Italia in Miniatura

A miniature Italy of nearly three hundred 1:25 scale models of Italian landmarks, set in a thirty-acre park on the northern outskirts of Rimini. Children love it; adults find it endearing rather than tacky, and the larger walk-through scale Venice is genuinely impressive.

Most easily reached by car or the local bus; allow a good half-day with younger kids. Closed in winter except for selected weekends. Via Popilia 239, Viserba.

things to do sight
A story
The park opened in 1970 with fifty scale models; today it holds nearly three hundred buildings, including a 1:5 reconstruction of Piazza San Marco that you can walk through and a working canal system you ride around in gondolas. The original mission was naive — to show Italians their own country in an era when most could not afford to travel — and the resulting collection has a sweetly earnest, slightly surreal charm.

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