San Giovanni in Marignano
San Giovanni in Marignano: a municipality rich in history in the province of Rimini
San Giovanni in Marignano is an Italian municipality located in the southeastern part of the province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna. The town has approximately 9,400 inhabitants and is situated between the Conca River and the Tavollo stream. The municipal territory is included in the last foothills of the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines and is located in the piedmont area.
The geography of San Giovanni in Marignano
The town is crossed by the Ventena stream and borders Cattolica to the north, Misano Adriatico to the northwest, San Clemente to the west, Morciano di Romagna to the southwest, Saludecio to the south, and the Marche region (Tavullia and Gradara) to the east.
The origins of the name
The name San Giovanni in Marignano refers to Saint John the Baptist in Castelvecchio, which is the dedication of the first church in the village dating back to the first half of the twelfth century. Marignano was an ancient agricultural fund of late Roman derivation called ''fundus rusticus Mariniani''.
The history of San Giovanni in Marignano
Valconca was inhabited since the Paleolithic era, and the Romans founded a settlement in the Madonna del Monte area, in the hilly territory. Thanks to the reclamation work carried out by the Cassinese Congregation of reclamation, probably in the second half of the thirteenth century, the village moved to a plain near the Ventena stream.
In the fifteenth century, the Rimini territory was under the dominion of the Malatesta, under the nominal control of the Papal State. In 1438-42, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta reorganized the defenses of the territory, also intervening in San Giovanni in Marignano, providing the town with a new city wall, with six towers and two gate towers equipped with a drawbridge.
The walls of the fortified village are still largely visible, incorporated into private property. They are present in different parts of the town, such as the bell tower, the Augusto Massari theater, the bridge over the Ventena in the northeastern part of the city, and in some surviving bastions.
The fifteenth-century defensive system, built on a plain, was designed to protect the grain deposits stored in the subsoil of the village. In fact, over 200 grain pits have been documented in the fifteenth century, and even in the nineteenth century, in the main street, there are 128 underground containers, some of which are still visible.
San Giovanni in Marignano was besieged without success by Piccinino in 1443. In 1504, it passed under the control of Venice, and infeudated to the dukes of Urbino in 1508, it was subsequently given to the Holy See, remaining there until 1859, except for the brief Napoleonic period from 1797 to 1814.
In 1897, the separation of the apodiato of Cattolica occurred, becoming a municipality, thus marking the separation between the two well-defined economies: the seafaring (and later tourism) economy of Cattolica and the agricultural (and later industrial) economy of San Giovanni.
Conclusions
San Giovanni in Marignano is a town rich in history and culture located in the heart of the province of Rimini. With its ancient walls, underground grain storages, and strategic position between the Conca and the Tavollo stream, the town represents an important historical and cultural heritage that deserves to be discovered and enhanced.
