(anc. Ariminum), a town of the Papal States, legation of Forli, near the mouth of the Marecchia in the Adriatic, 24 miles E.S.E. of Forli. It is entered from the N. by the bridge of Augustus over the Marecchia, and from the S. through the triumphal arch of the same emperor, both of white marble, in the best style of architecture. These form the only undoubted remains of the ancient grandeur of the place; for the pedestal in the market-place, said to have been used as a pulpit by Caesar after he had crossed the Rubicon, is probably not genuine. The cathedral church of St Francesco, built in the fourteenth century, and re-modelled in the middle of the following one by Sigismund Pandolfo Malatesta, is the chief edifice of the town, an interesting example of the transition from the Gothic to the classic style. The Gothic windows on the side of the building are concealed by seven arches, under which are as many tombs of illustrious friends of the architect. The interior retains little of its original pointed architecture; it is richly adorned with sculpture, and contains many interesting monuments. The other churches and the palaces contain many fine paintings. There is a fortress, and a public library of 30,000 volumes. The house of Francesco da Rimini associates this town with one of the most beautiful parts of Dante's poetry. Silk fabrics, glass, and earthenware are manufactured; and the trade was once of much importance, but the ancient harbour is now choked up with sand, and there is but little traffic in corn, fish, salt, silk, &c. Ariminum was originally an Umbrian city, but fell into the hands of the Gauls, from whom it was wrested, and a colony established, by the Romans in 268 B.C. It was important as a military post and seaport; and at a later period was connected with Rome and Placentia by the Flaminian and Emilian roads. In most of the subsequent wars in Italy it played a conspicuous part, commanding Cisalpine Gaul and the E. coast of Italy. After the fall of the Western Empire, still a flourishing city, it formed part of the Pentapolis, under the exarchs of Ravenna, until the Lombard invasion. It subsequently came under the German emperors; and in 1300 Malatesta was made viceroy, and his descendants for some time enjoyed that dignity. The town subsequently passed into the hands of Venice, and finally into those of the Pope. Pop. 13,000.