Car Travel from Rome to Riccione and Riccione to Venice

The second driving leg only takes about 3 hours, so "where to stop for lunch" could be in Venice itself. But if your plan already includes plenty of time in Venice, then good stops for both sightseeing and lunch along the way could be at Ravenna (Rick only covers in his Venice book), Ferrara (use other resources), or Padua/Padova (covered in several of Rick's books; reserve ahead for Scrovegni Chapel).

On the earlier leg, I would choose a hill town that's not served by train, such as Gubbio. Get there as early before lunch as possible, since the tourist office, museums, and shops (but not restaurants and churches) do close for an extended lunch period. Parking lots are easy to find and some are free, aside from the one closest to the tourist office on Piazza 40 Martyrs.

Or just follow your nose. That's the nice flexibility of a car.
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Thank you Laura!

From Rome to Riccione you should take the E45 north from Orte (north of Rome on the A1) to Perugia. Once at Perugia, see directions to Gubbio. Then from Gubbio you take the road to Fano passing through Acqualagna. At Fano enter the A14 north then exit at Riccione.

This route passes through the towns of Todi, Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio, all of which are top Umbrian destinations. Obviously if you intend to cover it all in a Day you don’t have time to visit all, so take your pick. If you intend to travel over the course of a couple of days or more, then maybe. Also along the way, between Gubbio and Fano, is Acqualagna, which is very famous for truffles. August is generally not truffle season (which generally coincide with mushroom season, I.e. in the Fall, weather permitting), but if they have a wet July, you might get lucky. In any case, whenever I go to Acqualagna there will definitely be truffle sauce pasta in my horoscope.

Also along the way, but practically at destination in Riccione, is Gradara with its famous castle. You can visit that also while you are in Riccione, if you stay a few days.

I presume you know Riccione is a major beach resort town (a more upscale version of Rimini) which will be packed in August (largely with Russians and Germans, in addition to Italians) with the rest of the cities in that region. It’s a young crowd region, called “divertimentificio d’Italia” (Italy’s Entertainment factory), with theme parks and discotheque galore. Beaches will be also packed. I hope you don’t plan to sleep there in August. If you do plan to sleep, try to find a hotel away from the town center, because the place is like Time Square at New Years Eve till early morning.

From Riccione to Venice the fastest route is the freeways A14 to Bologna then A13 to Padova. It less than 3 hour drive. If you need to stop for lunch I would do so at a freeway rest area at an Autogrill restaurant.

Thanks Roberto, we are staying in Riccione center, maybe I should explore other hotels!

No. Stay in the city center and have fun. You can sleep when you return home. Or maybe your hotel is tucked away in some quiet side street instead of on the main drags.

Ha, that's what my husband said where I relayed the info you provided, we are going to stick with the current reservation.

HI,
I'd also stay in the center and have fun. You can always sleep once you get home maybe you need a few more days to relax at home though :P I like your horoscope reference but for me reading daily my horoscope on astrosofa helps a lot. I get more confident in my decisions or I might take better care of myself in certain situations.
I love your trip idea though it is full of power and lust for exploring!
Have a great time!
didi