Oltremare
The park was born thanks to an innovative project involving two companies from the Rimini area: Aquafan and the dolphinarium in Riccione. The inauguration took place on June 26, 2004. The initial investment was very important: more than 70 million Euros. This project utilized the technology and experience of the Americans and the creativity of the Italians .
A visit to the park can be divided into three parts:
Time Travel:
Planet Earth, time travel from the Big Bang to the present day, material explodes and creates stars and planets. Then dinosaurs and their extinction, the emergence of mammals, climate change, and fascinating multi-sensory time travel.
Darwin: a journey through the steps of evolution. Inside the glass and steel dome that represents the earth during the Cretaceous period is the evolution of life on Earth. At the beginning of the birth of living organisms (bacteria and blue-green algae), then conifers …. the invertebrate animal kingdom, starfish, fish – which were the first animals with internal skeletons, insects, and then reptiles, lizards, dinosaurs, birds, before mammals appeared.
Here are the dinosaurs: Deynonichus in life-size (about 3 meters) will appear suddenly in the forest of the Cretaceous period: very interesting to see face to face with a prehistoric monster.
From the ocean to the Adriatic Sea:
Dolphin Lagoon: a beautiful lagoon where 11 dolphins (6 males and 5 females) swim and have fun. The most famous of these are Pele and Ulysses.
The dolphin pool at Oltremare is truly exceptional in terms of size and in terms of technology. The coaching team consists of nine members. Training is done with the hands, in fact, when we witness the spectacle of trainers performing a series of strange movements. A whistle is also used which means to the dolphin “You did the right thing, swim to me for your reward” which is usually fish, games, weasels. It is a job that you absolutely cannot improvise, it requires a lot of patience, a lot of love for animals, passion and a sense of responsibility and the ability to work in a team.
The most famous dolphin in Oltremare is of course Odysseus, as he is the star of the commercials. He was born in 1997 and is the most curious and schooled.
Another very interesting story about the dolphin Mary G. who was found in the port of Ancona in June 2005 after the death of her mother. The dolphin was rescued and treated and transferred to the Oltremare treatment pool, where it is constantly monitored by the Marine Mammal Department of Oltremare and volunteers from the Fondazione Cetacei.
Hyppocampus or seahorses: 9 different habitats to see seahorses, sea dragons and needlefish. Seahorses are one of the few cases where males fertilize eggs in their abdominal pouch and then give birth to babies, the pregnancy varies depending on the species, from 10 days to 6 weeks.
Planet Sea: a large collection of models of all who live in the Adriatic Sea, in real sizes: dolphins, sharks, moon fish. You will also be able to see the skeleton of a whale found in 1993 about 30 km from Rimini. A large part of the exhibition is dedicated to the giants of the Adriatic Sea: 29 species of sharks (elephant shark, which swims with its huge wide open mouth as it feeds on plankton, only white sharks are really dangerous to humans, fox shark uses its huge tail to stun its victim, blue shark, dolphins.
Bay of Races: here you can see stingrays, sea anemones, starfish, hermit crabs, shrimps, worms … many inhabitants of the sandy bottom of the Adriatic Sea.
Delta animals and its environs: farms. Sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, pigeons, ducks, porcupines … over 90 animals and 19 different races. Delta is a valuable wet environment: here, in fact many migratory birds build nests, waterfowl, insects and wetland plants, it is a complex ecosystem, but is very important for scientific research. Oltremare is a place rich in history and nature. Until 5 million years ago, this place was flooded with seawater. Changes in climate and soil have made it particularly wet.
The flight of birds of prey is truly breathtaking. A demonstration flight that starts from the Mill del Gufo, beautiful specimens of hawks and peregrine falcon, buzzards, snowy owls, owls, barn owls and even a beautiful Rapax eagle.
Oltremare is fully accessible also for the disabled: There are no barriers and all places are accessible, the area is spacious and comfortable, the disabled parking lot is next to the entrance with the appropriate signage.
Next to Oltremare is the Mega IMAX screen (600 square meters screen), the largest in Europe, which allows you to live an immersive three-dimensional cinematic experience: the sensation of riding on ocean waves, traveling in space, living in prehistoric time …
This theme park is of particular interest because it is a very successful example where adventure, fun and learning come together.
Useful Information
Oltremare Park(Oltremare) schedule and fares for 2019:
Oltremare(Oltremare) opens from April 1, 2019 and is open daily until September 16 and weekends until October 30. Open weekdays by reservation for schools from September 17 through November 1.
Working hours 10:00-18:00.
Prices:
– Full price: € 26,00 (includes entrance to the park and a movie of your choice in IMAX)
– Reduced price: (children from 1m to 1.40m): € 20,00 (includes park entrance and a movie of your choice in IMAX)
– Children under 1m: free of charge
– From 65 years of age: € 20,00
– Mixed groups: € 20.00
– School groups: € 16,00
