Coriano () is a comune in the province of Rimini. This town is known for being the city of the Motorcycle World Champion, in 250cc class, Marco Simoncelli.
History
Coriano's origins are ancient: it was an Umbrian, Etruscan and Roman colony. It was also conquered by numerous armies fighting in Italy since the 12th century, including those of the Malatestas, by the Borgias, the Republic of Venice, the Spanish armies and the Papal States. In 1528 the Pope donated it to the Sassatelli from Imola in exchange for their help against the Malatestas. In the following centuries Coriano became an important agricultural area in the Rimini area and the main town of a district comprising six towns: Misano, Montescudo-Monte Colombo, Morciano, San Clemente and Coriano itself). In September 1944, during World War II, one of the most deadly battles fought in Italy happened there. Memory of this bloody episode remains, near the town entrance, a cemetery (War Ridge Cememetery), where 1940 fallen soldiers are buried.
Seven castles
Towards the end of 1200, "Mastin Vecchio" Malatesta managed to establish its dominion over Rimini. His three children (Gianciotto, Malatestino of the Eye and Pandolfo I) they consolidated the power of the family, and they expanded the boundaries of the lordship castles and lands acquired by the Church of Ravenna and/or pulling them out to others (The Montefeltro). The Malatesta became lords of the land Corianese in 1300.
Coriano
Villa Corliani enters the possessions of the Malatesta in 1356, when the Church of Ravenna sells many places fortified areas of Pesaro and Rimini of Malatesta Guastafamiglia. In addition to Coriano (which at that time was only a fortified village), the supplies also included Montecolombo, Montescudo and Croce. Insufficient documents on the construction of the castle, but can be traced back to 1300, and the first renovations to 1144 (when Sigismondo Malatesta took care of the work in other rocks of Rimini). The first description is from 1504 and, in this case, the administrator Malipiero: "Castle 8 miles away from Arimino, circumfenced by a wall switch 7 Cumulative high shoe, and corridor top 5 foot, turn 194 passes. Dicto In castle accommodates 3 families. It has a door." Pope Clement VII in 1528 gave the castle to his brothers John and Robert Sassatelli from Imola: it remained their property until 1580, the emblem of the family is still driven into the door of the Castle and is the banner of Coriano. From 1800 to the Second World War, when military conflict caused major damage, the common fate of Coriano buildings of the fortress to various uses of a public nature. After the war, in parallel to the abandonment of the population that moved to the coast, the castle was left in an advanced state of decay. After a few urban interventions inappropriate in recent decades, rehabilitation and restoration of the fortress has taken place under the auspices of the Superintendency and the Fine Arts, the building making a positive recovery. It recently completed a two-year excavation campaign (1999/2000), which has unearthed artifacts, ancient foundations and the moat.
Passano
Castrum Passani turns out to be, from the documents found, the oldest building in the town: the Church of Ravenna by documentation that was granted by Pope Lucius II to the Church of Rimini in 1141. It then passed into the hands of the Municipality of Rimini and later, in 1361, the family Malatesta, this assignment is probably framed with a view to those made by the Pope as a result of the contribution made by the Malatesta to Papal army in the conquest of Forlì (1359) and Bologna (1360). In 1363 a papal bull of Urban V prolonging the vicarages of Malatesta, in favor of Malatesto Antico, and Galeotto, by descent, of Pandolfo Malatesta Ungaro II. Later the castle belonged, and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, and after his son Roberto. The castle stood on the hill that overlooked the pass of the Rio Furnaces, where in past years has been built using the remains of a building fortresses: here you can still see the foundation and the foundation walls.