RIO MELO
The Rio Melo promenade runs along the Rio from the port of Riccione and goes up to Coriano passing the Roman bridge and the Rio Melo waterfall. An easy route within everyone's reach that winds through nature in a peaceful oasis just a few meters from the city centre.
There are three points where the route can be taken. From the port, the Roman bridge or the Viale Venezia roundabout.
The longest route starts from the port along the canal, the study center and the new park created between the old cemetery and the Geo Cenci middle school. By following the cycle path and skirting the old cemetery and always keeping the Rio Melo as a point of reference, you arrive near the Roman bridge. There is also a plaque that tells you its story, it is a Roman artefact along the Via Flaminia that leads to Rimini. It was restored in the 17th century by the papal authorities and also recently. The bridge was used until the 1930s.
You walk immersed in dense vegetation mainly composed of reeds, brambles, willows, locust trees, black poplars and cypresses. By keeping quiet it is not uncommon to also encounter some animals such as the porcupine, spotted several times in the old cemetery area, the marten and numerous aquatic birds such as the gray heron, resident in this area for several years, the Nitticora a species of heron with mainly nocturnal habits and the Little Grebe a cute little twenty-five centimeter grebe that also occasionally frequents the port. The Rio Melo river section is also the kingdom of nocturnal birds of prey, owls, owls, tawny owls and scops owls nest nearby. In the waterway you can find bluegills, mullets, catfish, chubs, carp and even eels.
A few minutes' walk from the Viale Venezia roundabout you can find the characteristic Rio Melo waterfall. A place to relax and catch your breath. The Rio Melo waterfall, called "là ciùsa" by the inhabitants of the area, was built to bring, through a small canal built on the south side, the water that used its shovel to operate the mill located in the building located located next to the Viale Venezia bridge. During the war, shelters had been built along the Rio Melo to give the inhabitants of the area the opportunity to escape the bombings. There have even been rumors for years about the presence of a German tank sunken under the waterfall but there is still no confirmation in this regard.
After the stop you can continue and head towards Coriano again along the Rio Melo arriving in the new cemetery area to go back. The route, starting from the Roman bridge to Coriano, is approximately 4 km.