Gluten-Free Rimini: gelato, pastry, piadina and pizza for coeliacs

Rimini has two sides for a visitor: the Roman old town and the long seafront, with the station in between. The historic centre runs along Corso d’Augusto from the Arco d’Augusto to the Ponte di Tiberio, about 15 minutes on foot end to end by our estimate, and most of the sights are inside it: Piazza Tre Martiri, the Tempio Malatestiano, Piazza Cavour, the Fellini Museum with Castel Sismondo, and the Domus del Chirurgo. Two places on this page are here too: Tradizioni Bottega Gluten Free, an entirely gluten-free workshop and shop on Via Castelfidardo, a short walk from the Tempio; and Strampalato Park on Viale Tiberio, by the bridge at the edge of Borgo San Giuliano, a mixed kitchen with a gluten-free section on its menu. Toward the sea, Gelateria 3 Bis, a mixed gelateria in the AIC network, is on Viale Vespucci at Marina Centro, about 10 minutes on foot from the station, and Matteo Pizza, a pizzeria with a separate gluten-free section, is on Viale Sforza, about 10 minutes on foot from Borgo San Giuliano, both by our estimate. Two more entirely gluten-free places are south along the coast: Gelateria Pesaresi in Rivazzurra and La Dolcetteria in Miramare, near the Metromare stops of Rivazzurra and Miramare Station, by our estimate from the map. The Metromare runs on its own track along the coast from Rimini station to Riccione in about 23 minutes end to end.

A day that works, from a base by the sea to the south (not a Monday, when the Fellini Museum is closed except on public holidays): start with breakfast pastries at La Dolcetteria in Miramare, an entirely gluten-free pastry shop; it takes seasonal breaks and posts them on its Facebook page, so check there first, as its card says. Take the Metromare north to Rimini station; the Arco d’Augusto is about 15 minutes on foot from there, by our estimate. Walk up Corso d’Augusto past Piazza Tre Martiri to the Tempio Malatestiano, and pick up fresh gluten-free food for later at Tradizioni Bottega Gluten Free, a short walk away. Then Piazza Cavour, the Fellini Museum between Castel Sismondo and the Palazzo del Fulgor, and the Domus del Chirurgo with the City Museum next door. In the late afternoon, cross the Ponte di Tiberio into Borgo San Giuliano for the murals. Dinner is at Strampalato Park, by the bridge: a mixed kitchen with a gluten-free section on its menu, where the gluten-free piadina lets you try Romagna’s classic; ask about the fryer before you order the fries. For gelato, take the Metromare back south to Rivazzurra: at Gelateria Pesaresi everything is gluten-free, cones included, and its site gives 9:00 to 24:00 every day. If you stay in the centre, Gelateria 3 Bis at Marina Centro is closer; it is a mixed gelateria, so ask which flavours and cones are gluten-free that day.

Across Italy, many places belong to the coeliac association’s eating-out programme, Alimentazione Fuori Casa (AFC). AIC calls them «informati», informed: staff trained on coeliac disease, AIC’s rules for preparing gluten-free food, a signed agreement, and an in-depth visit from AIC at least once a year. It is not a certificate, and joining is voluntary: plenty of kitchens serve gluten-free food outside it. AIC Emilia-Romagna counts over 200 member places across the region, Rimini and San Marino included; a member shows the AFC sticker with the current year on its entrance door, so look for it there. The list of member places is for AIC members. Emilia-Romagna also has its own rules, since 2011, for any business that prepares or serves gluten-free food: a coeliac course for the people in charge, a gluten chapter in the kitchen’s HACCP manual, and a notification to the town, after which the business appears on the Region’s public list. That is a legal minimum, not a quality mark, and not our list. AIC advises booking ahead so the kitchen can get ready. When you book, and every time you order, say you have coeliac disease: «Sono celiaco» or «Sono celiaca». AIC also advises checking that the gluten-free dish reaches your table clearly marked.

Rimini’s own food is where the traps are. The piadina, the Romagna flatbread, is wheat unless it says otherwise; gluten-free piadina exists, but the griddle is usually shared, so ask «La piadina senza glutine la cuocete su una piastra separata?» (do you cook the gluten-free piadina on a separate griddle?). The fried seafood on beach menus usually comes out of a shared fryer. Grilled fish is the easy order; before anything fried, ask «Per il fritto, c’è una friggitrice dedicata al senza glutine?» (for fried food, is there a dedicated gluten-free fryer?). At a mixed gelateria, some flavours contain puffed grains: at Gelateria 3 Bis, ask which flavours and cones are gluten-free that day, and ask for a clean scoop. Matteo Pizza also makes wheat, kamut and multigrain dough, so check that your pizza comes from the gluten-free section. Out of season, check opening days before you set off. And say the sentence on this page every time, dedicated kitchen or not.