30 April 2019 10:00
San Marino is more than just a race weekend. Motorsport Live takes a look at the historic towns and miles of beaches that makes this a premier holiday destination.
MotoGP rolls into the Rimini coast for the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano - and it's the perfect location for a late summer holiday, as Motorsport Live explains.
Thanks to the nuances of event naming the San Marino Grand Prix does not actually take place within the tiny microstate, but instead the nearby Adriatic coast. That said the the little country and the surrounding area still has a lot to offer any visitor.
The mountainous city, also called San Marino, was built on a fortress atop Mount Titano and as a consequence it offers breath-taking views of the surrounding region, while that history means there's plenty of beautiful buildings to check out.
The Guiata tower provides a panoramic of the surrounding region - though the walk to reach the top is steep - while the highest point of the country, Cesta Tower, is just around the corner. The pedestrian streets of San Marino themselves are packed with historic landmarks and reasonably-priced boutiques; after all, it's a quirky country to tick off the list!
San Marino's status of being landlocked by Italy inevitably means the Sammarinese culture is similar to that of their Italian counterparts - and that extends to food, which is not a bad aspect! It does, though, have its own delicacies. Pasta e ceci is a chickpea and noodle soup served with rosemary and garlic while Nidi di rondine is a smoked ham, beef, cheese and tomato baked pasta dish. And for dessert? Well the finest dish is based on San Marino's Three Towers, with the Torta Tri Monte a cake made of thin layers of waffle, and covered in chocolate.
Away from San Marino there'll still be plenty of time to cruise along Italy's gorgeous Adriatic coastline, on which the Misano circuit is located. The Roman city of Rimini is the largest in the region and is famous for the 15-kilometre stretch of golden beach, the Arch of Augustus and the Malatestiano Temple.
Nearby to Rimini is the Italia in Miniatura amusement park, which contains hundreds of famous Italian and European cities and buildings reduced to scale. And any self-respecting MotoGP fan has to make the pilgrimage to the nearby quaint town of Tavullia, famous as the home of Valentino Rossi, and in which is a small museum dedicated to the iconic rider.
A short drive along the motorway takes you to Imola - the fearsome Formula 1 venue sadly associated with tragic events, and at which a monument to the late, great Ayrton Senna is located, which is still regarded as a shrine 25 years after his untimely passing. And a little further up the road will bring you to one of Italy's most historic cities: Bologna. Famous for its architecture and exquisite food, Bologna is just unmissable.
For a late summer trip to a majestic part of Italy, the opportunity to take in one of Europe's microstate, and the chance to join the passionate Valentino Rossi fans at a challenging MotoGP venue, then you won't want to miss out on the San Marino Grand Prix. Check out Motorsport Live's offers and ticket packages by clicking here.
