Photo by Gambu82, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The coast's calendar
Events on the Riviera Romagnola
The Riviera Romagnola events calendar includes Befana in the sea in January, Carnival and Fogheraccia in late winter, Easter, kites and Nove Colli in spring, Notte Rosa in June since 2025, sea and fish festivals in summer, the MotoGP Grand Prix and Ironman Emilia-Romagna in September, and Christmas by the sea. Dates change every year.
The year's calendar
The calendar's events returned under the same name in at least two editions between 2024 and 2026, and exact dates are on resort event pages. For 2027, official dates have already been set for Nove Colli and Challenge Cesenatico 100 in Cesenatico, Ironman Emilia-Romagna in Cervia, and the MotoGP Grand Prix and Spartan Race in Misano Adriatico.
| Period | Recurring events |
|---|---|
| January | Befana and New Year's Day and Epiphany sea dips (Rimini, Riccione, Misano Adriatico, Cervia), Befana in Gabicce Monte, Presepe della Marineria in Cesenatico until around 10 January |
| February and March | Carnival in several resorts, Fiera di Sant'Apollonia in Bellaria Igea Marina, San Giuseppe bonfires on the beach around 18 March: Fogheraccia in Rimini and Cattolica, Fugaracia in Riccione |
| April | Easter and Easter Monday with different programmes in each Comune, Paganello in Rimini, Segavecchia in Misano Adriatico, Vele di Pasqua regatta in Cesenatico, Azzurro come il pesce at the end of the month |
| May | Bellaria Film Festival, Cattolica in Fiore, Artevento (kites) in Pinarella from late April, Sposalizio del Mare in Cervia (in May or early June, on Ascension Sunday), Nove Colli and Challenge Cesenatico in Cesenatico, Granfondo Squali between Cattolica and Gabicce Mare, Cervia Città Giardino from late May |
| June | Notte Rosa, Festa della Rustida in Riccione, Disco Diva in Gabicce Mare, Cattolica and Rimini with MystFest and Mare di Libri |
| July | Cartoon Club in Rimini, Festival del Sole and Madonna del Mare in Riccione, Cuccagna in Cesenatico, Sbarco dei Saraceni in Bellaria Igea Marina |
| August | San Lorenzo and Ferragosto fireworks, Festa di Garibaldi and Rustida dei pescatori in Cesenatico, dawn concerts |
| September | Sapore di Sale and Ironman Emilia-Romagna in Cervia, MotoGP and Spartan Race in Misano Adriatico, Festa della Piadina in Bellaria Igea Marina, Festa de Borg in Rimini in even-numbered years |
| October | Voci per la Pace in Cervia, Il pesce fa festa in Cesenatico, Rumore BIM Festival in Bellaria Igea Marina, Halloween |
| from late November | festive lights, Christmas by the sea and New Year's Eve in every resort, Presepe della Marineria in Cesenatico |
Notte Rosa
Notte Rosa is a celebration for the whole coast: established in 2006, it is organised by Destinazione Turistica Romagna, the public tourism body, together with the Comuni. It has not always been in June. Until 2024 it fell on the first weekend in July, with some exceptions: in 2020 it was a Pink Week from 3 to 9 August, and in 2021 it ran from 26 July to 1 August; in 2022 it was on 1-3 July, in 2023 on 7-9 July and in 2024 on 5-7 July. Since 2025 it has been on the penultimate weekend in June: 20-22 June 2025 for its twentieth edition and 19-21 June 2026 for its twenty-first, with over 160 events in almost 40 Comuni according to the official review. Fireworks begin at midnight on Friday, simultaneously along the coast.
Sea and fish festivals
Cesenatico events are the most closely linked to the harbour: Azzurro come il pesce in late April, Cuccagna and Festa di Garibaldi in summer, Rustida dei pescatori on 14 August, Il pesce fa festa in late October and, from late November to early January, Presepe della Marineria on the historic boats: from 30 November 2025 to 11 January 2026, and from 29 November 2026 to 10 January 2027.
Cervia events revolve around salt and the sea: Sposalizio del Mare, which the Comune traces to 1445, was on 30 May-1 June in 2025 and 16-17 May in 2026; Sapore di Sale occupies the canal harbour in early September (4-7 September 2025, 3-6 September 2026); in the same month, Mercato Europeo, with over 150 traders in Piazza Andrea Costa in 2026. Riccione has Festa della Rustida in mid-June, Cattolica Pesca alla tratta in late August.
