well as richer historical extant records. In the countryside, the parcelling of large estates into farms became more frequent and cultivation continued gaining more and more space; vineyards extended their presence outstandingly, assuring such wine production as to meet not only regional consumption but also exports to the Venetian market.

By imposing detailed rules regulating life in the city and the countryside, the medieval statutes of Rimini offer an infinity of details on wine-production and wine-making, as well as storage, transportation, trade and consumption, which highlight their major role in the economy and people’s life. From a technical point of view, even within a comprehensively backward agricultural society, wine-production stands out as the most developed sector that received the most important investments. The different cultivation and development stages of the product are the concrete result of different experiences, contributed by different peoples who settled in these lands and influenced customs. It is therefore possible to establish that we inherited the method to grow vines supported by trees from the Etruscans; the use of wood stave barrels comes from Gallic traditions; the square container used back then for wine-making process is a Roman invention and the pressing system based on the beam-vine dual concept derives from Greek influence.

From this medieval tradition stem the modern age innovations and improvements which have led to today's panorama. The whole process has slower now but very fruitful, marked by major advances: a growing attention paid to cultivating the soil, vine selection, planting, fertilization and pruning; more attention devoted to grape harvest, pressing, fermentation and storage. Ancient knowledge and methods have been improved by professional training, fair competition, by going beyond individual needs and establishing cooperatives.

Today when we lift up a glass of wine, we can read on it the experiences and efforts of a lot of men and women who, generation after generation, have pressed the grapes to obtain the juice of the ground of Rimini.

Rimini people, Vines and the Sea

by Stefano Romani

As a major and distinguishing factor of the Rimini territory, the Sea has always influenced the Adriatic culture, society and civilization. In the past, Rimini was a meeting point for people and trading point for goods and wine. This is where the nature of the Rimini people comes from- they are deeply fond of their traditions, but also very friendly and open to the world. They love the sea, but during summer they only think of it so that tourists can fully enjoy it. Locals take the very best of the sea in autumn and winter, like Federico Fellini's characters in his drawings and in the movie I Vitelloni (The Idlers).

The bond between the vine and the Sea is very old, starting when the Vitis Vinifera, coming from the Mediterranean Sea basin, began conquering the Old Continent and the World, becoming a cosmopolitan plant.

It was first carried by Greek and Phoenicians' boats and then by Etruscans and Roman tenant-farmers. Later, always through the sea, it was carried from the Old Continent to the Americas, South Africa and Australia by conquerors and settlers. The Noble Vine loves the Sea as well as the salty scent. When it took roots as a native plant or next to a berth, it chose the dominating hills over an open sea horizon as its original home.

Up