To take a tour of Three Martyrs Square in Rimini is to take an immersion in the city's history. Roman remains, monuments from late antiquity (now gone), the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and remakes from later periods testify to the square's liveliness and dynamism.
The square stands exactly on the site of the Roman forum of Ariminum, a Roman colony founded in 268 BC. As was customary in Roman cities, the forum stood at the intersection of the two main streets, the cardo and decumanus. Part of the cobblestones that paved the street are visible today. Linked to the square is the name of Julius Caesar: here, in fact, the famous leader gave his famous speech immediately after crossing the Rubicon. In memory of this event, there is an honorary cippus, from the 16th century, and a bronze statue depicting Caesar, a copy of a Roman original.
Three now-destroyed churches belonged to the late antique age: that of St. Michael, St. George and St. Innocence. The square was also the scene of knightly events and tournaments under the Malatesta family. In 1497 the construction of the Clock Tower slightly changed the appearance of the square, making it more elongated as we see it today. Starting in 1750 a dial with a calendar, moon phases and zodiac signs adorned the Tower. Also from the 18th century is Palazzo Tingoli, which today frames the square.
The square remains especially linked to the period of World War II with the War Memorial. In memory of the war events, the square changed its name to Three Martyrs Square. The name is in memory of the three martyrs, Mario Capelli, Luigi Nicolò and Adelio Pagliarani, partisans belonging to the XXIX Brigade "Gastone Scozzi" who died here hanged on August 16, 1944.
