Cattolica (; rgn, Catòlga) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

Province of Rimini The province of Rimini ( it, provincia di Rimini) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The provincial capital is the eponymous city of Rimini. The province borders the independent Republic of San Marino. As of 2019, the prov ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, with 16,233 inhabitants as of 2007.

History

Archaeological excavations show that the area was already settled in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times. Cattolica rose as a resting place for pilgrims who traveled the Bologna-Ancona-Rome route, on their way to the sanctuary of Loreto or to St. Peter's in Rome. In 1500 it counted more than twenty taverns and inns. Only from the second half of the 19th century did the fishing industry became relevant in the economy of the town. One of the first notable visitors to Cattolica's beach was

Lucien Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 ...

, brother of the French Emperor, who preferred it to noisy Rimini, in 1823. The town became an independent commune in 1896. After the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the tourism industry became predominant.

Main sights

*Church of San Apollinare (13th century) *''Torre Malatestiana'' ( Malatesta tower) (1490) *'' Museo della Regina di Cattolica'' archaeological museum *S. Croce Gallery (16th century) *Watchtower (now included in a closed disco) *''Le Navi'', Aquarium of Cattolica

People

Cesare Pronti Cesare Pronti (November 30, 1626 – October 22, 1708) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly near Ravenna. Biography He was born at Cattolica, near Rimini, and was brought up at Bologna, training in that city unde ...

(1626–1708),

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

* Emilio Filippini (1870–1938),

* Guido Morganti (1891–1954),

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

* Egidio Renzi (1900–1944), martyr of

Fosse Ardeatine The Ardeatine massacre, or Fosse Ardeatine massacre ( it, Eccidio delle Fosse Ardeatine), was a mass killing of 335 civilians and political prisoners carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War ...

* Domenico Rasi (1924–1944),

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

* Vanzio Spinelli (1924–1944),

* Giuseppe Ricci,(1890-1972) politician * Enrico Molari, motorcycle racer * Giovanna Filippini, politician *

Eraldo Pecci Eraldo Pecci (; born 12 April 1955) is an Italian writer, pundit, and former footballer, who played as a midfielder. Club career During his club career, Pecci played for Bologna, Fiorentina, S.S.C. Napoli and Torino, winning a Coppa Italia wi ...

, (1955) footballer *

Alberta Ferretti Alberta Ferretti (; ) is an Italian fashion designer and dressmaker. She designs for her namesake brand Alberta Ferretti, and designed for Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti until 2014. Her showroom is in Milan, Italy but her studio is in her na ...

(1950), fashion designer * Umberto Paolucci (1944), Director of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

Europe * Vincenzo Cecchini (1934), painter *

Samuele Bersani Samuele Bersani (born 1 October 1970, in Rimini, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He received the "Mia Martini" Critics Award at the Sanremo Music Festival in 2000 and in 2012, with the songs "Replay" and "Un pallone", respectively. His b ...

(1970), singer * Guido Paolucci (1932-2006), doctor * Gianluca Magi, writer * Marco Simoncelli (1987–2011), motorcycle racer * Giampiero Ticchi (1959), basketball coach *

Andrea Cinciarini Andrea Cinciarini (born 21 June 1986) is an Italian professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Professional career In 2012 he signed with Pallacanestro Reggiana. On 27 April 2014 Cinciarin ...

, basketball player * Luca Leardini, pilot *

Niccolò Antonelli Niccolò Antonelli (born 23 February 1996) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who most recently competed in the 2022 Moto2 World Championship, riding for Mooney VR46 Racing Team. Antonelli won the Italian 125GP Championship in 2011. Ca ...

, motorcycle racer * Mauro Piani (1959), yachtsman Azzurra

International relations

Cattolica is twinned with: *

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite (river), ...

* Hodonín,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

* Saint-Dié-des-Vosges,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Faches-Thumesnil Faches-Thumesnil () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a suburb south of Lille and forms part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry Faches Thumesnil is twinned with the market town of St.Ne ...

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Events

* The feast of Stella Maris: fishing vessels and vongolaie leads in the midst of the sea, the statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

"Stella Maris", after a religious procession. * The Festival of the flowers: since 1950s, Cattolica hosts a show of

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

markets with many stalls along the streets of the city. * The Pink Night, celebrated in town along the coast from Cattolica to Bellaria. It is a festival which is celebrated in June–July and is quite recent: the opportunity for all the shops, bars and restaurants adorn the premises of pink, with dancing to the beach and dive into the sea at midnight. * The Fair of the ancient flavors of land and sea, with local

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

acoompagnate animations and concerts. *International Mystery Film Festival of Cattolica (known in Italian as ''Festival internazionale del giallo e del mistero di Cattolica'' but internationally mostly known by its commonly used abbreviation "MystFest" ( it).

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Towers in Italy