Sport and motorsport
Three major races return at the same time each year. Nove Colli, the international granfondo cycling event, starts from Cesenatico's canal harbour on a Sunday in the second half of May: 18 May 2025, 24 May 2026 and 23 May 2027 for its 56th edition, with registration opening on 5 December 2026. In Cervia, Ironman Emilia-Romagna and Ironman 70.3 Emilia-Romagna occupy the third weekend in September: 18-21 September 2025, 17-20 September 2026 and, in 2027, 18 and 19 September. In Misano Adriatico, Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, the Italian MotoGP round, falls on the second weekend in September: 12-14 September 2025, 11-13 September 2026 and 10-12 September 2027.
Other races return under their own names in the same months. In late March, StraRiccione opens Riccione's running season; in May, Granfondo Squali starts in Cattolica and finishes in Gabicce Monte, while Challenge Cesenatico brings middle-distance triathlon to Cesenatico, on 16 May in 2027 with the new 100 km format. In Misano Adriatico, Spartan Race, an obstacle race, occupies the third weekend in September: 19-20 September 2026 and 18-19 September 2027.
Spring and autumn
In late April, Cervia fills Pinarella beach with kites for Artevento, Festival Internazionale dell'Aquilone: from 24 April to 4 May 2025 and from 23 April to 3 May 2026. Cervia Città Giardino, the Comune's outdoor floral exhibition, begins in late May and continues until September, with displays in Milano Marittima too. The Comune's recurring Milano Marittima events include Christmas and Festi Jazz. Among Bellaria Igea Marina events, Bellaria Film Festival has taken place in May since 2024, instead of autumn.
In autumn, the calendar moves to markets, food festivals and theatre seasons: those in Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica and Bellaria Igea Marina begin between September and November, with dates on the entertainment on the Riviera page.
Christmas and New Year's Eve
Christmas on the coast begins between the last weekend in November and early December and lasts until 6 January: Rimini with Capodanno più lungo del mondo, Riccione with Natale sul mare, Cervia and Milano Marittima with festive lights and markets, Misano Adriatico with the rink in the square, Cattolica with Bosco di Luce and Bellaria Igea Marina with BIM Christmas. Individual town programmes are on dedicated pages: Rimini events, Riccione events, Cervia events, Misano Adriatico events and Cattolica events.
Weekend events
Programmes for individual weekends are in tourism bodies' calendars. Visit Romagna, Destinazione Turistica Romagna's portal, collects events throughout Romagna. Resorts also have their own calendars: Rimini Turismo, riccione.it, Cattolica Welcome, Comune di Misano Adriatico events, Visit Cesenatico, the Cervia and Milano Marittima tourism portal and the bellariaigeamarina.org calendar.
Events, resort by resort
| Resorts | What links the calendar together |
|---|---|
| Events in Rimini | Befana in mare, ColorCoriandolo, Paganello, Cartoon Club, Sagra Musicale Malatestiana, Capodanno più lungo |
| Events in Riccione | Fugaracia, Festa della Rustida, Festival del Sole, Riccione Music City, Natale sul mare |
| Events in Cattolica | Fogheraccia, Cattolica in Fiore, MystFest, Ferragosto fireworks, Bosco di Luce |
| Events in Misano Adriatico | Segavecchia, free summer evening events, MotoGP, Christmas in the square |
| Events in Cesenatico | Azzurro come il pesce, Nove Colli, Cuccagna, Rustida, Presepe della Marineria |
| Events in Cervia | Artevento, Sposalizio del Mare, Sapore di Sale, Ironman, Voci per la Pace |
| Events in Milano Marittima | Città Giardino, Il Trebbo in musica, Festi Jazz, Christmas on Viale Gramsci |
| Events in Bellaria Igea Marina | Sant'Apollonia, Film Festival, Sbarco dei Saraceni, Festa della Piadina, BIM Christmas |
| Events in Gabicce Mare | Carnival, Disco Diva, Turismo in Festa, Immacolata, Befana in Gabicce Monte |
Sources: Destinazione Turistica Romagna, lanotterosa.it, Notte Rosa editions from 2006 to 2026; Comuni and resort tourism portals, news and programmes for 2024-2026 editions; novecolli.it; ironman.com and Comune di Cervia tourism portal, IRONMAN Emilia-Romagna; FIM and MotoGP, 2027 calendar; visitcesenatico.it, Presepe della Marineria 2026-27 and Challenge Cesenatico 100; Comune di Misano Adriatico, Spartan Race news of 21 September 2026; Comune di Cattolica, Granfondo Squali; Comune di Riccione, StraRiccione 2026. Accessed on 30 September 2026; 2027 dates and official calendars rechecked on 10 and 11 October 2026.