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Home > Focus On
Rimini, the Entertainment Capital
Roma - (Adnkronos Multimedia) - This unique industrial area does not produce goods exportable over the world. Instead, it offers services for which it is necessary to be physically present. It is part of the "entertainment area" that comprises Bologna, Verona, Venice and Rimini. Its economic activities are of the highest level in quality and volume of business and consist of hotels, discothèques, theme parks, bars, restaurants, cinemas and theatres.
It employs about 150,000 mostly seasonal workers and its annual income surpasses 6 billion euros. The provinces in this area are at the top of the list for quality of life. There are cultural activities, artistic associations, theatres, cinemas, music and gymnasiums.
The centre of this economic reality is Rimini. Here alone there are 2,873 hotels, 26,000 extra-hotel structures, 15 camping sites and tourist villages, 662 bathing establishments and 553 restaurants. In Rimini and Riccione there are 190 discothèques hosting about 300,000 people every night.
Three significant examples illustrate the characteristics of this economic model. First of all there is Gardaland, the "Italian Disneyland" on the banks of Lake Garda. Its twenty square kilometres comprise various structures such as artificial theme parks that include Western, Arab, African and Egyptian. From the original 90,000 square meters and a few million euros invested, there are now 450,000 square meters and annual earnings of more than 50 million euros. The second place Mirabilandia, just a few kilometres from Ravenna. It was founded in 1992 and today employs more than 800 people. The third example is Venice, which has become a culture factory where more than 150 musical groups, tens of theatrical companies and museums with more than 3,000 employees. This "entertainment district" has become a laboratory for new forms of production and immaterial consumption that make its communicative and relational dimension the epicentre of an economy in which it is not material products that are consumed but desires and emotions loaded with the meanings the consumers themselves attribute to them.
In this sense, Rimini is unique in the Italian panorama and perhaps in all of Europe. During the summer of 2004 alone, the city offered a range of events able to fulfil the desires of all types of visitors. There were 500 events during four months - from June to September - that included entertainment, culture, sports, music, tradition and wine and food. In addition to the solidly successful manifestations such as the "100 days of festival", the "Cinema under the stars", the "Cartoon Club", the "Meetings with authors", the "Jazz Festival", the "Summer evenings in a museum" and "Fashion in the piazza", this year new initiatives were launched such as Disney Villages and a full schedule of musical events.
Also, for the third consecutive year, Rimini received the "Bandiera Blu", the prestigious European award conferred by the Foundation for Environmental Education. This testifies the Rimini's attention to the quality of the seawater, the coastline, services and security measures for visitors. In addition to the award for the quality of the tourist offering, there were also those for environmental services (water purification, differential refuse collecting, pedestrian zones and bicycle paths) and attention to environmental education.
Area: Provinces of Rimini, Bologna, Verona e Venice
Economic specialization: tourism and culture
Surface: 6.500 kmq
Population: 1.800.000 inhabitants
Number of firms: 15.000
Employees: 150.000
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